Most people go to Kalaw for the well-known trek to Inle Lake, a popular destination in Burma. It's a fairly popular route, considering the small number of tourists that Burma sees annually. I read about trekking the (personally preferred) path-less-traveled further north in Hsipaw (pronounced Sipaw) but I wanted to trek and time was of the essence making Kalaw the best option. I realize this is yet another tragedy of life: Wait, what? I have to choose amongst the amazing places to explore?, but such is life :)
This doesn't meant Kalaw or the trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake was any less worthy, because as you read on, I hope you see it as fantastically as I did. Despite my use of the word touristy, let me preface that the visual associated with that term in Burma is drastically different from that of any other place I've been in SE Asia. During our trek, we were just a few folks in the fields amongst the farmers. Since writing about Burma I've used the expression 'peaceful and serene' quite a bit and I'm using it again for Kalaw and the trek beyond, because that's exactly what it was.
Marjie didn't trek with us because, as she likes to say "This (as she motions to her body), does not trek!" Luckily, Tanya the cool Canadian we met in Yangon was in Kalaw and would take the train with Marj to Inle Lake, where we'd meet up at the end of our trek. Thus far, the bus rides from this country were mundane, however Marjie sat next to a nice Japanese guy, Nicky, who likes to trek, making the duo of Paul and I a welcomed trio.
Upon arrival, we quickly found the guesthouse recommended by Tanya, Eastern Paradise, based on the deliciously large breakfast served every morning (clearly Tanya has her priorities straight). Paul, Nicky and I immediately set out on search of a trek for the following day. We had 2 choices to make: 2 or 3 day trek? and, what company? The first place we went to, on the recommendation of Lonely Planet, was closed. Carrying on we approached Ever Smile, also recommended by LP, so we went on in.
It was here we were welcomed by Thu Thu (pronounced Toto) and her 2 children in their early teens, with smiles that melted my heart. We met in Thu Thu's home, also serving as home to her business, not uncommon in SE Asia. I'm no guru but I do know a thing or two about gender-related issues in SE Asia, and I can assure you that women are not treated or viewed equally. So, the fact that Thu Thu was managing her own company and acting tour guide, was impressive. I soon learned everything about this woman was impressive. Her husband died 9 months ago and was running the business and her family on her own. She was honest, unpretentious and true from the beginning - simply refreshing to be around. She also cut up some mangoes for us, and I love anybody who feeds me. After a couple of minutes of chatting, I looked at the guys with a look that said "we have to go with her!". No convincing necessary as they shared the same look!
After speaking with Thu Thu about the trek options, we chose the 2 day trek with an overnight stay at a Buddhist Monastery - this would be the first time sleeping in such accommodations for all 3 of us. Excited, we went home to pack and rose the next morning to fuel up on the awesomely large and delicious breakfast that Tanya spoke of (she was delightfully right!), said good-bye to Marj and Tanya, and were off.
Because we chose the 2-day route, a taxi dropped us off at the start point in a small farming village. We soon learned that the "trek" was more of a walk, set amongst aesthetically amazing landscape. The dirt, a deep, rich, rusty red color contrasted against the green, grassy hills, made for quite the sight. I must've exclaimed "This dirt is unbelievable!" about a million times....who would have ever thought dirt could make such an impact! The dirt was not the only impressive factor, as there were clearly some good agricultural practices being used. We walked amongst beautiful, significant crop-producing fields, potato being the most prominent. Running through a bit of the land was a still existing railway built by the Brits - I guess they left something positive behind ;)
This trek may have been light on hills but it was heavy on the culture, just 1 of the aweomse aspects of this walk. Thu Thu shared a childhood story of a village fire induced by fighting causing everybody to flee, leaving everything behind. Her family walked all night and arrived in Kalaw, where Thu Thu remained alongside her Aunt until present day. Sadly, the fighting still exists. About one month prior to our arrival, Buddhist monks were burning mosques in the same region, causing many Muslims to flee. Thu Thu's sister still lives in their childhood village and opened her home to those who'd fled the fighting. This was very dangerous as checks were made, home to home, to determine if anybody was protecting Muslims. Luckily, they didn't get caught. Sound hauntingly familiar? Yes, it does....a little too much like history repeating itself.
"Break time" was announced in one of the ethnic minority villages of this region, Padaung. The women of the tribes wear brightly colored head scarves - an array of pinks, reds, oranges - each tribe distinguished by a different color. We were seated on a low, wooden bench where grandma served us peanuts, tea and vegetable curry with rice. Some of the neighbors came by to check us out and were impressed with our appetites and lack of fear in eating the local food. With this, grandma extended the invite for us to sleep over any time we were in her village which was very generous and quite common to SE Asians. I actually would have loved to stay with her, even for a night - the things we would have learned. Grandma showed us her weaving skills as she sat on a low stool and hand-wove on a traditional, wooden "machine", for lack of a more accurate word. She was weaving a satchel bag, a common product amongst the tribes.
