Page 338 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

336 NortherN MyaNMar Bhamo to Katha
Shwe Baw Kyun Pagoda
• Kyun Daw Island, 2.5km southwest of Shwegu’s harbour • Daily dawn–dusk • Free • Take a boat from near Shwe
Andaw; K500 one-way
Hidden away above the wide sandy shores of Kyun Daw (“Royal Island”) is Shwe Baw
Kyun (also spelt Shwe Paw Kyawn). An estimated seven thousand pagodas cover the
island’s eastern end, some gleaming with new gold leaf while others are just barely
recognizable piles of bricks. The site’s origins are murky, but it was apparently already
in need of renovation by the mid-eleventh century, when King Anawrahta (see p.359)
perked it up and gave the central pagoda a new hti.
Today, it makes an intriguing – if somewhat uncomfortable – place to wander
barefoot for an hour or two (you’ll need to carry your shoes). Whitewashed corridors
radiate outwards from the main shrine; shy cows graze nearby while birds sing from the
undergrowth that blankets many of the older stupas, and fragments of stucco
decoration cling to exposed brickwork.
Bordering Shwe Baw Kyun is a pleasingly bucolic village, and on the riverbank
opposite there’s the small monastery of Shwe Andaw, which is the site of a festival
around the time of the Tabaung (February/March) full moon.
arrIVaL aND DePartUre ShWeGU
By boat For foreigners, the only way to get to Shwegu is stop at Shwegu just after noon on Mon, Wed and Fri,
by boat – and catching one out requires a willingness to though delays are frequent and you can’t rely on them. If
lurk around the jetty and wait. Fast boats to Katha pass you find you’re ready to leave earlier, it’s worth asking
8 through around 11.30am, and ones headed for Bhamo when the next boat leaves – sometimes other, less official,
passenger services pass by.
leave around 1.30pm. Each journey lasts about 4 hours –
pay on board. The IWT ferries to Mandalay theoretically
GettING aroUND
By boat Long-tail boats (K500 one-way) crossing to the main harbour, though this costs K10,000 for the
Shwe Baw Kyun can be found 300m north of Shwe return trip including waiting time.
Andaw – they generally start running from 8am and By tuk-tuk and motorbike taxi Tuk-tuks and
disappear entirely after 6pm. Boats can also be found at motorbike taxis are often hard to find in Shwegu, though
other points along the river, including just below there will usually be at least one waiting at the harbour
another pagoda on the way to Shwe Andaw – they’ll when the boat comes in, and you’ll occasionally be
agree to take you, but the journey will be longer and offered a ride as you walk around town. The 15min drive
more expensive. Look out for the pagodas among the from one end of Shwegu to the other usually costs K2000;
greenery on the opposite bank to your right, and a low from the jetty to the guesthouse should set you back
staircase rising from the sand – if you see them, you’re in around K1000.
the right place. It’s also possible to charter a boat from
aCCoMMoDatIoN aND eatING
Shwegu has only one guesthouse licensed for foreigners, around 1km from the harbour. Scattered restaurants, teahouses
and beer stations can be found along the main road nearby.
Dagon Station Main St. If you’re heading out from building. The fan-cooled rooms have large shuttered
SAG Guesthouse, walk back to the main road and a windows and shared bathrooms, and more expensive
couple of blocks towards the harbour, and you can’t rooms have a/c and en-suite bathrooms (K18,000). Some
miss this green-fronted beer station. The super- rooms also have balconies. It’s worth checking all the
friendly owner speaks a few words of English and rooms on offer, as the basic ones are usually brighter and
serves a mean chicken fried rice for K2000. And plenty of airier. Staff are friendly and can give you an excessively
draught beer, of course. detailed map of town. Downsides here are that there is no
SAG Guesthouse 3 Saigon Quarter T074 52647. breakfast on offer, and no wi-fi. However, a collection of
A 15min walk west of the harbour (turn right once you low key, outdoor cafés offering light meals and snacks is
reach the road), and tucked away one block south of the just metres away. If you can’t find the guesthouse, ask
main street, Shwegu’s only guesthouse is set in a wooden anyone for “S-A-G” (not “sag”). K15,000

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