R & R in Hsipaw, June 5-7 2015

After a "delightful" 14 hour night bus (15,500 kyat) from Nyaung Shwe (Inle lake), we arrived early morning at the laid-back riverside town of Hsipaw in Shan state, and were picked up from the bus stop by a free service offered by Mr. Charles Hotel. When we arrived at the guesthouse we splurged a bit on a nice room with the hefty price tag of 30$ per night (including breakfast) although they have cheaper options including dorms.

After settling in we enjoyed the huge buffet breakfast provided by the hotel, serving a wide variety of dishes including eggs, fried rice, pancakes, and Shan noodle soup. Happy and full we decided to brave the heat and took a walk to Myauk Myo neighborhood in the north of town, accompanied by our favorite travel buddy Liron and a new friend Dimitri from France. We visited what locals call "Little Bagan" which does not do justice to the name (not even if it was called very very little Bagan), but the few old and dilapidated brick stupas that comprise the area have a certain eerie charm, specifically the ones that seem to have been taken over by trees. There are also two teak monasteries in the neighborhood, we visited the one housing a bamboo Buddha.

Situated in a charming garden near "Little Bagan" is  Mrs. Popcorn's restaurant, a pleasant place to relax from the scorching heat and drink a lemon nana drink or sample tasty Israeli and Burmese dishes. On the other end of town you can find Mr. Food that that serves Chinese food including a traditional delicacy called "1000 year egg" ordered bravely by the adventurous Liron. Let's just say its an acquired taste. Joining the other Misters and Misses of Hsipaw is Mr. Shake offering refreshing fruit shakes, you can choose from their suggested combination or make your own. 

Trekking or cycling to nearby villages seem to be the popular activities in Hsipaw and we originally planned to do something like that, but considering the heat and the trek we just did in Kalaw we decided to pass and just relaxed for most of our short stay in Hsipaw. We did however go watch the sunset from Thein Daung Pagoda, also called Sunset Hill which was nice, and also visited the local market in the morning, though if you're up for it- it is supposed to be more impressive and interesting around 5 am. We left Hsipaw heading to the city of Mandalay, our last stop in Myanmar.