With relief, we left the frying pan
that is the plain of Bagan for the cooler climates of Pyin Oo Lwin.
The town was used by the British as its summer capital, thanks to its
higher elevation. It did not disappoint us either, when we finally
got cold at night. The center is rather small and standard, but it's
the old colonial houses, their shaded plots of land and dainty
horse-led carriages that reminded us of the old charm. We side
tripped to a nearby Dat Taw Gyaik waterfall. A 45 minute hike down
revealed not some drizzle of water but a sight as few we've seen:
huge columns of water dropped from a greenery of the jungle into
pools of aqua water. The freezing water allowed for a swim that
lasted all of a minute, but the beauty of the waterfall was
jaw-droppingly breathtaking, even more so since it was unexpected.
What a treat. We ended the day with some deliciously sweet
strawberries, bought from a roadside stall.
Eating local style for less than $1
P buying a longyi
Pretty, no?
We were informed, repeatedly, that
train travel in Burma is an interesting experience, so, just for the
sake of first-hand knowledge, we forked over the government fee,
ahem.. train ticket money for ordinary class, and set off for a ride
from Pyin Oo Lwin to Kyaukme. And boy, were we in for a spin. A
helpful local parked us and our baggage on some wooden benches, and
hurried to help some women, seemingly headed to a market, with some
of their “luggage”, i.e. huge baskets of strawberries, flowers,
wicker goodies... all that was missing were some chickens running
around the aisle. As wheels started turning with the usual hissing
sounds, some locals temporarily closed the windows on one side of
their train. Puzzled, we quickly found out why, as streams of water
from a hose sprayed into the wagon. Happy New Year! - here
celebrated with a water festival. At least it felt nice on a hot
day. As the train picked up speed, the wagons, each with a life of
its own and like some insane carousel from hell, started jumping up,
down and sideways, as if competing which goes further. For five
hours, at maybe 25 mph, probably double the travel time when compared
to a bus, as some tracts were unstable and the driver had to proceed
cautiously. Proved helpful, especially when we went over a deep
gorge. But the atmosphere inside was cheerful, no English but smiles
all around. The whole wagonful of people was gesticulating and
helping us when we almost got off at the wrong station. It's
experiences like this – this connection with the locals – that
make backpacking so worthwhile.
While most people head to Hsipaw for
trekking, P dredged up some info on Kyaukme and its, as yet, mostly
undiscovered charms. The town has only one guest house licensed to
house foreigners, so choosing a hotel was easy (if not entirely
pleasant). Thura, our guide for the next few days (as we'd be
venturing into some mountainous areas which were restricted just a
few months ago) picked us up from the station. After negotiating our
arrangements, we set off the next morning on scooters to start our
communion with nature. Since it is the dry season, much of the
landscape carries a brownish tinge, vegetation looks starved for
water and the potted asphalt (sometimes) gives off a visibly
undulating wave of heat. Winding roads coated us in fine dust, but
the higher we climbed, the prettier it became. In places, flames of
fire peeked from behind hills, where locals set fire in accordance
with the astrological signs to clear out the dead brush. A bit
unnerving, especially when you find your hiking path blocked off.
We spent the first night with a family
in a Palaung tribe village, in a traditional wooden house. A quick
walk through the village earned us stares, curiosity and cries of
“anglec, anglec!” (English English! Oh man, the legacy carries
on). A man died shortly before our arrival and his family invited us
to the funereal celebrations. Interestingly, everyone was laughing.
Thura explained that they believe that when a person dies, especially
an older person, he or she continues, through the cycle of rebirth,
on to the next life, so there's no need for sorrow. Half the village
gathered for the celebration, to send off the man in style. Food and
rice wine galore.
Our "home" for first night
Charity, a beautiful concept in Buddhism
Palaung women
The next day, Thura improvised the
hike after our host family suggested a visit to its tea plantation –
tea picking is the main occupation of the area. I always bitched at
my commute to work in Chicago, but I have nothing on these people as
they run up and down mountain slopes to reach the location, with us
huffing and puffing (ok, that's me, P being better at this) to keep
up. Now there's a hike. We then spent a lazy morning, observing the
different lifestyle of these hard-working people and playing with the
kids. The father showed us part of the way to our next village,
since we didn't want to backtrack. And...we got lost. Hours of
marching got us to a Shan village, but not the one we intended. With
sunset around the corner, Thura found a family willing to host us for
the night. We slept... in a store, but the woman owner welcomed us
as if we were long lost family. A quick outside shower (more like a
pipe running from a water tank – I had to shower covered in a
borrowed longyi!) restored our energy. We spent the evening
entertaining the horde of kids (you'd be surprised how taking a photo
and showing it to them can cause peals of embarrassed but delighted
laughter) and using Thura as a translator and source of much valuable
information. The woman thus told us that she adopted two of the boys
after their parents died. The smaller one, not even two years old,
constantly followed her with an unnaturally sad face. We called him
the little old man. He broke our hearts – we've never seen such a
little child so detached. But then we haven't seen much of the
children of the developing world. We did what we could to make him
laugh in the short time we were there. I know he'll be on our minds
for a while.
Tea factory
Drying of green tea
Preparing tanaka, used on the face to prevent sunburn
Precious little old man
Agh, leeches
Thura modelling :)
We finished our hike back to the
scooters, grabbed our gear and left for town. In the evening, Thura
invited us out for beer, and we spent it trying to communicate with
his Chinese friend. What a character this one is, and what a life
story he has. Ex-soldier, in trouble with the Communist Party, he
left for a better life in Myanmar. Now he's a history teacher to the
Chinese community of Kyaukme and his appetite for knowledge (he was
asking us about Katyn!) is insatiable.
Since the Water Festival was looming
ahead, which meant interrupted transport service, we moved on early
next morning to Inle Lake in anticipation of the Burmese holiday.
Practical Information:
Grace Hotel 1 in Pyin Oo Lwin- $25 for
huge, recently upgraded fan room with en suite bathroom, free
breakfast and a leafy garden
Scooter rental for half day – 5,000
kyat
Train tickets for ordinary class to
Kyaukme - $2 each
A Yone Oo Guest House in Kyaukme - $18
for double room with shared bathrooms; room was fine, if on the
smaller side, pretty noisy and rudish service, but what do you
expected from the only foreigner licensed hotel in town
Guided 3 day tour with scooter into
mountain villages – 25,000 kyat per person per day, with all costs
included; we liked Thura and his guiding methods, so for contact info
check out http://thuratrips.page.tl/
