Page 343 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

Katha to Mandalay NortherN MyaNMar 341
Railway Station (1km) Railway Station (1km)
Yan Gyi
jostling for your business (don’t worry, Aung Park
one will turn up), but everywhere you ShWeBo
will encounter the sort of charming YAN GYI AUNG STREET YAN GYI AUNG STREET alaungpaya
Statue
friendliness and shy curiosity you find
only when discovering a new Moat
destination. (1km) & Kyaukmyaung (25km)
Shwebo makes a good base for
exploring the ruins of the ancient Pyu Tuk-tuks to
Kyaukmyaung
city of Hanlin, 20km to the southeast, ALAUNGPAYA ST Pick-ups to
Kyaukmyaung
and it’s also possible to make a day-trip Shwebon Main
Yadana
Market
to the potteries in Kyaukmyaung (see TABINSHWETI ROAD SBo hospital
opposite). The town is also a useful stop Internet N
if you want to travel from the river at
Kyaukmyaung to Bagan, with transport Shwe taza AUNG ZEYA STREET
on to Monywa and Pakokku. Paya CB Bank
thanaka
Shwe Taza Paya Market Chanthaya 0 200
Paya
• Shwe Taza Paya Rd • Daily 5am–7pm metres
• Free aCCoMMoDatIoN
Just off the main north–south road, an Pyi Shwe Theingha Hotel 2
alluring array of golden spires SHWE TAZA PAYA ROAD Sann Tin Hotel 1
punctuates the skyline – they belong to eatING
Shwe Taza Paya, one of Shwebo’s most Café Santino 3/5 4 8
Eden Culinary Garden
important religious complexes. Bus Ivory Café and Bakery 2 1
Melody Music Garden
Established in the eleventh century, Station
the paya’s main treasure is a small Mandalay (110km) Hanlin (20km)
golden Buddha statue in the main hall, which is said to emit rays of light from its head
and is paraded around Shwebo to hasten the rains each year around the Waso (July)
full moon. Keep an eye out for the nat shrine on the southern side of the paya, where
you can see Shwebo’s council of nine guardian nats with offerings piled in front of each.
The main shrine can be reached from several directions; the covered corridor from the
south hosts Shwebo’s principal thanaka market, lined with stacks of sawn branches and
vendors grinding the bark into a paste for customers to sample. If you want some for
yourself, the older, thicker branches are the best quality.
Shwebon Yadana
• Alaungpaya St • Daily 8am–5pm • K2000
After King Alaungpaya founded the Konbaung dynasty in 1752, he built his palace at
Shwebon Yadana, where he ruled until his death in 1760 – whereupon his successor
moved the capital to Sagaing (see p.305).
The original palace buildings were destroyed by the British after the annexation of
Upper Burma, and the site was used as a prison until 1994 (the colonial-era courthouse
still stands just inside the gates), when two of the halls were reconstructed.
Hanlin
• 20km southeast of Shwebo • Motorbike taxis from K10,000 return
Between the first and ninth centuries AD, the walled city of HANLIN, one of the most
important Pyu city-states, flourished to the southeast of Shwebo. Archeologists have
been excavating the area enclosed by Hanlin’s rectangular brick walls since 1962,
uncovering inscribed stones, coins and jewellery made from gold and semi-precious
stones – examples of which are on display in the informative museum in Hanlin village
(Tues–Sun 9.30am–4.30am; K5000). The dig has also exposed several of the city’s
curved gates and burial sites. As the latter are covered by locked huts, it’s best to visit the
museum first; they will sell you a ticket and tell you which sites can be visited that day.

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