Mingalaba

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Well some time has passed and we are still loving Myanmar! One thing I don't love, however, is the tech take over... There are literally no Internet cafes and one is expected to have a wifi operating device and well I just don't want to be that connected while traveling. So I complain, but here I am typing a travel blog on my phone, to the sound of a monk chanting at a nearby monastery.

Back to the good stuff - so we spent some time in a lovely little mountain town called Kalaw. We walked around the town, through the local market, up the surrounding hills to viewpoints and to the nearby temples and monasteries. It rained off and on for the two days we spent there, but we still really enjoyed the clean, crisp air and green mountain surroundings.

We left Kalaw after 2 nights and headed out on a 3 day/2 night trek through the jungles and villages to Inle Lake. What a visually stunning walk that was! So many views of green hills dotted with golden pagodas and the occasional village. We passed a lot of farm land and local people. We watched a fiercely competitive game of flip flop flinging in one village and exchanged mingalabas and smiles with lots of local people. Compared to other treks we have done, I would say this was one of the most authentic. We arrived at villages in the evenings for home stays and there was no big show put on for our benefit, no attempts to sell us things and not a single child asking for money or candy. I really hope it stays that way! The food we are was local food, all freshly prepared with local ingredients purchased en route - we had some amazing spreads of curry, vegetable and soup dishes. we slept both nights on padded mats on the floors of homes beneath the altars to Buddha. Not only was our trek incredibly beautiful in so many ways, it was also very entertaining thanks to the sometimes ankle deep, slippery, sticky mud. We both had quite a few slips and 1 good fall each and laughed the whole way. We arrived at Inle Lake on the third day dirty from mud, stinky from lack of shower and really pleased with the whole experience.

After finishing the trek, we took a local boat to Nyaung Shwe, the town closest to the lake and really the only place with tourist amenities. Tonight is our 3rd and final night here and we have really enjoyed our stay. For the duration of our time here we have had the constant background noise of monks reading their prayers - quite a lovely sound in my opinion. We have eaten some delicious food at hole in the wall spots and have enjoyed cold beer and chips on our front porch in the evenings. Yesterday we rented bikes and went all over the area surrounding Nyaung Shwe. We decided to treat ourselves to a quite expensive (for penny pinching traveler standards) soak in some local hot springs. Wow, that was amazing, four pools, different temperatures from warm to scalding, set in a stunning location. After that we biked around a bit more, eventually consulting our map and figuring out we were not quite where we thought and after asking a few local people we headed back in the right direction. Next stop, Red Mountain Winery. Yep, a winery in Myanmar. We expected it to be awful and it did not disappoint. Andrew described his glass of locally grown Cabernet Sauvignon as tasting like the smell one often encounters in Asia of pungent burning heaps of garbage. Mmmmmm....delicious. After we savoured our last sips, we biked a bit more. We ended our day watching local guys loading and unloading their boats in the nearby canal, totally in awe of the weight the boats and the backs of the porters supported. Today we did a boat trip around the lake, taking in the scenery, villages, floating gardens and temples. As is typical with most tourist oriented things we had to smile and feign interest in some 'very authentic' craftsman shops but we were not hassled to buy anything, which made it all fine. We got to be celebrities for the day as well, taking pictures with lots of excited young people at a couple of the temples we visited. I actually enjoy this for a couple of reasons: I like the attention, it gives us a good story to tell and also it makes me feel less weird about taking pictures of local people.

Well that's a long update and my thumbs are tired. Hope everyone is well. Congratulations Janna and Tim on the birth of Aris and happy birthday Ray!

Alyssa and Andrew

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Photos

Trek - Day 1
Flip flop fling contest spectators.

Trek - Day 1
Vibrant dahlias everywhere!

Trek - Day 2
Who wants to try planting rice? You will get very muddy...I immediately volunteered.

Trek - Day 2
I think I did a good job.

Trek - Day 2
Pa'o women

Trek - Day 3
Fearless leaders.

Trek - Day 3
Guide, cook, 2 Americans and 3 Belgians. Fun group.

Comments

[Dave]

Love the pictures
Great pictures and stories Alyssa and Andrew.. Have fun!! Dad

[Johnny]

photos, food, fun
Well, the world is changing. I never would have believed wifi in the backcountry of Burma. Alas, the 21st century marches on. I am amazed at your journey into the depths of the forest of another country!? Do you speak the language? Or are smiles and sign language enough? Easy to see life is good when I note the bright red toenail polish! Onwards!!!