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Shan
State Myanmar, Shan Burma, Shan chin, Shan
hill,
Shan State Myanmar,
Shan river,
Shan state,
Shan Thai, asean Myanmar, Bagan
Myanmar
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The name Shan is not used among the people
themselves, and probably originates,
as do also Chin, and Kachin, Shan a common
Chinese term for hill-savage, or barbarian,
at Myanmar its Shan State where the Shan
live.
The Shan's call themselves Thai, meaning
'free', and remnants of their ethnic group
are spread right across east Asia, from
Canton to Assam the greatest single unit
being the Siamese or present day Thai's.
It is their singular passion for freedom
which has kept the Thais disunited. In
general, those peoples that remain in the
mountains reflect in their character the
physical division of their environment into
hills and valleys.
The smaller the tribe
the greater the freedom. These
republicans of south-eastern Asia sometimes
carried their democracy to a point where
there were no chiefs and not even a village
council, its little bit different at current
Shan State Myanmar but not so much
different.
Only when they are driven by some invader
from their valleys, and forced down into
the plains as were the Siamese or Thai
can they be united, and prepared for
civilization.
From Bagan to Inle Lake - Shan State- .
Pick-up
trucks going direct to Naungshwe, Shan State, the
drop-off point for Inle leave Bagan at 4
am. They pick up passengers at Nyaung |
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Oo
before making the run for Meiktila. Dawn
breaks just before the stop at Kyaukpadaung
for breakfast. At 6:30 am the journey
resumes. Kyet-mauktaung dam lies six to
eight kilometers to the north.
The
topography, flora and fauna, now
familiar from our journey to Shan State greet us again.
A brief halt to stretch our legs and take
tea at Meiktila at
8 am, and once again we are on our way.
Crossing the bridge we get a good view of
the wide Meiktila Lake, with the long wooden
foot bridge leading out a good 100 meters or
more to the Yay Le Phaya or
Pagoda-in-the-waters. We head east
towards the southern Shan State hills.
Large rain trees line the road and
the flat land is wet and green with
young paddy. Even summer paddy has
become a reality in some dry zone
areas where adequate irrigation
facilities have been developed. Soon htanaung, tamarind and toddy palms
appear. A large reservoir brimming
with water lies to our right and
shortly after the 14 mile leg of the
journey to Thazi, we come upon the
railway junction where the main
Yangon-Mandalay line
branches off to Shwenyaung.
East bound once
again, the road to Shan State gets bumpier, the
countryside remains flat with a few bushes,
stunted trees, cacti, goats and cattle. |
Shan State ox cart Myanmar |
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A
signboard informs one and all in bold
painted letters that the considerable extent
of water on our right is the Hnget Min Kone
dam.
Mulberry, cotton plants and rain trees
are
close by with small clumps of medium-sized
trees further in the distance.
The southern
Shan State hills loom through the mist ahead,
about an hour out of Meiktila.
Presently the
road ascends ever so slightly and then
flattens again. Htanaung and rain trees are
no longer present. Instead we see clumps of
bamboo and plum trees beside the road.
We
climb once more to the Shan State plateau, the gradient is not steep
but we are now definitely in the foothills
with the hillside rising just above to our
right and the ground to the left dropping
some six to nine meters. More bamboo forests
appear with smaller trees with darker green
interspersed on the hills. The road becomes
even for some distance then rises again on a
steeper gradient. Our car reaches Yinmabin
where we take lunch. |
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Shan State, the red tree Myanmar |
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The journey through Shan State onward
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is a continuous ascent
with only a few short stretches of even
road. Forests of dry leafless, medium-sized
trees and thorn forests fill the hillsides.
The vegetation is greener, the trees larger
with denser foliage as we advance. Small
hamlets in valleys and lowland along the
wayside look fresh and verdant with banana,
coconut, mango and other trees.
The road
to Shan State takes many hazardous twists and turns as it
winds uphill, sometimes on the left,
then on the right side of the adjoining
hill, with steep cliffs or wooded hillsides
towering first on one side of the road and
then the other. Away from the cliffs are
deep valleys with dry stream beds or with
water trickling down the hills. Misty green
wooded hills at times seem to pop out on one
side with others coming into sight ahead.
Tiny settlements with cultivated patches on
flat stretches are more frequent logs piled
by the roadside indicate we are in a logging
area.
Shan State Myanmar or Burma Novitiation
Procession |
Shan State Myanmar or Burma Festival
Announcement |
Shan Sate Myanmar or Burma Hill Peasants daily
live |
Shan State Myanmar or Burma Peasants Boys and
Buffalo |
Shan State Myanmar or Burma Hill Cultivator |
Shan State Myanmar or Burma Coach |
Shan State Myanmar or Burma Rural Ox Cart
Transportation |
Shan State Myanmar or Burma Transportation
Pick Up Toyota |
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Shan State in Myanmar or Burma, is one of the main timber production regions
for commercially valuable hardwood such as
teak, padauk (Pterocarpus macrocarpus),
pyinkado (Xylia dolabriformis), (Dipterocarpus
tuberculatus), Ingyin (Pentacme siamensis),
Thitya (Shorea oblongifolia) and pyinma
(Lagerstroemia speciosa).
