The mountain town of Kalaw is a lot like Ooty, Darjeeling and Dharamsala in India or Sapa in Vietnam - cold. But I really like these towns, they are so different from the rest of what ever country they're in. Locals who usually walk around in longyis or saris or rice picker hats wear wooly jumpers and bobble hats (even though its not that cold). The population is usually diverse due to their mountain and border locations - Kalaw is home to Nepali Gurkhas and Indian Muslims and Shiks - creating a friendly and welcoming community. The markets have stalls piled high with blankets - either floral or Winny The Pooh - and on every street there is a tea shop serving samosa and chai at low tables with little plastic stools.
Above: Fried street food, 10 cents a piece and always wih free tea
Above: Kalaw market
Alex and I arrange a trek with Sam himself from 'Sam's family trekking', who is no longer a guide himself, but is the man to go to if you want to do the popular trek to Inle Lake. For 30,000kyat ($30) we can go on a two day, one night trek including four meals, aaccommodation, a short boat trip, bag transfer (so we don't have to carry our big bags) an English speaking guide and a cook.
Above: Kalaw high street
Our big rucksacks are picked up from our hotel at seven in the morning and, after an amazing breakfast of fried eggs, toast, rice and beans, fruit salad, juice, coffee and churos (included wih our room), we head to Sams to meet the rest of our trekking group, as well as our guide and cook. We will be walking with a Dutch couple who approached us yesterday, wanting to split the cost of trek, a university student from the UK and a woman from Ireland who has been travelling for six months in India, Nepal, Thailand and Malaysia - just like us.
Our guide is an 18 year old Bamar (Burmese) boy called Sao who speaks good English and is going to university next year to study philosophy. He has been working as a trekking guide for two years. Our cook, Kin Kin, is 20 but looks very young. She is from a Danu village and speaks five languages -three tribal, Bamar and English.
Above: Sao and Kin Kin (wearind sandal wood paste sun cream)
The first day of the trek takes our group through farm land - not field after field of the same crop, like we get in the UK, but rice paddies next to peanut fields next to an orchard growing crabapples, gooseberries and avacados. Sao also points out aubergine, peppers, carrots, ginger, pomegranate, mint, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumbers, runner beans, tomatos and pumpkins and loads more. Having been closed off from the rest of the world for so longthe country was not able to rely on imports, and still grows eveything itseld. We also pass pigs, chickens and buffalo.
Above: Peanuts! I had no idea they grew underground!
Above: Huge avacados
The Lonely Planet describes the trek as a cultural experince and warns not to expect stunning vistas. We do pass through Shan, Pa-O and Danu villages but the scenery is definitely not disappointing. The rice paddies look like a paint colour chart - from forest green to mint to emerald to pea.
Above: Rice paddies - difficult to walk around.
Above: Ginger
Above: Chillies
After a stop in a traditional wooden house for lunch (noodles, surprise surprise, but they are delicious) and a quick nap we move away from farm land and start up-hill where the landscape becomes more wild and the sun becomes hotter. I get to that point where I just put my head down and keep going, step after step. In Burma women are expexted to dress modestly, so I'm wearing my leggings intended for New Zealand. I am very jealous of the men who are all in shorts. We make a brief diversion to avoid a snake, which leads us to a tree full of delicious figs (I didn't know I liked figs) and just as it starts to cool down we arrive in the village where we will be staying the night.
Above: Sao
Above: Pa-o village
From the little shop, which must exist just for the trekkers passing through, we all buy obscure packets of crisps and crackers, all of which are spicy and stale, to share on the porch of our bunk house. I find the loo block and the end of a field and have a lovely cold bucket shower before changing into my spare clothes, covering myself in mosquito spray and releasing my feet from my walking boots. Kin Kin cooks for hours making a delicious dinner of soup, rice, chicken, tofu, pretty much every vegetable we saw this morning and peanut brittle for pudding. By 20:30 we are all exhausted, full and ready for bed.
Above: Our room for the night
No comments:
Post a Comment