Adding to this, in anticipation of the tourism explosion the pundits keep promising, the town is undergoing a building boom, with, we were told, five new hotels under construction in late 2013. This construction brings with it more racket and more dust plus piles of refuse and building materials dotted across the centre of town. The town is riverside but sadly, the riverside setting is under utilised in Hsipaw.

All of this probably isn’t going to have you itching to pack your bags, but that’s okay, because the real attraction here is not the town so much as its surrounds. As with Kalaw further south on the Shan Plateau, Hsipaw is a developing trekking centre, with travellers coming to do one-day, two-day or three-day treks into the surrounds. Some minor points of interest include temples and stupas to the south of town and the Shan Palace—the one "must-see" in downtown Hsipaw. And it should be said that while we were not overly taken with Hsipaw itself, we talked to a lot of travellers who really loved it.

Most guesthouses can assist with organising a guided trek, through Lily Home and Mr Charles (the owners are siblings) lead the pack in this regard. Due to time constraints (and a lack of people silly enough to want to do a three-day trek) we were unable to do a trek in Hsipaw, but we talked to travellers who had trekked in Hsipaw and done the Kalaw to Inle trek and opinions were that Hsipaw offered a similar level of difficulty but a more "untouched" ... Travelfish members only (Full text is around 400 words.)