My husband and I visited Loikaw during our seventh trip to Myanmar in February 2016 and feel very fortunate that we were able to visit three different ethnic groups before it becomes overly touristed. It’s important to note that it is quite expensive to hire a guide and driver. Many thanks to all on the LPTT who provided helpful information prior to our trip. Here is an extensive report about our experience.
Transportation to and from Loikaw
We traveled to and from Nyaungshwe taking a local bus to and from Shwenyaung Junction. While in Nyaungshwe, we reserved seats on the Pa Oo Ya Da Nar bus by going to the office of the Golden Island Cottages (where we were sent after asking). The price was K15,000 each which was considerably more than the information we had read here and on tripadvisor. We understood that the bus started in Taungyi at 8 AM and we would catch it at Shwenyaung Junction at around 8:30 AM. Shortly after we arrived at Shwenyang Junction on the day of our trip to Loikaw, an empty mini-van arrived and the driver said it was for us. Except for one woman the driver knew and picked up enroute, we remained the only passengers. A little past Aungban, the driver asked if we wanted to visit a holy cave (somewhat like Pindaya). We thought that it was strange on a public bus to make a stop for touring, but we said yes and he took us through the entire Myin Ma Hti Cave (on the LP Guidebook Eastern Myanmar map but with no written description in the text) which was very interesting and worth a stop. He paid the cave’s foreigner’s’ fee of K1000 each for us. We then rode on until a lunch stop in Pin Laung. After lunch, we waited awhile. Another small bus full of passengers arrived and the driver of our mini-van said we needed to get on that bus for the rest of the trip and we needed to pay him the K30,000, which we did, and we traveled on to Loikaw.
On the return trip, our guide for the visits to the ethnic villages took us to the bus station so we could purchase bus tickets for the return trip. We paid K3,800 each with the GanDraWaDi bus that leaves at 6 AM for the 5-6 hour ride to Shwenyang Junction. This time the bus was full of passengers (not overfull!) and the entire floor was filled with boxes that were being transported to Taungyi (I presume) so we sat with our feet atop the boxes (although not uncomfortable).
We thought it was strange that the price difference between going and returning was so great. We don’t know if we were taken advantage of or not on the trip to Loikaw. Perhaps the first bus was like a private bus just for us. The names of the bus companies were exactly the names I had read about on-line prior to our trip.
Hotel
We stayed at Min Ma Haw Guesthouse and paid $45 (though a Myanmar travel agent in advance of our trip) for a large room that had a double bed and a single bed. As others have recommended, try to get room 201 or 202 if you want the nicer rooms. The shower was very good and the laundry services were cheap. The young gentleman at the desk in the morning and afternoon speaks English and was quite helpful.
Loikaw Sights
We walked from the Min Ma Haw Guesthouse to the center of Loikaw. We visited Taung Kwe Paya (the pagoda atop two mountains joined by a man-made bridge). We also saw the reclining Buddha near it and went to the market, too.
Guides
Based on recommendations, we emailed Clement Tysi (skysnow333@gmail.com) and negotiated prices with him for three days of guide services. He was not available on our third day but he arranged to have a friend who was a guide be our guide – Martino (Htay Aung) (khunaungpey@gmail.com). Both guides were excellent and we highly recommend them. They are both Kayan and speak the language and could communicate in the villages we visited. We negotiated all the fees with Clement by email in advance based on the price list he emailed to us. These fees are listed below.
We emailed copies of our passports and Myanmar visas in advance so that Clement could arrange the necessary permissions for us to visit the various tribes.
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