Myanmar - Lake Inle

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David here...

We were picked up from our guesthouse at 08:30 as expected. I expected to be picked up by mini-van, so was a little shocked as he had arrived by bike. They never mentioned this at A1 Tour services when we booked. Anyway, we were to leave our bags to be picked up later to be taken to the start on the back of motorbikes. I've never been any good on the back of a bike, never knowing when to lean, how to hold on properly so I was a little apprehensive. Anyway, all was going well until we were going up a hill and the gears broke on the bike I was on. No issue, the second bike with Suzanne on it would come back for me. I like to think it was not my bulk, but the broken bike rejoined us as we were setting off.

Our start point was a guesthouse on the outskirts of town where we registered and paid our guide, Paul (his anglicized name), the remaining balance. As we had a full group of 6 people, the cost was $52 each, which included everything except the Inle entry fee ($10 each). The inclusions were the luggage drop off, lunch, dinner and breakfast for the 3 days trekking and the boat trip into Nyaung Shwe at the end of the trek. At the guesthouse we met the other 4 members of the group. The other people we would be spending the next 52 or so hours together without a break. We were a little worried about who we might end up with however we were extremely lucky. We had Erik and Agnes from The Netherlands and Pie and Charlie from Twickenham. We set off and immediately we were all chatting about our travels, plans and general crap that people talk about. Our guide was brilliant, answering questions, pointing out things of interest and also asking questions of us about where we come from and English phrases, which he made a note of on his phone. The first part of the trek flew by. The scenery was astounding the whole way round. I'm not going to describe each thing we saw, hopefully the pictures will show just how amazing the countryside and views were.

The first lunch stop was at Viewpoint where we had chapatis and dhal with as much fruit as you could shake a stick at. The first beers were opened, a common theme during the trek, and the conversation between the group flowed naturally. Obviously the scenery was stunning at a place called Viewpoint but if I'm honest, I was enjoying the group conversation, food and beer more. While we were there there was a tap on my shoulder and there was the guy who wanted his picture taken with me at the previous evenings festival. It turned out he was a guide in the Kalaw area, spotted me and came to say hello. He took a couple more pictures before saying goodbye and leaving us to our lunch.

We trekked right through the afternoon into early evening before arriving at our first local homestay. We would be sleeping together, on a raised wooden platform on matresses, each with a number of blankets to keep us comfortable and warm. Erik was shocked to learn that he only had one mattress as he had been told he would have 3, something we would keep referring to throughout the trek. Toilets were basic and the shower was a screened off area with a huge tub of water and a pail to wet yourself with. A few of the group used the shower before the sun went fully down and it was too cold, Pie spotting a little peeping Tom as she showered. Dinner was curries and rice with more fruit and the beer bucket was soon empty and then subsequently refilled. We would have to pay for beer as we went round as that was not included but even in these remote places the cost was the same as shops and bars everywhere else, so you never felt ripped off. The evening continued much as the first day had, with lots of laughter and conversation before we all settled down to bed at 21:45. The usual thing happened when a group of friends settle down to sleep, we were all giggling like school kids and there was many funny moments that will remain in our memories (intimate moments and Sir Trumpalot). Eventually the lights went off and we all settled down to sleep...except that the family next door were always talking, moving about or answering phones. At one point a phone alarm went off to keep us all awake.

Despite walking around 24km the first day, none of us had much sleep. We were either too cold or it was too noisy or we were just not comfortable. But actually that was ok, it just added to the adventure. We were all up at 07:00 for breakfast, which consisted of rice and fried eggs. There was also coffee available, a godsend for all of us. After getting ready we set off for another full day of walking through amazing countryside. The first period was over 4 hours and was a long, hard slog before lunch. Again, spirits were high and the conversation flowed as people walked together.

Lunch was in a family home where we were sat on the floor and were served noodles with eggs and again, all the fruit in the world. It is worth mentioning at this point that the chef was with us for the whole trek, scootering along to each stop in advance to organise the food for the group. This guy was a whizz, along with our guide, they were both as much a part of our group as the people who paid to do the trek. The chef also knows how to make a mean guacamole which was brought out as part of the lunch. Within one go round the table the whole massive bowl was gone.

