Page 268 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

266 INLE LAKE AND THE EAST KAYAH STATE
fabrics, although bathrooms are small (and the deluxe T081 212 5474, Wfacebook.com/uct.taunggyihotel.
rooms aren’t worth the extra $20). No bar or restaurant, Taunggyi’s stand-out accommodation option, with crisp,
although there’s a small gym attached to reception if you attractively furnished modern rooms plus a good restaurant
and the town’s most switched-on staff. Rates, by Taunggyi
fancy flashing your abs at your fellow guests. $63
UCT Taunggyi Hotel 4 Bogyoke Aung San Rd standards, are a snip. $40
EATING
6 Maxim Cafe & Restaurant 24 Boyoke Aung San Rd ginger, tea-leaf and peanut digestif. There’s an English-
language menu (but no prices on it). Expect to pay around
T081 212 2562. This neat little café-cum-coffee shop is a
real haven, popular with young student types and K3000 for a complete meal. Daily 9am–9am.
Taunggyi’s ladies who lunch. Food features a wildly eclectic Taung Chyune Yae Htwet Oo St T09 503 8317,
selection of international offerings, with soups, salads, Winletaungchune.com. Easily Taunggyi’s best-looking
burgers and sandwiches alongside assorted Asian, place to eat, in an alluring little tree-studded garden
European and Mexican mains (mostly K2000–4000), plus restaurant under a bamboo pavilion. Food (most mains
pricier pizzas (K7000–9500). Daily 10am–9pm. K2500–4000) features a good selection of local
Sein Myanmar 15 Bogyoke Aung San Rd T081 212 specialities, including Shan-style noodles, salads and
4255. Bustling local restaurant dishing up the usual curries “tapas” alongside assorted pan-Asian dishes, plus pizzas
and stir-fries accompanied by a vast spread of vegetable (K5000–6000) and a few other Western-style dishes.
sides dishes and soup, rounded off with a plate of shredded Daily 8am–9pm.
DIRECTORY
Banks and exchange There are numerous banks and recently known as KBZ FC). Forex facilities are available at
ATMs all over town, including several branches of KBZ (who the centrally located Yoma Bank.
sponsor the local football team, Shan United FC – until

Kayah State
One of Myanmar’s smallest states, KAYAH was off limits to foreign travellers until 2012
due to ongoing clashes between the government and various local ethnic groups. Now
restored to peace, parts of the state remain sealed to outsiders, although considerable
areas have been opened up to independent travellers and are now beginning to attract
a steady stream of overseas tourists – not quite the final frontier you might imagine it
to be, although still an enjoyable break from the tourist mainstream.
As its name suggests, the state’s principal ethnic group is the Kayah (aka the Karenni
or “Red Karen” – see p.383), whose subgroups include the Kayan (commonly known
as the Padaung – see box, p.270), with their famously long-necked ladies. Laid-back
Loikaw, the state capital, is currently the only place with foreigner-licensed
accommodation, and makes a pleasant place to unwind for a couple of days; it also
serves as a good base for trips into the local countryside and visits to nearby Kayah
and Kayan villages.

Loikaw
The laid-back little garden city of LOIKAW is one of Myanmar’s most enjoyable state
capitals, with tree-lined and relatively traffic-free streets, a clutch of eye-catching
temples and a soothingly somnolent atmosphere. A largely modern creation, Loikaw
was just another Burmese village until 1922, when the British arrived, using it as a
base from which to administer the Karen States. The town also became a fertile ground
for overseas missionaries (particularly Catholic, who first descended on the region in
1868), accounting for the unusual number of churches you’ll see around the place,
including the impressive Christ the King Cathedral, north of Loikaw Lake, the oldest
Catholic place of worship in Kayah.