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The Shan state is located on the eastern side
of Myanmar bordering Thailand, Laos and China.
It is a mountainous country with many different
ethnic peoples living within its boundaries. The
easiest places for the tourists to visit are located
in the southern part of the state where the usual
entry point by air is Heho. Some places close
to Thailand, Laos and China can also be visited.
Destinations
Inle Lake Inlay Lake The prime
attraction of Shan State is Inle Lake; located
about 30 km south of Taunggyi. This vast, picturesque
lake, surrounded by hazy blue mountains, is 900
metres above sea-level. It is 22 km long and 10
km wide with floating islands. Inle Lake is famous
for its Inthas (native lake-dwellers) with a unique
way of rowing with their legs and a colourful
floating market. At the northern end of the lake
is Nyaungshwe, a small town 27 km from Taunggyi;
and gate-way to the Inle Lake.
Catholic cathedral and
the Roman Catholic Mission occupy a large
compound on the west side of Kentung town and
are worth a look see.
Cheroot Factory Flying Tiger Mashua
on a side street south of the Myodaw Cinema in
Taunggyi makes for an interesting stop. If you
have never seen how tobacco is hand-rolled this
is a must see. The technique is impressive, and
cheroot bundlers are able to bunch 50 cheroots
in bundles without counting the individual cigars-they
judge simply by feel.
Ethnographic Museum can be found
in Taunggyi which has a small exhibit devoted
to the many tribes of the Shan State which is
worth stopping at, as although it is small it
is quite interesting.
Muse is at the border with the
People's Republic of China. It serves as a border
point where people and goods cross, other than
that there is nothing of any real interest to
tourists in the area.
Nawng Tung Lake, located in Kentung
is circled by a paved sidewalk and is nice for
late afternoon strolls especially around sunset
time while staying in the area.
Padalin Cave On 9 January 1969
a Myanmar archaeological expedition excavated
the Padahlin Cave and yielded a horde of artefacts
and other finds. Innumerable stone implements,
hundreds of animal bone fragments, a few human
fossils, shells of land molluscs, charcoal pieces,
mounds of clay, etc were discovered. The most
important find though were the cave paintings
which are unique and well worth seeing. |
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