After lunch we actually had time for a nap. We thought Paul was joking but we had over an hour so even though we all scoffed at the idea we all did actually lie down and doze until it was time to complete the remaining 2 hours of that day. Before arriving at our homestay we stopped off at a little place with tables and chairs outside and we all bought beers. I asked about buying whiskey as the previous evening Pie and Charlie shared out their remaining rum and whiskey supplies. The shop owner fished under his bed and brought out a blue and black label bottle of Grand Regal, one was 2,000 kyat and one was 3,000 kyat. Both the shop keeper and the tour guide seemed shocked when I bought both. There was 6 of us after all.

We arrived at the second homestay and this time we were upstairs sleeping on bamboo flooring, which made us think it would be more comfortable but we were wrong. Most people showered before settling down to dinner, which again was curries and rice and tons of fruit. This time we had banana flambe as a dessert, the single light being covered up as the chef lit the rice wine. The evening was much like the one before, with lots of beer and whiskey and lots of laughter and conversation. Erik had to show off his amazingly bright torch, which became a conversation point for the rest of the trip. Again, we were all settled in bed for 22:00. This time the family were in the room next to us but had to come through where we were to get to the only stairs down, so throughout the night there were people walking through where we were. At 22:55 the same alarm as the night before went off. After about a minute Paul came running in from another building, apologising and collected his phone. We later found out that he sets it to pick his sister up in the evenings from nightschool when not on treks. She is 14 years old and is hoping to become an engineer.

The next morning Pie got us all up, telling us that the chef had breakfast ready. The village was cold and covered with mist. Breakfast was chocolate pancakes and (again) all the fruit in the world. Once ready we continued the trek, another 4 hours until we hit our lunch spot. The conversation had turned more now to parts of body that ached as we walked, with one particular area of mud and rocks really slowing us down as it was so slippy. We arrived at the lunch spot and could choose what we wanted to eat from noodles, rice or noodle soup. This all came with every fruit known to mankind. I do not think I've ever eaten this much fruit in my life. The conversation was starting to get a little more subdued as we realised the trek was coming to an end. We'd walked over 60km together, spent 2 evenings chatting and we had become a close group of friends and it was coming to an end. But we weren't going our separate ways without a final fling. We all agreed to meet up that evening for drinks and a meal. The meet up spot would be Kuang Kuang bar in Nyaung Shwe. Paul showed us to our boat into town where we all profusely thanked both him and the chef for their wonderful assistance on the trek before getting into the boat for the hour trip on the lake.

The lake trip was wonderful, speeding through little water channels before they opened out into the lake proper. The scenery was stunning and the boat trip exhilarating. Once in town we all went our own way to our respective hotels, safe in the knowledge that we would see each other again that evening.

The trek was fairly easy in terms of terrain, only a few spots were tough, either due to rocks or due to having to climb hills. By the end our feet and legs were aching and we both had blisters. It was a tough walk purely in terms of distance. However we will look back on the trek as one of the best things we've ever done in all our years of travelling. We worried that we might end up in a group of cockwombles or even worse, Americans (I am joking...some Americans are lovely). We really lucked out with the group we got. We had such a good time with Erik, Agnes, Pie and Charlie, laughing all the way round, sharing travelling stories, moaning about other travellers (Italians singing on the route, oblivious to all around them) and just being stupid at times. It felt like we were with people we'd known as friends for years and we really cannot thank them enough for making the trek such a standout memory for us. We do hope we get to see them all in the future.

We were staying at the Yar Pyae hotel and were greeted with a welcome drink before being taken to a cupboard under the stairs to retrieve our luggage from the many that had arrived that day for people on the treks, relieved to find both our bags safe and sound. Our room was a bit dated but clean, spacious and comfortable. It was excellent to find a really good shower and we were both looking forward to getting properly clean. However we wanted to get online and make sure that all was O.K. in the world and to get the latest Southampton score so we tried the wi-fi first only to find issues with it and when it did work, like the majority of Myanmar it is almost unusable most of the time. Never mind, we had the shower to look forward to. We had had to wait 25 minutes for the boiler to heat up and just as I was about to go for a shower, there was a power cut which lasted about 45 minutes, another feature of Myanmar. Once power was restored I finally got a shower and it was wonderful. Suzanne followed and we relaxed until it was time to head out to meet everyone at Kuang Kuang. We arrived to find Erik and Agnes already there, having arrived 2 hours earlier for a couple of drinks and to do some research on where they were going next on their travels. Pie and Charlie followed us in and soon we all had ice cold draft beers and the conversation was flowing.

