Kalaw to Inle Lake, Myanmar
I arrived in Kalaw, Myanmar around 4 AM on Thursday (15 March) morning after a 15-hour bus ride from Yangon. The small town was understandably dead but fortunately someone helped me find a guesthouse close by and I didn't even get charged for a partial night even though I snoozed for about 5 hours after checking in. I really liked Kalaw. It was small, laid back town with really friendly people (actually everyone in Myanmar is really friendly). Just hung out there in Kalaw for a couple of days, enjoying the vibe. Because Kalaw is a 'hill station' town at an altitude of 1320-m (~5000-ft) the temperature was really nice and at night it was actually cool. I loved the weather there!
Friday (16 March) in Kalaw I tried to organize a trek. I had been planning to do a trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake, the next destination on my 'itinerary'. It typically takes 3 days and 2 nights to get there. I hadn't thought about the difficulty of finding others to do the trek with though, as there really weren't that many travelers in Kalaw, or at least I couldn't find them. I was begining to think I would have to nix the trek plan as it didn't sound much fun - not to mention more expensive - to go with just me and the guide. Fortunately I found a really good - and apparently popular - travel agent whom 2 other travelers were using for a trek to Inle Lake leaving the following morning and I could join them. Perfect. The price was $8/day which included all food, accomodation, and the guides. Not bad!
On Saturday (17 March) morning Laurent (France), Lieven (Belgium), Laurence (France), and myself headed off with our two guides, Gii and Soe, for the 3 day, ~45-km trek to Inle Lake. One more person had joined the group since I signed on so that made 4 of us. It was an amazing time. We passed through several villages filled with smiling people and lots of energetic, curious kids before staying for the night in a village home. The kids all along the trek absolutely loved seeing themselves on the screen of my digital cameras. Sometimes they would scream loudly with excitement over seeing their image (although I can't image they hadn't seen their image before like that). The village and homes were definitely not as rustic as some of the villages I stayed in Laos. Our guides cooked us up some fine meals along the way. It was a bit cold that night, and in fact I'm the only one who got any sleep I later found out, but I enjoyed the weather.
Sunday (18 March) we headed off early for a long day of hiking, passing through several more villages and absolutely beautiful landscapes with people tending their fields and animals as they probably have for centuries. Amazing! That evening we stayed at a monastery and there were a couple of other small groups of trekkers there. It was another fun night and our group really got along great. That is the first time I've slept in a monastery.
Monday (19 March) was really only a half day of hiking and we arrived at a village on the southwest corner of Inle Lake around lunch time. After lunch we took a small, canoe-like, motorized boat for about 1 hour to the northeast corner of Inle Lake and the village of Nyaung Shwe. The scenery would have been amazing had it not been for the thick haze hiding the mountains surrounding the lake. Nyaung Shwe was a nice little town too, although larger and busier than Kalaw and with a few more travelers. I decided to wait until the next day though before leaving the guesthouse to explore the town. The guesthouse was located right on the main canal that connects the town with the lake so the boat dropped us off literally right on the doorstep. We all stayed at the same guesthouse (less the guides who returned to Kalaw) and ate a fantastic dinner there that evening. Then we played some cards to cap off another fun night.
Tuesday (20 March) I went to go explore the town. There were a few more foriegners about - mostly package tourists - but I was still entertainment to a group of kids who found me sitting at the top of a small hill enjoying the view of the town. They really enjoyed seeing themselves on my digital camera screen. I found out this day that by arriving into town via boat from the hike avoided the entrance ticket counter to the Inle Lake area so I didn't have to pay the $3 fee that goes straight to the government. Score 1 more for me! Another dinner at the guesthouse followed that night less one of our trekking members who left earlier that day.
Wednesday (21 March) morning I woke up early (~4 AM) to catch my bus to Mandalay, Myanmar. Conveniently the bus stop was 11 km from town - which is located off the main road - so I had to catch a taxi there. 5000 kyats for the taxi, 6000 kyats for the fairly long bus ride!! The bus to Madalay was fairly uncomfortable, but at least it was only 10 hours long......
Friday (16 March) in Kalaw I tried to organize a trek. I had been planning to do a trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake, the next destination on my 'itinerary'. It typically takes 3 days and 2 nights to get there. I hadn't thought about the difficulty of finding others to do the trek with though, as there really weren't that many travelers in Kalaw, or at least I couldn't find them. I was begining to think I would have to nix the trek plan as it didn't sound much fun - not to mention more expensive - to go with just me and the guide. Fortunately I found a really good - and apparently popular - travel agent whom 2 other travelers were using for a trek to Inle Lake leaving the following morning and I could join them. Perfect. The price was $8/day which included all food, accomodation, and the guides. Not bad!
On Saturday (17 March) morning Laurent (France), Lieven (Belgium), Laurence (France), and myself headed off with our two guides, Gii and Soe, for the 3 day, ~45-km trek to Inle Lake. One more person had joined the group since I signed on so that made 4 of us. It was an amazing time. We passed through several villages filled with smiling people and lots of energetic, curious kids before staying for the night in a village home. The kids all along the trek absolutely loved seeing themselves on the screen of my digital cameras. Sometimes they would scream loudly with excitement over seeing their image (although I can't image they hadn't seen their image before like that). The village and homes were definitely not as rustic as some of the villages I stayed in Laos. Our guides cooked us up some fine meals along the way. It was a bit cold that night, and in fact I'm the only one who got any sleep I later found out, but I enjoyed the weather.
Sunday (18 March) we headed off early for a long day of hiking, passing through several more villages and absolutely beautiful landscapes with people tending their fields and animals as they probably have for centuries. Amazing! That evening we stayed at a monastery and there were a couple of other small groups of trekkers there. It was another fun night and our group really got along great. That is the first time I've slept in a monastery.
Monday (19 March) was really only a half day of hiking and we arrived at a village on the southwest corner of Inle Lake around lunch time. After lunch we took a small, canoe-like, motorized boat for about 1 hour to the northeast corner of Inle Lake and the village of Nyaung Shwe. The scenery would have been amazing had it not been for the thick haze hiding the mountains surrounding the lake. Nyaung Shwe was a nice little town too, although larger and busier than Kalaw and with a few more travelers. I decided to wait until the next day though before leaving the guesthouse to explore the town. The guesthouse was located right on the main canal that connects the town with the lake so the boat dropped us off literally right on the doorstep. We all stayed at the same guesthouse (less the guides who returned to Kalaw) and ate a fantastic dinner there that evening. Then we played some cards to cap off another fun night.
Tuesday (20 March) I went to go explore the town. There were a few more foriegners about - mostly package tourists - but I was still entertainment to a group of kids who found me sitting at the top of a small hill enjoying the view of the town. They really enjoyed seeing themselves on my digital camera screen. I found out this day that by arriving into town via boat from the hike avoided the entrance ticket counter to the Inle Lake area so I didn't have to pay the $3 fee that goes straight to the government. Score 1 more for me! Another dinner at the guesthouse followed that night less one of our trekking members who left earlier that day.
Wednesday (21 March) morning I woke up early (~4 AM) to catch my bus to Mandalay, Myanmar. Conveniently the bus stop was 11 km from town - which is located off the main road - so I had to catch a taxi there. 5000 kyats for the taxi, 6000 kyats for the fairly long bus ride!! The bus to Madalay was fairly uncomfortable, but at least it was only 10 hours long......
posted by Dustin at 8:44 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home