Three-day trekking from Inle Lake to Kalaw
Three-day trekking from Inle Lake to Kalaw is only 43 km to walk (see the map). Starting from a short boat trip on Inle Lake, we visited few floating villages and experience daily lives of local inhabitants.
There are three different trekking routs between Inle lake and Kalaw. During a first day we have 7 hours hiking including an hour lunch break. By the way the local food was one of the best I had in Asia. On the beginning we go through the bamboo wood, we see many buffaloes lazy submerged in a yet running river.
Three-day trekking from Inle Lake to Kalaw
While hiking up we see only empty riverbeds and dry out waterfalls. The guide shows us holes in bamboo trees made by people looking for food – white larvae living inside the tree. On the evening we reach our village where we have some rest and sleep in one of the local family house.
The place is charming. The monastery is located in the central part of the village, we take a walk on the evening watching local people working. We meet some other people doing trekking. But everyone travels from Kalaw to the direction of Inle lake not like us the other way going up all the time.
That’s why it was so difficult to find a companion. I was looking for three days and finally found one English guy. The prices of the trekkings are quite high, especially if you take the opposite way (I paid 60$).
Chew betel!
Our guide is a very nice guy speaking good English. I try betel the commonly chewed thing in Myanmar. They put sliced bettel nuts, limon juice and some tobacco in piper leaf. Many people having stuffed all their mouth with those leaves. Sometimes they can barely talk 🙂 Only spit all the time. It was very delicious but little spicy. You’re suppose to delicate chew it and never swallow the saliva.
The chemical reaction between betel and saliva makes your mouth bloody. The teeth are stained a reddish-black, dyed from years of chewing betel. Not after few tries of course so I can chew with impunity, although it’s hard to breath and hike. During the night the temperature drops to 4-5 degrees, it’s really cold but they give us warm blankets. The cat chooses my floor bed, so I have additional heat.
When I uncover him by mistake during the night he miaows loudly. 🙂 On the second day we hike again. There are only three seasons in Myanmar. It’s winter now in February, may be that’s why the fluctuations of temperature between the day and night are so big.
The summer will start from March and the temperatures will increase above 40 degrees. After that there will come wet season. People intensively work in fields at this time using coaches with mountain cows, to do as much as possible before the heat season start prceding slippy roads and muddy fields when the rainfalls flood the area in wet season. On the third day we finally reach Kalaw. This is very nice city but I guess it’s enough to stay for one day.
