Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
placement pontoon. Both of these routes wind through fascinatingly stupa-speckled
Hantharwaddy Village.
Mandalay-Inwa Boat
For the first time in 2013-14, Nmai Kha ran a tourist-season ferry direct from Gawein
Jetty ($8 return, no extra charge for bicycles) leaving Mandalay at 12.30pm (one hour)
and returning from Sinkyone Fortress at 4pm (two hours). While giving only a limited
time in situ, it offers a great way of getting to/from Inwa by bicycle. Indeed for now, ar-
riving without a bike means a long walk to the main Inwa sites. Once the horse-cart car-
tel catches on to this boat service, however, doubtless carts will start meeting the boat.
The boat's return journey delightfully passes Sagaing's golden stupas at sunset.
Sagaing-Inwa Boat
Very rarely used by foreigners are the few daily longboat ferries to Sagaing from Apyin-
sanyar village (per person/boat K200/2000). They leave when full.
Getting Around
There are no taxis or motorbike taxis (unless you bring your own from Mandalay). The
most popular way to visit Inwa is by horse cart (one-/two-hour tours K6000/9000 for one
or two people). Dozens of carts await at Inwa's eastern jetty. As yet finding a horse cart
at Sinkyone is hit and miss. Horse-cart tours are a major part of the Inwa experience, car-
riages avoid noise pollution and create picturesque scenes along the tree-lined tracks.
However, cart drivers typically stick to a fairly fixed route so bringing your own bicycle
or motorbike from Mandalay can prove an attractive alternative if you want to explore
more thoroughly. Walking can prove uncomfortably sweaty.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Sagaing
072 / POPULATION C40,000
As you cross the Ayeyarwady on the busy new bridge, Sagaing's uncountable white-and-
gold stupas shimmer on waves of low green hills. No individual pagoda stands out as a
particular must-see, but taken together the whole scene is enthralling - like a hilly green
Bagan. A highlight is walking the (sometimes steep) covered stairways that lead magic-
ally past monasteries and nunneries, to viewpoints from which you can survey the river
and yet more stupas.