A little segway visit at the local elementary school, we saw one story school with rooms divided by cement walls. Each grade consisted of 8-15 students and all taught and taken care of by one teacher. And teachers in the western world think they have it bad! Thu Thu explained that teachers receive such a small salary from the government, barely enough to live off of, leaving little incentive to become a teacher.
"Lunch time" - I was loving the announcements made by Thu Thu, who alternates employing villagers to provide meals during her treks to give all an opportunity for income. The man who made our lunch of vegetarian noodles, was very generous in his helpings. Stuffed and tired, nobody hesitated when Thu Thu announced "nap time" after lunch!
Continuing on after lunch at an easy pace, Thu Thu at the back of our single file line, suddenly exclaimed "SNAKE!" This caught our attention and as we all turned around we got a good view of a snake about 4 feet long. Paul asked Thu Thu what would happen if one of us had been bitten and she answered "5 minutes after a bite, you die". Paul followed up with google only to learn that Burma "is home to 52 venomous species of snakes – more than any other country in the world" (that was verbatim from Paul's blog post....thanks, man). So the lesson learned here is don't get bitten by a snake in Burma.
Each break was "just a break for 5 minutes" and 45 minutes later we were still on break, eating snacks and chatting away. Thu Thu was just so full of knowledge and beyond willing to share; during afternoon break, over sunflower seeds, we got a run-down of the healthcare system and the many NGO's in the country providing health support. Super interesting, but too much to get into here.
The last 15 minutes of the days walk became a bit damp - Paul, always prepared for a pickle, offered me a poncho or an umbrella. I've never been one for a poncho (they make me so hot) so I took the umbrella and thank God I did. Let me preface by stating that backpacking isn't all glitz and glamour folks, as some may believe. In a hurry, or simply forgotten, that poncho hadn't been aired out since the last sweaty rainfall. It smelt awful, and I give Paul cred for wearing it anyway.
At the monastery, we met the one monk living there for over 30 years. He had a stroke a few years ago and is now paralyzed on one side. Locals take care of him but because he can't teach or take care of anything, this monastery is no longer a home and school to young monks, as it once was.
Once settled in to our humble abode, the 3 of us made our way down for dinner....or shall I say feast. Thu Thu had prepared dinner fit for a village: 11 different dishes, 10 of them vegetarian, along with rice and lentil soup. We couldn't fit it all on the table! We hung out for a few hours (btw: Nicky was a really interesting guy; 34 years old and already had been to 60 countries) staying out of the company of another group of trekkers staying there. This group of Americans had gotten a reputation amongst the Burmese guides on the trail from their partying the night before. They carried their partying ways to the monastery that night as well, quite disrespectful in this setting. Anybody who knows me knows that I love to party with the best of them, but there's a time and place for it. I wouldn't place Buddhist monastery amongst them. Therefore, we chose to keep our party to 3, with the main beverage being hot tea.
We woke up to another royal meal, packed up and paid a visit to the monk to say thank you and to make a small donation to the monastery. He answered a few questions I had as I was curious about the differences between Burmese and Thai Buddhism. The last few months at my village temple in Thailand, it had become a bit of a trend to go to Burma to study, making this visit additionally interesting. The most striking difference to me is that women can touch the monks in Burma, unlike Thailand where women cannot and must sit below them while speaking to them. It was nice to be eye level with him and to touch his hand while he blessed us.
A bit more hilly terrain with more of a "trek" atmosphere, we walked for half the day and got to see more of Burmese every day life. I think it's fascinating that traditional farming methods, including ox/cow carts to till the fields, are still being used. Much more laborious, but much more culturally cool. I also find the clothing in Burma fabulous. Longyi's, a long wrap-around skirt garment a bit like a sarong, is worn by both men and women everywhere, while doing anything. Holding on to culture is a beautiful thing.
At the end of the trek was a restaurant where we ate lunch and waited for a family who would be joining us on our boat ride up Inle Lake. While waiting, we shared a beer and watched the restaurant staff play dta-kraw (they even play sports with the Longyi). It had been a nice 2 days but I was looking forward to the boat ride to the Northern part of Inle Lake to spend the last night with Marjie, before she made her way to Bangkok, en route to Seattle.
Time was flying by too quickly.
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