Day 248 - 250 Trekking through the hills of Hspiaw

My daypack for the next three days is packed and my big backpack is safely stored in the hostel. At 8:30 am, the three of us set off with a guide for our three-day trek. The weather was not really ideal. Thick fog hung over the valley. I quickly realized that we had chosen a really good guide.

He told us a lot about Hsipaw and its surroundings. So we first walked through rice and corn fields.

We also passed a cemetery. What was special about it was that it was divided according to religion. Each religion had its own place.

We could observe people in their natural everyday life, working in the fields or producing cookies and other products for the market at home.

When we climbed the first hill, we left the fog behind and from now on we hiked in the sun. Our guide showed us the different plants that grow here everywhere and explained to us how the villagers use them.

On our way, we passed through smaller villages and larger fields where all sorts of things are grown, but mainly corn and rice.

During the hike, we also talked about the conflict between the different tribes and the different "Ethnic Armies". Our guide, who is the mayor of four villages, told us that he was kidnapped seven years ago along with a friend. They had to serve the army or buy their freedom. The village he came from then searched for two men who would like to fight for the army. They found two, but they would only do it for the price of three water buffaloes. Three water buffaloes are equivalent to about $3000. The village collected the money and was able to pay the two men. That's how our guide and his friend were exchanged after 16 days. A very exciting story that he just told us. He also told us some things about the history of the country and the conflict. Very interesting.

In various villages, we took tea breaks where we were provided with food. There were always different local dishes to try.

In the early afternoon, we arrived in the village where our guide lives and where we will stay overnight.

After a short rest, he took us around his village and showed us everything.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

At 6:15 pm, there was a prayer for all the monks at the monastery next to his house. We had the opportunity to watch them. The younger monks, who were admittedly very young, estimated between 5 and 10 years old, were not always completely focused and had other things on their minds.

We enjoyed a very delicious local dinner, cooked by his sister. Since his wife is currently in the hospital in Mandalay with the eldest daughter, we were served rice wine as well. Since I had already had my experiences with rice wine in Vietnam, I decided not to try it.

The next day, we continued our hike.

The landscape changed. Where there were fields yesterday, there are now forests and tea plants. This area belongs to another tribe. Our guide told us how they came to live in the hills and why they grow tea. He knew a lot and enjoyed sharing his knowledge with us.

When we arrived in front of the first village, we had to pass a military checkpoint. They let us through without asking further questions. But yes, there was really military all hidden in the mountains. This village seems to be a kind of base, as there were a lot of soldiers to be seen.

We hiked through the region the whole day, alternating between tea fields and corn and rice fields.

In the late afternoon, we arrived in the village where we wanted to spend the night.

We had the opportunity to visit a school next to our house. The students learn a lot here through singing, an interesting learning method. They also have the opportunity to learn in the open air. But when we arrived, school had just ended.

Later, we took a walk through the village.

In the evening, we started drinking beer, but we didn't really have much. Our guide said we could buy more in the next village. It was only a good 7 minutes by motorbike. We could place our orders with him. After collecting all the money, he came to me and asked if I could do him a favor. I should ride with him on the motorbike because there is a military checkpoint in front of the village and the soldiers don't like it when a local goes out alone in the dark. They are afraid that he might go to another Ethnic Army. But if a tourist is sitting on the back of the motorbike, there is no problem at all and no questions are asked. I agreed, and so we rode together to the next village to buy beer. We actually had no problems with the soldiers. We ended the evening by the campfire.

On the third day, we started early because we wanted to visit a hot spring and a waterfall. In the morning, we hiked through corn and rice fields and passed through several small villages.

After 4 hours of hiking, we reached the village where we were picked up by a tuk-tuk. We then went to the hot spring. The special thing about this spring is that it is in the middle of a rice field. The spring has been turned into a small pool. The locals mainly use this spring as a hot shower because there is no hot water in the villages. After 2 ½ days of trekking, a hot bath was just what we needed. And the water was really warm, around 40°C.

After the "shower," we went to the waterfall by tuk-tuk. But the road leading to the waterfall was closed due to maintenance work. But that's no problem, our driver simply drove across a rice field. Everything is okay.

The waterfall was cool to look at. But after the hot bath, we didn't want to stand under the cold water. So we just admired it.

On the way back, our tuk-tuk ran out of fuel because we had to drive through the rice field. But that's no problem either. The driver called his wife, who came five minutes later on a motorcycle with a full bottle of gasoline. Everything is fine.

Back at the hostel, we said goodbye to our super guide.

The others took the bus to Inlay. I wanted to book a hostel in my next destination. But I realized that there were no cheap accommodations in Naypyidaw. The same was true for Bago and Hpa An. That was actually my idea, to visit these cities next. But I didn't want to pay $30 to $50 per night for accommodation. So I had to come up with a new plan spontaneously. Tonight, I'm definitely going to Naypyidaw, the new capital of Myanmar. Because I already bought the bus ticket for this.