There are a few hairpin turns
towards Shan State with low
concrete guard walls at the most dangerous
spots. Traffic is fairly heavy —ubiquitous
Japanese pick-up trucks with roof-top
passengers, buses, trucks, vans, saloon
cars, government vehicles, coaches and quite
a number of bowsers — both on the up and
down runs. Vehicles on the downhill route
stop well in advance to allow ample time and
space for those coming up to safely
negotiate difficult passages. The same rule
is applied at bridges.
Shan people with
colorful dresses are around,
we really enjoy our drive to
Inle
Lake.
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Shan State People at Sagar near
Inle
Lake
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Shan State farmer Myanmar or Burma |
We are beyond Pyinyaung
— another centre for
transshipment of timber — and are now at an
altitude of about 610 meters.
The scenery
at Shan State is
pleasant, the surroundings are lush and
green, the air is cooler and the rays of the
sun struggling through the mists bear down
more gently.
A decided contrast to that
phase of our trip below an elevation of 300
meters. A hairpin turn and soon our truck
passes Wetphyuyit, between mileposts 61 and
62, negotiates another uphill hairpin bend
and then rolls through Yay-ywa. Both are
large villages, the latter within eight
kilometers of Kalaw. |
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Soon we enter Kalaw, a
popular Shan State hill resort during British days, 112
kilometers from Meiktila and 70
kilometers
west of Taungyi. Located on the western edge
of the Shan State Plateau at an elevation of 1,300 metres, this small, peaceful town feels cool
and pleasant even at noon in dry season.
Small pines appear on the landscape
with a few hills not far off and we
notice ducks and water buffaloes
which we have not seen for some
time.
This is a favorite tourist stop,
the starting point for
hikes to nearby Palaung, Padaung or
Kayan villages
through pine woods, orchards and
bamboo groves. The terrain is now
flat and the road passes through
beautiful country.
At
Shan State has a temperate climate,
ideal to fruits
such as pears, peaches and oranges
in addition to rice, tea, wheat, soya beans, groundnuts, tobacco,
potatoes, garlic, sunflower seeds
and dried green cordia leaves used
as cheroot wrappers.
Lake
Inle and Pindaya are the main
attractions at Shan State, great
tourist destinations which should be
on the travel plan on every Myanmar
trip. The Pindaya cave pagodas are a
prime pilgrim destination for
Myanmar people, check it out !
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Padaung, Palaung or Kayan
villages
Shan State Myanmar at Lake
Inle |
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Pindaya Caves and Shan
Umbrellas made from Shan
Paper
Some 10 kilometres on lies Aungban, a
popular stopping place at Shan State. Shortly before we
get there, a road branches north from the
main road in the direction of the small town
of Pindaya 41 kilometres away where the
Pindaya Caves are located. |
Cave Buddha Images |
Pindaya Cave Buddha Shan
state Myanmar or Burma |
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The
Pindaya
caves contain thousands of Buddha images
in a limestone ridge overlooking lovely Boutaloke Lake and are a Shan State tourist
attraction.
Nearby the Shan
State paper is
manufactured, made from mulberry bark and
mainly used to produce the pretty umbrellas,
a other place in
Myanmar where
beautiful umbrellas
are made is Pathein
or Bassein. |
Manufacturing
pretty umbrellas with
handmade Shan paper |
Pretty
umbrella and small Shan girl
Myanmar or Burma |
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Pindaya Cave
limestone ridge
overlooking lovely
Boutaloke Lake Shan
State Myanmar or Burma |
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Pindaya Caves Pagoda at Shan
State Myanmar
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Buddha Statues at a Shan
State Temple |
Buddhist Temple
at Shan State Myanmar
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We continue in an easterly direction from
Aungban to Heho, the nearest airport for Taungyi and Inlay, then to Shwenyaung. Here,
the eleven kilometer road to Naungshwe and
Inle turns off to the south while the main
road leads to Taungyi. The land around is
wet, flat and green with paddy cultivation
in progress. Duck, water buffaloes and
egrets abound.
At Lake Inle
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The Nankand canal from Shwenyaung to Inle
Lake parallels the road on the east. Lead
and eucalyptus trees, orange blooms of gold
mohur, red clusters of flame of the forest
and a profusion of red and white
bougainvillaea greet us as we motor to the
principal lake town Naungshwe, one kilometre
from the north end of Inle. This is the jump
off point for excursions around the famed
lake.
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What you can find on this page:
Naungshwe , Inle Lake, Nyaung Oo, Meiktila,
topography, flora, fauna, Meiktila Lake, Yay Le Phaya, Pagoda-in-the-waters,
mulberry, cotton plants, rain trees, southern Shan hills, htanaung,
tamarind, toddy palms, teak, padauk (Pterocarpus macrocarpus), pyinkado (Xylia
dolabriformis), (Dipterocarpus tuberculatus), Ingyin (Pentacme, siamensis), Thitya (Shorea oblongifolia) and
pyinma (Lagerstroemia speciosa), Pyinyaung, timber, Kalaw, Meiktila,
Taungyi, Palaung, Aungban, Pindaya Caves, Buddha images, Boutaloke
Lake, Nankand canal, Shwenyaung, Inle Lake parallels the road on the east.
Lead and eucalyptus trees, orange blooms of gold mohur, red clusters of
flame of the forest, bougainvillaea, Naungshwe.
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