Coming all this way without visiting the archaeological sites would be inexplicable, but Hanlin village is a magical place in its own right. Unpaved ox-cart tracks link an incredible plethora of decaying old stupas that create the feeling of an untouched mini-Bagan. It's best appreciated when the area is viewed from behind Maung San Monastery with its obvious golden zedi .
Near the market is a collection of inscribed steles and stone slabs in now-forgotten Pyu script. Within the Nyaung Kobe Monastery , a museum room displays various ancient, but unlabelled, archaeological finds. Another minor attraction is the little hot spring area where villagers collect water from circular concrete-sided well-pools and bathe in two bigger basin-pools.