We moved on after another round of beers and decided on the Chillax bar, which we renamed the Mandalay Cafe (as chillax is NOT a real word). The food was O.K. and the beer nice and it was great to be in each others company. Erik and Agnes then decided to head back to their hotel, being a little further out of town whereas Pie, Charlie and ourselves went for one more drink at Ginki before we also went back to our hotels, with the promise of staying in touch.

The next morning we headed down to breakfast, which was alright, standard fare before asking at the hotel reception about onward travel to Bagan the next day. We were told that the mini-van leaves at 07:30, with a pick up from the hotel at 07:00 to the bus station and would arrive at Bagan at 17:00 in the evening. As we had already booked a hotel and the price, at 12,000 kyat, was reasonable we booked pretty much straight away as our only other options were flying or getting a night bus, forfeiting the first night stay we'd already booked. With that sorted, we hired bikes for the day at $1 each and proceeded to cycle round the first part of the lake.

Lake Inle can be cycled round in a day however after our trekking that felt a bit much so we headed south to the village of Khaung Daing where there is supposed to be a ferry across to the village of Maing Thauk. The hotel bikes were old, uncomfortable and barely functional but it was still good fun cycling along the roads, taking in the scenery and enjoying the fresh air. Despite the traffic it did feel like the other road users were careful round us and we never felt in danger at all. We got to the area of the first village and really struggled to find any ferry of any kind. Down at the lakeside we asked a few people who could not help so we decided to head back the way we had come. As we got back to the main road, we were stopped by a man who asked us if we wanted to go to the other side of the lake. We said we did but only at the right price. We had read that the going rate was 6,000 kyat so were surprised when he quoted 10,000. We said 6,000 and he said 7,000. Suzanne then said no, let's just cycle back when he relented and said 6,000 was fine. Go us with our negotiating, good cop, bad cop routine. Anyway we were led to a little dock, loaded onto a small boat and whisked across the lake.

The journey took about 20 minutes and was good fun. Boat travel is turning into a real highlight for us on this trip. Anyway, once unloaded we made our way along the massive wooden jetty into town, where we heard someone agreeing to pay 8,000 for the journey across, only 2,000 more than us but we felt proud of the price we negotiated. Once at the main road we spotted lots of signs for the lake boat service, turns out most people do the boat across in the opposite direction. This makes no sense as the main reason to hire a bike and cycle is to visit the Red Mountain Winery, which you would arrive at too early if you go round the 'normal' way. So off we cycled to the winery and a little way along we bumped into Pie and Charlie going in the opposite direction. They had already been to the winery but only ate there as it was too early to start drinking really, thus justifying our thinking. We shared our stories of the boat price and journey and they let us know about the winery before we said farewell and tootled onwards.

We reached the winery, locked the bikes up and proceeded up to the restaurant and wine tasting area which are separate from each other. We did the wine tasting first which was 5,000 kyat per person to try 2 white and 2 red wines from their cellar. You also get little pieces of bread and cheese to have inbetween each glass of wine. It was all very tasty and felt sophisticated, drinking wine in the sun. We then had pasta dishes in the restaurant (tasty enough but not amazing) where we also shared a bottle of Muscat Sec which was lovely. It was then a short 3km cycle back to our hotel where we dropped the bikes off, despite Suzanne wanting to cycle further, to relax before heading out in the evening.

Sensible us kicked in and we decided against having a drink at the rooftop terrace at our hotel and headed straight out for tea at the recommended Inle Hut for Indian food. As we were unable to access wi-fi again we only had a rough idea of where it was, so hoped we might see some signs. This meant we wandered round a lot longer than we should before stumbling across the place. There were no tables available and as we were deciding what to do Charlie and Pie showed up. We decided to wait for a table for all of us and discussed our days.

Eventually a table became free and we sat down to eat. The conversation flowed easily, unlike the service in the restaurant which was extremely slow. This was down to the owner struggling to keep up with demand due to food disasters earlier. To be honest, he was a little eccentric and over the top, we actually thought he might be on something. Finally we ordered and then got beer and after a while our food came out and it was delicious. Between us we had butter chicken, chicken korma, saag aloo, a free chefs special dhal and lots of bread and rice. It really was one of the better meals we'd had so far on this trip. Once our 2nd beers were done we paid up the bill, with came to 27,000 kyat (£16.50 per couple), and then walked back to our hotel, saying our final goodbyes to Pie and Charlie. It was great to see them one last time. Once back at the hotel we packed up ready for an early start the next day and settled down to bed.

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