Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Aged 4WDs can be hired from the
stand
on the north side of the palace site. A day hire,
taking in the sites within the confines of our map, should cost about K38,000.
BICYCLE
Bicycles can be hired from the
shop
(per day K2000;
7am-5pm)
south of the bridge
leading to the central market.
CHIN STATE
Hilly, sparsely populated and severely lacking infrastructure, Chin State is also one of
Myanmar's remotest, least developed and - according to the United Nations Develop-
ment Programme - poorest states. The state shares a border with Bangladesh and India,
and in addition to the eponymous Chin, a Tibeto-Burman group who have largely adop-
ted Christianity and who constitute approximately half of the population, it is home to
several obscure hill tribes and a relatively small Burmese contingent.
WORTH A TRIP
CHIN VILLAGES
An interesting contrast to the temples at Mrauk U is a day trip to the Chin villages
along the Lemro River.
These boat trips don't reach Chin State, but seven or so of the traditional Chin
villages along this stretch of the river have dwindling contingencies of elderly wo-
men who have tattooed faces, a Chin practice that ended a couple of generations
ago.
You may feel ambivalent about taking their photos but the women we met didn't
seem to mind posing, having made a conscious decision to use their unique and
soon-to-disappear looks as a way of attracting tourists and earning money for the
betterment of their communities. Simple handicrafts are sold in the villages and
without tourist donations (you should plan on donating school supplies, medicine
or a few thousand kyat) it's highly unlikely that remote, impoverished villages such
as
Pan Paun
would have a new school building, let alone salaries for the teachers
who work there.
In addition to the Chin villages, there's the busy morning market at the village of
Pan Mraung
.
Typical trips, which the Regional Guides Society - Mrauk U (
Click here
)
or your
hotel can help arrange, include a half-hour car transfer to the jetty, an approxim-
ately two-hour boat trip upstream, and an hour or so at a couple of villages. Car
transfer will run about K38,000 and the boat another K48,000. You'll also need a
