Kakku

You'll have to go from Taunggyi. You will also have to hire a guide from Taunggyi. The guide fee was perhaps $10 (I don't recall exactly.) The guides are all Pa-O as Kekku is a Pa-O Pagoda.

Is it worth it? That depends on you more than the the pagoda. For me it is worth it. Then again, I enjoy spending time in Taunggyi as well.

market day is great in Taungyyi, very affluent also if you are there between 19th and 24th Nov don't miss the balloon festival

It was the highlight of my trip. I did it from Nyaung Shwe. Hotel will phone CIG centre in advance for a guide (which you must have ... do ask for Marlar!) and taxi stops to pick up the guide and your pass. I left at 8am and was back by 5 or 6pm. It was market day in Taungyyi and actually one of my favourite markets.

I have copied the info from my original report ....

Highlight of my holiday was Kakku. Came back to do this 4 weeks later. An extraordinary place. Please don't miss it! Over 5000 intricately carved stupa. Paid $45 for a taxi via Taunggi where you have to pick up a Pa-O guide before driving on to Kakku. You also have to pay $3 entrance fee and $5 for the guide. Someone had told me that Taunggi wasn't worth a day trip but I totally disagree. It is a university town, met lots of students from there, has a great everyday market and the weekly market was wonderful. My guide was Marlar who speaks wonderful English ans has a great sense of humour. (Well woth asking for her to be your guide but do this in advance through your hotel or taxi driver). She also has a degree
in Chemistry. Her husband is a garlic dealer but has a degree in physics and she bought
along a student guide who is currently studying law!

The Pa-o people are incredibly organised and forward thinking and changed my perception of things. The area only opened up to the public 6 years ago and the road wad built 4 years ago. They built and own 2 resorts on the lake and the CIG centre in Taunggi. They seem to operate very democratically .... a leader for every 10 houses and then village leaders and a very wise leader at the top who negotiates with the government. Other groups seem to resent their wealth. I gather surrendering their arms 6 years ago lets them live tax free but someone might know differently. (For sure they will!) Anyway they are managing to send lots of their group to university and Marlar gives English lessons for no money.

Yeah, the Pa-O are the garlic kings of Myanmar. They eat a lot of it as well. And if you befriend any Pa-O, you might very well get a sack of garlic to tote around with you.

And I sure agree about the Taunggyi market. I remember a couple of things: first, the most magnificent strawberries I have ever had (be SURE to wash them very carefully in bottled water) and some incredible soup greens which were picked wild in the hills around Taunggyi.

Kekku is very worth seeing, but bypassing Taunggyi just to see it would be a shame.