Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Krishna SouthIndian Restaurant
Gurkha Rd.
Of the many Indian-Burmese restaurants in
townthatseemtohavebeensetupinsomeone'sfrontroom,
Krishna
hasamongthebestand
the most Indian-influenced food. A meal with curry and chapatis will set you back K3000.
Vegetarian options available.
Daily 10am-9.30pm.
Ruby
Mandalay-LashioRd 08521395.
Runbythird-generationimmigrantsfromYunnan,
Ruby
serves up a range of reasonably priced halal Chinese dishes (K2000) along with a few
international options, like kimchi fried rice.
Daily 8am-9pm.
DIRECTORY
Banks
KBZ Bank, opposite the Purcell Tower, and the CB Bank, further down the Man-
dalay-Lashio road, both have ATMs and exchange facilities.
Golf
Once the site of a colonial-era polo field, the eighteen-hole Pyin Oo Lwin Golf Club,
Sanda Rd (daily 6am-6pm; 085 22382), is one of the country's more popular courses -
perhaps because the ball flies 10 percent further at this altitude. Green fees $10, caddy $5,
club and shoe rental available.
Internet
Net Star (daily 8.30am-10pm), just off the Mandalay-Lashio rd near the town
centre, and Green Garden Internet Café (daily 7am-9pm) on Ziwaka St both offer internet
access for K400/hr. The latter also has free wi-fi if you buy a drink or snack.
Post office
Pyin Oo Lwin's post office is tucked away down a side street, just south of
Golden Triangle
café.
Kyaukme
Amajortea-andgem-dealingtownformanyyears,
KYAUKME
isarelativelywealthylittle
place. With a lively market, several hilltop
pagodas
and a fragrant tea-trading quarter, it's an
engaging place to stay in its own right, but the main draw for visitors is the chance to get out
of town. The surrounding countryside, where the tea itself is grown, sees far fewer foreign-
ers than nearby Hsipaw, and offers plenty of brilliant opportunities to trek and motorbike to
incredibly friendly and remote
Palaung villages
, where you can stay overnight in bamboo-
built houses.
Kyaukme was an established
tea-dealing
centre well before the arrival of the British in the
1890s. Today, the tea warehouses are concentrated in a few blocks immediately southwest
of the railway station. The town beyond is dotted with characterful, peeling old buildings,
including a 1933
synagogue
on Paklu Street. The
main market
between Paklu Street and
Aung San Road is the centre of town life, attracting a mix of Shan, Bamar and Palaung cus-
tomers - the latter often in their traditional clothing.
