Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
taurant marked with a diamond graphic is run by local character Sein Win who speaks
some English.
Getting There & Away
Southbound Katha-Mandalay express boats usually get here around 2pm, arriving at a
central jetty three minutes' walk north of Nondo Zedi. IWT river ferries stop here mid-
afternoon too. Pick-ups meet the boats and charge K500 for the 45-minute ride to Sh-
webo, where buses leave for Mandalay hourly (K2000, three hours).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Shwebo
075 / POPULATION C40,000
Between 1752 and 1755, the leader of little Moksobo village, Aung Zeya, revived
Burmese prestige by fighting off both Manipuri and Bago-Mon armies. Rebranding him-
self King Alaungpaya (or Alaungmintayagyi), his short reign transformed formerly ob-
scure Moksobo into glittering Shwebo ('Golden Leader'), which became, until his death
in 1760, the capital of a newly reunified Burma. These days, Shwebo makes relatively
little of its royal history and few foreign tourists bother making a special excursion to see
its recently reconstructed palace. However, if you're jumping off an Ayeyarwady ferry at
Kyaukmyaung, Shwebo makes a pleasant enough staging point from which to reach
Bagan (via Monywa and Pakokku) without returning to Mandalay. Shwebo is locally
famed for snakes and
thanakha
and some visitors consider it good luck to take home
some earth from 'Victory Land', as Shwebo has been known since Alaungpaya's time.
