Kengtung’s Vandalized Palace
By Shah Paung/Kengtung, Burma
June 01, 2007—Many visitors to the Kengtung New Hotel in Burma’s southern Shan State are surprised to learn that an early 20th century colonial-style building in the grounds was once the palace occupied by concubines of the ethnic Shan chieftains.
As I entered the deserted area around the building with a party of friends and started taking pictures of it, an elderly Kheun man doing some gardening came and greeted us, saying in Thai: “Sawasdee Krap.”
Explaining that he was the caretaker, he invited us to enter the building. The only furniture were some old chairs and tables, all in disrepair. Pictures of Shan chieftains, or sawbwas, hung on the walls.
The caretaker showed us pictures of the former royal palace, much of which was demolished and rebuilt as the Kengtung New Hotel, and old family photographs.
The palace was demolished in 1991, over the protests of local people. It had served as the administrative center of the largest and most powerful of 33 former Shan principalities, until the Shan sawbwas relinquished their powers in 1959. The palace became the property of the elected Shan State government, and then a victim of commercial development—its fine cupolas and arcades vanishing to make way for a five-star hotel.
“No one is interested in the palace now,” said our guide, sadly.
The palace of the concubines survived, the last of eight buildings that had to make way for the hotel, a four-story structure with 108 air-conditioned, luxuriously-appointed rooms. Its five-star facilities include a banqueting hall and swimming pool.
The reception staff demurred at first when I asked to take pictures, but then relented.
There appeared to be few guests, apart from some relaxing in the hotel lounge. I heard complaints about the service and the amenities. The water and electricity supply seemed to be erratic.
A two-tier room rate operates at the hotel, with local people paying no more than US $10 while foreigners are charged $24-48.
“Send me copies of the pictures you took, otherwise I will not let you visit again,” said the caretaker, half in joke, as we said our farewells. I didn’t tell him that I probably wouldn’t be back—at least, not to stay the hotel.
