Visited January 2019 by Marieke & Jon
In Kalaw, the traditional hours of 3 pm check-in and 11 am check-out are ignored. Most guests arrive in Myanmar’s most popular trekking destination exactly as we did, exhausted from a sleepless night on a winding bus, desperate for a bed that is not moving.
A Change in Climate
Walking into our hotel’s dining room and seeing people in puffy jackets, hats and full-length trousers seemed strange after almost 2 weeks in South East Asia. The climate in Kalaw is nothing like the humid heat of the south. The air is crisp and cool during the late evening and early morning, and a drier heat dominates the afternoon. Knowing that we would only spend a handful of days in the cool throughout our 3-month trip, we had not packed much in the way of warm
Within a minute of arriving, our host set us up with breakfast while we waited for the previous night’s guests to check-out. The majority of travelers in Kalaw were there for the same reason as us, to start the multi-day trek to Inle Lake. Treks begin early, which means guests are usually out of their rooms by 8 am. By 9 am we were already sleeping the day away under a thick duvet cover.
Our original plan was to begin the trek the following day and go for the three-day / two-night option. I, however, was not feeling well and a visit to the local doctor revealed that I had Bronchitis. Luckily the antibiotics and cough suppressant and doctor’s fees only came to $6. I was told to take it easy so we signed up for the two-day / one-night trek and gave ourselves an extra day to wander around Kalaw.
During our downtime, Jon took the opportunity to visit the barber and got a $1 haircut. We both agreed it was one of the best haircuts he has ever had. We also took a walk to the outskirts of town to visit the religious caves. I had wandered into a public toilet en route and saw my favorite sign of the trip. I was expecting a dirty squat toilet, instead, I found the cleanest bathroom in Myanmar. It had western toilets and in the stall was a sign that read: “There is a 10,000 Kyat fine for anyone caught washing their dirty feet in the clean toilet”. While it would never have occurred to me to do this, I could see why others would.
Feeling slightly better after two nights of rest, we showed up at Uncle Sam Trekking to meet our group. The place was packed with trekkers. It was by far the most foreigners we had seen on our trip so far. Our big bags were tagged for delivery to our hotel in Nyaungshwe, the Lake’s main town, and we waited in the crowd to be assigned to our guide.
THE TREK
Our guide was a very sweet girl in her early 20s. While she did answer any questions we had, she was generally quite quiet. This did not matter so much since our group of six, made up of 2 Brazilians, 2 Icelanders and us (all couples) had lots to talk about. Her ability to produce avocado salads and mouth-watering curries and noodle dishes throughout the trip more than made up for her quiet nature.
The first day we trekked for roughly 18km. While it started off cool, it grew hotter as the day progressed. Fortunately, the path was an easy one to walk. Our first stop was for tea with an elderly woman weaving textiles for sale at the local markets. We moved on, walking past massive squares of harvested red chilies drying in the sun, then along train tracks and terraced rice fields. At one point, we even found ourselves in the the midst of a funeral.
The different trekking groups do not all sleep in the same village and each guide has their own path to the lake. So, despite there being hundreds of people trekking, we hardly saw any other groups on the first day.
We arrived late in the afternoon at our homestay. Worn out from the walk, we sat around playing
DAY 2
We had an early start the next day, getting up around six for breakfast and hot tea. The second day of trekking took us through 16km of varying scenes from bamboo forests to dusty dirt roads until we reached Inle Lake. On the final stretch of the trek, all groups funneled into the same path so our sense of having the countryside to ourselves was gone. Once we reached the end of the trek we took a stunning boat ride across the lake to Nyaungshwe where we said goodbye to our friends.
Exploring Inle Lake
We had two nights booked in Nyaungshwe and spent our first day exploring the lake with a personal boat driver. He took us to the various cottage industries including the silversmith, the lotus weavers, the boat builders and so on. At one spot a group of long neck women were weaving in a corner, displayed the way a museum exhibit would be set up. I won’t lie, it seemed a bit bizarre, but they genuinely wanted me to take their photo. The women insisted I take one with them, but I took a pass. They did seem sincere in their desire to be photographed and to chat so that made me feel a little better about the strange setup.
That evening we rented bikes and rode to the Red Mountain Estate Winery. We were happy to see the Brazilians from our trek, Tatiana and Rafael, sitting at a table. They invited us to sit with them and we took in the beautiful sunset paired with a bottle of Rose (The company was much better than the wine) before riding our bikes back in the dark.
The next day we had to kill time before our night bus, so we took our bikes out for a ride to the hot springs outside of town and enjoyed a lazy day of relaxation. It was a much-needed indulgence before a long night on the bus heading North to Hsipaw.
Trip Tips
PACKING LIST FOR TREK
If you do not have a warm jacket, pack in layers. Sweaters, hats and long sleeve shirts can be purchased at the market in Kalaw. The trekking company will drive your big bag to your final destination so you only need to pack the essentials.
- 2 T-shirts for trekking (the sun is strong so this is better than tank tops, plus it is more respectful for villagers) If you have a sports shirt that wicks away moisture, it is recommended.
- Long sleeve shirt
- Long trekking pants (girls should avoid shorts out of respect)
- Sneakers versus hiking boots are fine during the dry season (we were there in January)
- flip flops for washing up post-trek and quick runs to the bathroom
- Sweater
- Longs pants or leggings for sleeping in (I wore both my pairs of pants to bed to keep warm)
- Rain Jacket (It did not rain, but helped for layering without a real jacket, other people had professional trekking jackets with them)
- Quick-dry towel
- Hat (you can buy one in Kalaw for around $2)
- Yahtzee or cards for downtime after trekking
- Kobo if you find it hard to sleep early
- Back up battery for phone or camera
- Sunscreen
- Mosquito Spray
- Wet wipes
- Hand Sanitizer
- Toothbrush
- Phone / camera
- Headlamp
Where to Stay in Kalaw: We stayed at the Golden Kalaw Inn and would highly recommend it. The owner is almost always there are is very helpful with maps of the area. Rooms are clean and the beds are comfortable. Sunset from the roof is very nice. Early check-in is no problem here.
Where to Eat in Kalaw: Everest serves great Napali food and is usually packed with trekkers. Go a little early if you want a spot.
Trekking: Uncle Sam Trekking was a good choice. The food was excellent and the home stay was very good. After talking to people who did the 3-day trek, I think the 2-day trek is the better choice. The 3 day is a lot of uphill on the first day and you have to sleep in a monastery with somewhere between 50 – 100 people. We did not talk to a single person who enjoyed that experience.
Nyaungshwe: There is nothing special about this town. If you can find other places to stay on the lake that are outside of this town, I would recommend doing the extra research. I spoke to someone who did this and was really jealous of the serene location they described. If you have done the boat ride at the end of the trek and are not interested in seeing the cottage industries then don’t bother with booking a lake tour.P