-As of earlier this year (2024) it appears the current status of Myanmar has become dangerous and the advice is not to travel. Please check up to date travel advice before considering travel.- Day 1 We arrived in Kalaw at the ungodly hour of 2.30am. We had called ahead to the Eastern Paradise Hotel in Kalaw as we knew we would arrive at crazy o’clock so they would know we were coming. There was actually a man waiting at the bus stop for us from the hotel, he walked us through the eerily quiet and dark streets to the hotel. There we were met by a lady who just grabbed a key and took us straight to a room and told us to sleep and we would sort out everything tomorrow...brilliant! Day 2 The rooms here are fairly basic but this hotel is known for it’s amazing breakfasts and it did not disappoint, the food just kept on coming, there was fruit and coffee followed by what I can only describe as pieces of fried croissant, followed by rice with chickpeas, three pieces of toast each then finally eggs! Phew!! There is a decent internet cafe in town here, the wifi hasn’t been great in Myanmar so this was the ideal time to catch up on emails etc. The market here is good for browsing and picking up any essentials you need. We came across a great little restaurant here called Everest, which serves Nepalese food. It was welcoming, the food was super tasty with good (and safe) salads plus there was decent wifi, allowing us to Skype home. When you are in Kalaw you will notice the ridiculous amount of trekking companies, this is due to the infamous trek between Kalaw and Inle Lake, of course there are lots of different routes but whichever route you choose you are in for a treat. We spoke to a few companies and did lots of research on the internet but in the end we decided to book our trek with a company called Holiday, they are located on Union Road opposite the Winner Hotel. The trek we chose involved walking 55km over three days and cost $40USD each! That included all our meals for the three days, a place to sleep for the two nights on the road and an English speaking guide which we thought was really reasonable. Plus you leave your big bags with them and they drive them to the hotel in Inle Lake where the trek ends so you only have to take a small bag with you. Day 3 Our mega breakfast set us up nicely for our first day of trekking, this was our first ever trek, we had never done anything like this before so were not sure what to expect at all. We were put in a group with four other trekkers so it was a nice size group just the six of us and our guide Kapor. We were very lucky and it was a brilliant group of people, everyone got on well and it really helped to make the trip something special. Our guide was a lovely local guy who spoke good English and was able to tell us lots of interesting things not only about the walk but about the country, life, traditions etc it was so interesting. He also managed to walk the entire 55km in a pair of flip flops! The first day we walked 20km, it was blisteringly hot but it was so worth it, the views you get along the way are just incredible and every day we saw totally different scenery too which made it even more interesting, the route goes fairly off the beaten path which was what we wanted so it was great.
The incredible views on day 1 of the trek There is a cook who heads to the food stops on his motorbike ahead of the group so that when you get there he has already begun cooking which is great as you are always starving hungry. The food was good and tasty and mainly vegetarian which suited me perfectly. We passed endless fields of vibrant red chillies growing, herds of buffalo, kids getting water for their families, there is so much to see.
The endless fields of chillies
We passed lots of friendly buffalo on the way
The first night we slept at a Po An villagers house, it was a wooden hut on a hill side with a room separated from the rest of the house with lots of mattresses on the floor, this was our room. We took a walk around the village, there was lots of waving, everyone in Myanmar likes to wave it’s so lovely. Dinner was at the villager’s house and consisted of a few veggie curries, tofu and rice. The only odd bit was we were almost forced to go to bed at about 7pm, but being pretty exhausted none of us complained!
The cosy room where our whole group slept at the villagers house
Day 4 We were woken at about 6.20am by the family in the house, it had been surprisingly cold in the night too so it’s lucky they have these lovely thick blankets here in Myanmar! After a tasty breakfast of curried aubergines, chapattis and coffee we were back on the road. The most amazing mist had formed in the valley below us, it looked so magical and as we walked down the hill we walked straight into it, it was like another world.
The valley below was completely filled with mist
As we walked through the villages we noticed all the chillies that are laid out on plastic sheets drying in the sun, they are everywhere and it’s quite a sight. We met a lady who was drying her chillies outside her house, she's been doing it all her life and turned out to be 97 years old!
Villages filled with chillies drying in the sun
As the day went on the scenery changed dramatically from green to red as the earth below our feet changed colour to a coppery red. There was hardly any shade on day two of the trek and it got incredibly hot!
The scenery changed dramatically on day 2
The second night would be spent at a monastery which we were really intrigued about. We were sleeping in a huge room and all the mattresses were lined up against one wall. After trekking for two days we were feeling pretty grimy so were pleased to find out they had showers here...however all was not as I had hoped. The shower block was situated out the front of the monastery next to the road where the monks were playing football, it consisted of two concrete walls which are about 3 feet high with two troughs of freezing cold water. I got the ‘cubicle’ that faced the road which I think gave a lorry that went past a bit of an eyeful!
The room at the monastery where we spent the night
There was a shop up the road which sold supplies, it was basically someone’s house with a shelf of things which are for sale. After dinner back at the monastery and a few rounds of Uno with everyone it was time to head off to our makeshift monastery beds for the night. Day 5 The monks opened the shutters in the room at about 6am so we were up pretty early. Just up the hill from the monastery there was a big group of ladies who were all working on the road, they were building the road by hand...we were just so shocked. Some had gloves on, some didn’t and it was back breaking work, literally filling a bowl with rocks and laying them down on the road, apparently this is women’s work and men and women never work together in Myanmar. We helped the ladies for a bit all laying a few bowls of rocks, which they thought was quite funny.
The beautiful hard working women of Myanmar
Then as we got up to the top of the road we came across all the men who are breaking big rocks into smaller ones that the ladies can lay on the road, again all by hand with a huge sledge hammer thing. It was another scorching day with no shade but thankfully we arrived at our final destination around lunch time.
The landscaped changed again on the final day of the trek
The lunch was included (although drinks were not) it was tasty and a nice way for everyone to have a final sit down together. The final part of the journey is to jump in a boat which took us across Inle Lake, it was quite a boat ride and took about 90 minutes to get to where we were staying. At the hotel we were greeted by our big bags and a nice hot shower...a shower had literally never felt this good! The trek was honestly one of the best things I have ever done, it was tough and such a challenge but it was so worth it and I would totally recommend everyone do it, there is no need to walk fast or be strong, it’s very relaxed and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Just make sure you take lots of bug spray, sun cream and some items to cover up as that sun is strong out there. Basic language (written phonetically) Hello – Min-ga-la-ba Thank you – chei-zu-tin-bar-te or lots of people shorten it to chei-zu-bay KALAW TO INLE LAKE TREK TOP TIPS
- Pack light but make sure you have a hat, bug repellent, sun cream, mini UV Umbrella and clothing items to cover up from the sun - Make sure you pack a decent camera, you can get some amazing compact cameras, I also favour Sony cameras like this one. Try and take spare batteries for your camera as there is not really anywhere to charge things on the way - Research the trekking company and try to pick a route that isn't too touristic - Make sure you wear comfortable shoes, I swear by North Face Hedgehog shoes and always have a pair in my backpack NEXT STEPS - Book accommodation or look at options in Kalaw here
- Purchase the Lovely Planet for Myanmar here
