Myanmar – A trek in the mountains in Kalaw

Having had breakfast, I set off with my fellow travellers on an eighteen-kilometre trek around the hills and villages surrounding Kalaw. Each village is a unique community with its own traditions. As we walked, we talked learning more about each other. 

Our local guide took us to visit families growing veg and salad in their gardens. He explained that this could provide a useful income of up to $50 per week.

We continued a gentle incline up into the hills learning on the way about the local plants and the fact that ginger grows well in the area and can be an extremely profitable crop.  Despite the altitude and warnings to bring warm clothing the day quickly became very warm as we trekked past cultivated fields on the steep hills

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We eventually came to a village where people seemed relaxed and pleased to see us, as always in Myanmar the children are quick to smile and wave.  It turned out that our new very relaxed local friends were preparing for their son’s wedding the following day and were expecting 3000 guests!    (I would not have been as relaxed as they seemed)  Interestingly, marriages in this area are arranged with the bride in this case coming from a neighbouring village. At the back of the traditional house we were shown an open-air kitchen where cooking for the wedding the following day had just begun.

As we left the houses to walk towards a monastery we noticed many people from the local area in the distance widening the path that wrapped its way around the hill on its way to the Buddhist monastery.  As we eventually arrived at the impressive community endeavour the children smiled at us and we negotiated our way past the enthusiastic path widening, conducted with simple but effective tools by men, women, the young and the old.  After waiting for a minor avalanche of vegetation and soil to travel from above our location to below, caused by some over enthusiastic bush removing, we finally arrived at the monastery.

The monastery we were told is unique in its design and surrounded by Buddha trees. There is a local custom of the Monk keeping a record of daily events and when he is replaced his record is stored in a small building.  We were shown traditional decorations which serve a dual purpose of recording the population numbers in the area.  The guide explains that until the 1970s people lived in long smoke filled houses which unfortunately were not great for health and the children particularly suffered from respiratory problems.  Eventually younger people chose to build smaller houses establishing thriving communities in the local area.

We trekked on in the mid-day heat up a steep incline that my legs were coping with but my lungs were not as my breathing became more audible as I puffed and panted my way up the slope, uninvited the tune “only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun” was playing over and over in my head. I spent 5 minutes trying to remember where this comes from helpfully taking my mind off the increasing effort required in walking up hill.  For those who are interested it is from a song written by Noel Coward who wrote the song while driving from Hanoi to Saigon.

Finally, over 10 kilometers into our walk we arrive at our lunch stop which is a mixture of salad and chicken dishes. After about an hour we set off downhill back towards town as we chat we lose track of the distance and too soon we are back at our hotel.  Energized by the first 18 Kilometers some of us decide to climb the 200 hundred plus steps to a local monastery to take in the stunning view of Kalaw below.