Page 328 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

326 NortherN MyaNMar Hsipaw and around
East Haw
• 1km northeast of the town centre • Daily 3–5pm • Free (voluntary donation)
While Sakandar, the Neoclassical summer palace of the Hsipaw saophas, was
abandoned after it was damaged in World War II, the 1924 East Haw still stands, and it
was here that Sao Kya Seng and Inge Sargent lived in the 1950s (see p.325). Today, the
last saopha’s niece by marriage (who uses the English name Fern) opens the palace gates
and receives visitors each afternoon in what used to be the throne room. Herself a
princess by birth, she refuses to charge an entrance fee, and does what she can to
maintain the building and grounds while hoping to regain contact with Sao Kya Seng’s
family in exile. It’s a rare opportunity to hear first-hand stories of Hsipaw’s colourful
recent history.

Little Bagan
500m west of Namtu Rd, 1.5km northwest of Hsipaw • Free
Northwest of Hsipaw, a handful of crumbling and overgrown brick pagodas has earned
this area the jokingly overblown name of Little Bagan. While it may be a fraction of its
namesake’s size, it’s still an appealing place to explore. At the eastern extremity is
Kotaun Kyaung, which is marked by a dramatically cracked pagoda with a tree
sprouting from its crown. As you continue to make your way along, you’ll pass
Madhaya Shwe Kyaung and Maha Nanda Kantha Kyaung, a pair of 150-year-old teak
monasteries that flank the road – the latter in particular is worth seeing for its Buddha
8 figure woven from bamboo and covered with gold leaf. A few further groups of pagodas
lie northwest of here.

Sao Pu Sao Nai Nat Shrine
• 100m west of Namtu Rd, 1.5km north of Hsipaw • Daily dawn–dusk • Free
Between Namtu Road and Little Bagan is Sao Pu Sao Nai Nat Shrine, filled with
picturesque statues of animals and dedicated to Hsipaw’s guardian nat, Tong Sunt Bo
Bo Gyi, whose effigy stands in the main hall. The compound is also home to several
smaller pavilions furnished with miniature beds, covered with pink satin sheets – the
last word in nat hospitality. Towards the rear of the complex, a green-canopied shrine
holds two swings; local people push the (empty) swings to please the female nat
depicted behind and gain her blessing.

Thein Daung Pagoda
• 2.5km south of Hsipaw • Daily dawn–dusk • Free
Also known as Sunset Pagoda, Thein Daung Pagoda offers views over Hsipaw
and the hills that bracket the town. To get here, head south along the Mandalay–Lashio
Road and cross the Dokhtawady River. Just beyond the bridge, there’s a decorative
gateway by the roadside – the pagoda is a thirty-minute walk uphill.

Bawgyo Paya
• 9km west of Hsipaw • Daily dawn–dusk • Free
A twenty-minute drive west of Hsipaw, Bawgyo Paya’s strikingly tiered central shrine
contains four wooden Buddha statues, believed to date from the thirteenth century
when they were carved from a piece of wood given to King Narapatisithu by an
immortal. The leftovers were buried in the temple complex, where they miraculously
took root, growing into a tree that still thrives today. The Buddha images are shown
publicly once a year, during a festival that takes place around the Tabaung (February
or March) full moon.

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