Trekking In Rebel Territory

After I arrived at Hotel Lily, I asked the receptionist about booking a trek. She made a phone call, and within ten minutes a guide showed up (I am embarrassed to admit I had a difficult time remembering his name). We discussed options, and I agreed to do an 8-9 hour trek to some Shan and Palaung villages. I met my guide at the appointed time the next morning, and we set off on his motorcycle (no helmet, ugh) for the 10 minute ride to the trailhead.

The Lonely Planet did state that the rebel Shan State Army holds some of the territory around Hsipaw, but it also said that they mostly left the trekking routes alone, and that to date there have been no incidents involving foreigners. I assumed this meant that I would not see overt Shan Army presence on this hike. Boy was I wrong. Within ten minutes of leaving the trailhead, we came across a checkpoint with two soldiers wielding rifles. They checked passing motorcycles but waved us through without any words exchanged. Yikes.

We got to a Shan Village soon after, and I instinctively spotted two houses used by the army - they both had multiple motorbikes parked there, and men wearing similar clothing (but not camouflage). Throughout the hike, we saw many soldiers on motorbikes - some uniformed, some not, some armed, some not.

After the Shan village, we hiked up a very steep dirt track. Along the way, the views were fantastic, and my guide told me all about the crops grown, and about life in the area. After a hard climb with an elevation gain exceeding 2,000 feet, we got to a rest stop where we had tea and tea leaf salad. The views were spectacular.

After a quick rest, we set off again to Pankam Village, which is occupied by Palaung. This village had 600 occupants and was very interesting. The highlight for me was seeing four bulls loping; I had never seen overtly happy bovines before. We stopped by a family compound and the family there served us tea and gave us lunch made from stuff they grew - a pre-lunch snack of freshly roasted peanuts (dirt still on them!), and a lunch of bean sprouts, mustard greens and gourd, cooked on their wood burning stove. They didn't speak much English but they were hospitable and generous. I loved sitting there and observing them as they went about their routines.

My guide told me some facts about life in the villages. These included:

- There is no electricity company there. Most houses have just one solar panel with a battery pack to store power. In contrast, it took six panels to generate half the power needed for my old house. I guess without a stove, water heater and refrigerator it may be possible to generate the power they need with just one small panel.

- Generators are also used.

- There are makeshift hydro-electric generators at some streams.

- The motorcycles have chains on their tires as the tracks are muddy and slippery.

- Their water comes from rainwater they collect. Many villages in the area also have a central water tank. These were built by the UN.

- While the people are Buddhist, they also practice old animist traditions. As such, each village had a spirit shrine and there are special ceremonies to ward off bad spirits.

- Corn is the preferred crop nowadays as they are sent to the Chinese border and sold at a good price.

- There are only elementary schools in the area. Kids have to go to the towns or join monasteries to get more education. Some families who cannot access schools within a reasonable distance just forgo their kids' education altogether.

With respect to the insurgency, I learned the following:

- The Shan Army conscripts young males. They will go to a village headman and tell him that they need his village to provide x number of males. The headman will usually conduct a draw a la Hunger Games.

- The army used to only recruit childless men but they have recently started recruiting fathers.

- The army is involved in business to fund its activities. For example, they harvest wood and haul the wood to China to sell. I also saw some sand mining going on.

- They make their rounds around the villages to ask for vegetables and other food. I witnessed this during my lunch break.

- At times, they will also ask for cash. This even happens in Hsipaw and other towns.

- They have planted landmines. Many villagers ceased foraging for mushrooms in the forest after a few incidents.

- Many young people move to the towns or join monasteries to avoid being conscripted.

Wow. What an eye opener. With international attention focused on Rakhine, it is easy to forget that other parts of the country have their own tensions simmering. The mind boggles when one considers how former colonial governments could think that the countries they created were governable.

We got back to my hotel at 3pm. My guide was amazed at our pace. I guess he underestimated me. Indeed, when we set off from the Palaung village after a long lunch break, other trekkers were only just coming up to the village. The hike in total was 14 miles, with an elevation gain of almost 2,900 feet.

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