Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Thu Kha Hotel
HOTEL $$$
( 062-23077; Myoma Rd; r $35-75; )
New in 2013, this hotel is the smartest in
Pakokku with a warm welcome to match. The spacious rooms include wooden floors,
flat screen TVs and contemporary bathrooms, a rare species in this town. There is no lift,
so rates drop on the higher floors. Breakfast included.
Ho Pin Myanmar Traditional Cuisine
BURMESE $
( 062-22979; 2 St, 11 Quarter; set meals K3500)
Recommended by Bagan residents in the
know who regularly travel to Pakokku on shopping runs, the Ho Pin prides itself on 'flair
and care'. The kitchen is reassuringly visible to diners and hearty Burmese set meals are
served up to a transient crowd. Clean bathrooms round things off.
Getting There & Away
Minibuses shuttle to and from Bagan (K2000, one hour) and Monywa (K3000, three
hours), leaving regularly from the corner of Tinda and Aung Taw Mu sts. From the main
bus station on Myoma Rd there are three services daily to Mandalay (K6000, seven
hours).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Monywa
071 / POPULATION C180,000
Like its neighbour Mandalay, a visit to Monywa is not really about the town itself, but a
series of interesting attractions in the surrounding countryside. Pronounced in two syl-
lables (mon-ywa), Monywa is an engaging trade town that makes a sensible stopping
point when looping north between Bagan and Mandalay. The town itself is big, hot and
flat, with relatively little to see beyond the markets and the pleasant Chindwin riverside
setting, though two large, central pagoda complexes,
Shwezigon Paya
and
Su Taung
Pye Zedi
are well worth a wander. It is also an embarkation point for the adventurous
few who boat-hop the Chindwin to newly permit-free towns to the north.
