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From the Ground: New Two-day Lamine Village Trek Near Inle Lake

Posted by Courtney Ridgel on (Updated: )  |  1 Comment

By Nicole Long and Jay Austin

We wanted to introduce our new Kalaw to Lamine Village Trek, near Inle Lake in Myanmar.  This two day trip to Kalaw allows guests to get outside of the main tourist areas, but doesn’t require a lot of time commitment. The trekking portion of this tour is light in activity (only about 3 hours long) and allows access to nature and the picturesque countryside. Kalaw is at a higher elevation so the temperatures will be cooler and comfortable for trekking. This tour provides opportunities to connect with locals and witness traditional, simple lifestyles. This is a great option for families as it includes a train ride and elephants!

Note: For guests who want more, this itinerary can be extended a day with an additional day of trekking and another night in a village homestay.

Itinerary:

Kalaw: Trek to Lamine Village – Day 1

After breakfast, you will be transferred by van to the starting point of your trek. From here you will walk about three hours to Lamine, a Pa O Village, located about 10 miles from Kalaw. Explore this village where you will meet friendly locals and observe their traditional lifestyles. You will see the farmers hard at work as they plant or harvest wheat, ginger and a variety of other crops. Lunch and dinner will be prepared by your local trekking team and you will overnight in a village homestay.

Kalaw: Lamine Village to Inle Lake – Day 2

After a enjoying simple breakfast prepared by our team, stroll about the village to observe the local morning activities, before you will meet up with the car for your to transfer to Inle Lake. On the way, stop by at the villages for plantation of regional products. The drive takes approximately 3 hours to Inle Lake and once you arrive, check in to your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon.

Photos by Andrea Ross… Read more »

Guiding Light: Meet Ei Ei from Myanmar

Posted by Andrea on  |  1 Comment

This is Ei Ei, one of our star guides from Myanmar. From the Pa’O people, Ei Ei helps our guests enjoy the culture, people and beauty of Inle Lake. Here she writes about her life as a guide…

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My full name is Nang Aye Nyein Ei but people call me Ei Ei. I am 34 years old and  single. I am a Pa’Oh girl from Taunggyi, Southern Shan State , Myanmar. I have been working as a guide since 2006.

Before I finished my university, I saw some senior Kakku conductors in their Pa’Oh traditional costumes with tourists. A little bit about the Kakku: Kakku is the name of the Pagoda which is in the Pa’Oh territory. Any groups, even if they already have their own guides, have to get a Pa’Oh conductor to visit there.

I must say that I envied those seniors a lot. I have been interested in English since I was very young. I felt that it would be great to show and tell tourists about our Pa’Oh traditions so that people from different parts of the world would know about one of the minorities from Myanmar. That’s why I made up my mind to be a conductor. Then I tried to be a guide.

Being a guide, I like to take my guests to the house of the villagers and chat with them. The villagers can also learn something about a different part of the world and so do the guests.

I also like taking the guests around Inle Lake to see the unique method of rowing the boat by legs and their own style of fishing. Touring around the floating gardens and villages by boats is sensational.

Some guests do want to talk about the changes of the country.

I have most memorable group who were from America. While they were at Inle Lake, there was a political rally of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for by election at Heho. When I gave the information to them, they just cancelled the sightseeing and decided they wanted to go there. It was the first time for me to see the most famous opposition leader of our country in the flesh. It was awesome. Not only for me but also the guests really enjoyed it.

I am sure everybody will like Inle Lake as I do. So I warmly welcome them to Inle Lake.

 … Read more »