Hupin Nyaung Shwe Inle Lake

... de l'Anapurna al Nepal que se suposa que dura 14 a 16 dies. A mi el tercer dia se m'ha fet ja molt pesat i aixo que era practicament tot de baixada.

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I decide to leave behind the heat and the dozens of pagodas for a while and head to the hill station of Kalaw where I will start a three day trek (18 + 22 + 15 km) that is going to take me to Inle Lake. I contract the services of a professional guide, Harry Singh, in order not to get lost with ...

Chan Chan taught us some cat related words. I wrote them out how they sound, so are not likely spelled correctly. Min-yawn (meow) and U-wan (cat). I woke up at 6 am. I slept for 12 hours and feel like I was brand new again! Chan Chan met us after breakfast at 8:30. 2 guys took our bags on a trishaw to the dock while we walked with Chan Chan through the town. The seats on the long tail boat look comfortable. The chairs have backs and cushions. There are even life ...

Inle Lake is a good place for relaxation. I spent there two and half days. Most tourists, if not all, stay at the nearby village called Nyaungshwe. It is a good starting point for all trips. In the village is a small market, mostly busy in the morning, and several shabby looking pagodas. I took a one day bike trip ...

... and a half or so in the dark with flashlights. We ended up walking a total of 16 km on day one. The highlight of the entire week was the time at the monastery. The monastery was in the valley of the mountains and the temperature dropped quite drastically. It was a lot colder than we were expecting it to be and a lot cooler that during the day. We arrived and shortly had dinner made (a cook traveled with us along with a guide). Our cook made lentil bean soup, cold tomato salad ...

... passed a lot of locals on the way and a great watering hole for lots of buffaloes. We walked quickly and were determined to finish the trek. We sat down upon arriving at the lake for our first meal not prepared by our cook, needless to say we already missed his services. We then stepped into the extremely long boat, prepared with comfortable chairs and sun umbrellas for our trip across the lake. It was a beautiful ride ...

... in an interesting method using their feet, this place really is, for lack of a better word, like a modern day Atlantis. Of course, using the phrase 'modern day' to describe anything in Burma should be taken with a grain of salt, but that's how people here have lived for several generations. Our experience in this region started with the much recommended trek from a neighboring mountain town called Kalaw. The trek goes through extremely scenic Burmese mountain villages and farmland, areas ...

... settled into our floating bungelow palace, we soaked in the views. The background, blue sky, gorgeous mountains and a placid lake. The foreground, locals paddling by in their canoes all waving and smiling at us. We were in HEAVEN! This is probably our favorite place we have ever stayed. Oh yeah, and did we mention that we had the best guide ever! We will refer to him only as Super Guide or SG but he's the best. From the start not only was his English excellent, but he ...

... Nyuangshwe. Star Flower restaurant in Nyuangshwe makes a delightful mojito from fresh mint grown in their garden. The second day I alternated between riding a bike and resting and reading in the cool shade. I rode out towards the hot springs and then turned around when it seemed the torrential downpour might never stop. I worried that I would have to walk the bike all the way back if the roads became any muddier. Instead the ...

... sure thing is that they are being rapidly reduced. The worst thing is that the money from this irreplacable natural resource isn't going to the Burmese people but to the Generals and the Chinese. We also passed quite a few road gangs grading the road. They were equipped with virtually no machinery and were reduced to bashing boulders with sledgehammers. Whether these were forced labourers who knows, but by all accounts forced labour is quite common in Burma. After a few more hours we ...

Our luggage retrieved and a last night spent at the Royal, we left early for Mandalay airport and flew to Heho, air gateway to Inle Lake. Finally - a relatively late model Camry with working A/C for the ride to Nyaungshwe, the major town near the lake. The trip is listed as just 11 km., but seems to take forever on the poor, crowded roads. We checked in to the Gold Star Hotel and went out in search of a Mr. Atun to see about a trek into ...