Mun-Loi Village, Myanmar

Day 2 of the trek was a mostly level jaunt through an elevated Palau and Shan valley. The Palau, meaning "people of the slope", mostly cultivate tea on the hillside. The Shan farm rice on terraced rice paddy fields. Both coexist peacefully despite the presence of rebels throughout the Shan state. That said, the villages do not intermarry, and doing so forces some men and women to leave their village permanently, with the exception of holidays. Pride in cultural identity is something that hasn't yet been lost among such isolation. Per usual, the children got all riled up when we entered each village. Laughing at our broken attempts at Palau, they teased us, giggled at photos of themselves, and took whatever sweets we had on hand.Read more