Hike from Kalaw to Inle Lake Day 1

Kalaw, a small town surrounded by hills situated Northeast of the capital Naypyitaw, is the starting point of a range of hikes to and around Inle Lake.
The amount of tour guides and small agencies that offer their services is remarkable.
I dropped by a small agency some days earlier and their offer for a two day hike seemed perfect -pick up and transfer to the starting point, transfer of our luggage to the boat station, full board, overnight stay at a family's place and a boat trip on Inle Lake and a group size of max. 6 people. We - a German girl and a Japanese/British guy I met in the beginning of my trip and I - then got picked up by the owner of the agency and our guide for the next days called "Star".
He turned out to be a real star during our trip.
A brother/sister team from Belgium who are also on a World trip and volunteering in different places joined us.
Already the transfer to the starting point of our hike was quite exciting already. We got onto the typical local taxi - a small truck with very simple benches at its load space, tarpaulin to protect from dust, wind and sun and grab handles to avoid that we would fall over on the bumpy roads. We drove by hilltop pagodas, through small villages and over fragile bridges.
After a 30 min. drive our hike started. It is dry season at the moment, which makes hiking on one hand a bit easier as the ground is solid, but also harder because of the hot temperature and dry air.
The first few hours of the trail went through dry rice paddies, fields where farmers were harvesting huge ginger roots mostly by hand or with very simple tools.
Babies were breastfed by their mums in the shade, before getting back to work and toddlers playing under an umbrella out on the field.
What strikes me most is how (physically) hard working the women are in this country and how the kids are just brought along everywhere - they are on motorbike, in and on top of the fruit seller's stand, in between tons of chilies and playing in the field next to their working family members.
Our first break brought us to a small village (a spot that seemed to be used by all tours) where we got offered tea and sugar cane candies and could watch an elderly lady weave traditional scarfs and bags.
The weaving is done on a back-strap loom and the lady needs around 2-3 days to finish one scarf.
(I loved her fluffy pink earrings that where made of wool oddments)
The next few hours of the trek went along chili fields. Women where sitting in them surround by bushes full of shiny red chili peppers. The closer we got the stronger the spicy smell got in the air.
Once the chilies are picked and collected in bamboo baskets, the get brought to the farm house, spread on sheets to dry in the sun, then sorted and sold.
During the whole trek stark jumped like a little goat in front of the group, singing and joking and then for the lunch break he magically put a home cooked dish on our plates.
In the afternoon we came across local kids who got very excited about seeing themselves on pictures in my camera, farmers and bamboo basket makers before getting to the small village where we would stay for the night.
The family gave us a warm welcome and showed us the beds for the night and the bucket shower.
The husband took as on a very short hike to the top of a close by mountain to watch the sun set.
It felt like a journey back in time looking down onto the open field - buffalo carriage bringing the harvest to the village, women with baskets on their head and babies tied to their back on their way home, chatting and laughing and all tinted into the reddish light of the sun.
Once back at the homestay we got served an impressive local dinner that the family had prepared in the meantime with Star's support and starlike cooking skills.
The small town get dark quickly, as most house either have no electricity or rely on a small solar panel. The low amount of artificial lighting lets the stars (the real one not the guide) shine even brighter.
After a day in the sun, hiking the hills and load of encounters with locals we hit our pillow at around 8pm. But not before the family provided us with more blankets to keep us warm during the cold night in the small house under a million stars.Read more