And the 3rd and last day was amazing! The views were much nicer, specially when we crossed a little ''jungle'' and I almost fall a few times, loved it! :)
After waking up at 6:15 with breakfast in bed, it was super cold (4 degrees) and misty, we started the way down to Inle Lake! How stunning to see the clouds trapped between the mountains, the spider webs, the trees and plants full of the morning mist. There was even a rainbow :) its beautiful to see how nature changes with the first rays of sunlight!
Once down, we could start hearing music coming from a village, we were getting closer :) It's beautiful to arrive to the lake area. We took a boat to cross the lake for a bit more than an hour, some rest at last! The landscape changes completely again and now we have water everywhere! With water the lifestyle is different. Local fisherman use a special technique to fish, people collecting veggies and plants from the lake and a wonderful and bright sunshine!
I checked in in a different guesthouse as the one planned as my plan had to change and so I arrived one day earlier, but here is good! the pleasure of a hot shower and a toilet. I think I enjoyed this shower as if it was the first one of my life! I had a super easy day at Nyaungshwe which is the village close to the lake, walk around a bit, read, planed my last week in Myanmar and rested!
And tonight is Christmas Eve so I had dinner with Mathias, a British-Spanish and a German couple and I met Mariam who was in Inle with a friend. We went to a nice place where kids were singing Christmas chores and the whole atmosphere was super happy, warm and sweet :) I imagined that these kids practiced so hard to do such a performance. The full restaurant was clapping and singing with them, really lots of joy :)
Hike day #2 and I start to feel the need of a proper shower and toilet... maybe this is not entirely for me?!?!?! The walk was nice but far less interesting than the one from yesterday. This time more flat and through mainly chili plantations from the Pa-laung tribe. We also saw rice, ginger and some garlic. Sesame and mustard.
Before Mathias, the German guy, joined us, I had the chance to step in two very nice villages.
Then somehow my mood went down, today was really hot, I couldn't wear my lenses as there is too much powder and didn't manage to put them on, they guy was super delayed and we had to wait for almost 2 hours!! and I cannot go to the toilet, jajajajaj but I know I should not complain. When I look around I have to say I'm very lucky for who I am and grateful for the chance to be here :)
We got a nice house after a moment we though we would sleep in the floor outside as the agency we book through didn't arrange a house for us... oups! Our guide was amazing and got us this super nice place that belongs to a sweet old couple and cherry on top of the cake, they have the best toilet ever :) jajajaj
Now I am writing while the sun goes down in the rice fields and dinner is being prepared!! :)
And I'm sitting outside a little house from a village in the middle of the mountains in the hike between Kalaw and Inle Lake. How Amazing!!!!!
I walked with my guide across tea plantations, pine trees, rice plantations, garlic flower (cauliflower) plantations, saw cows, chickens, buffalos, sesame. The landscape changed all the time. Ah! full of orange trees!
The Pa Laung tribe/people are the ''wealthier'' ones as they live from the trade of tea (5 crops a year) and orange (1 crop a year). We've also passed a few Danu villages and made it to a school. This is a simple bamboo building with 3 boards where the teacher divides the class in different grades in the same place! I admire her!
Lunch was delicious at the viewpoint with just ripped avocado, pumpkin, chapati and bean soup! yummy! :)
Going back to the Danu village, it was very interesting to see them. They are less wealthy than the Pa Laung as they live from trading garlic and some kind of plant from which curry paste is made. These people were much more friendly and smily! We rested at the house of an old man. He was very sweet, with a simple house and was very proud of a goat horn he used as decoration. The living room was full of white rice bags and to contrast with the simplicity he showed me his TV and said they have their own supply of electricity some time during the day!
The hike went on down to the train rails and a wonderful tunnel! It was so much fun to go through it :) shouting and playing with the echo like a kid :) The stop in the train station was nice and relaxing and I discovered the ''regular tea'' which is quite a strong tea with condensed milk on the bottom. Super good!! so much that I took 2 of them and begged my guide to get me another one tomorrow! :)
It was sad to see that along the train rails it was full of rubbish, lots of carton and plastic... people don't know that they are destroying their beautiful place, they need to be educated on this...
And now in this little house, where they are all so friendly! I have the full top floor for myself. They prepared a simple bed with looots of covers, yes! No frio tonight! :) They have a mirror, they put a little table, some colorful clothing, a radio and posters of a Myanmar band the woman who lives here likes. From the balcony I can see beautiful rice fields while the sunset reflects on them! Soon I will have a wonderful dinner cooked by my guide who keeps showing me the veggies to se if I like them and I love them all :)
In the meantime I played football with the grand child of the old woman of the house! It was great fun, I clearly lost the ball most of time, which made him very happy and made me run a bit more! :)
Mmm delicious dinner: rice from the garden, cauliflowers, lady finger (a new veggies), another new veggies I don't remember the name and mixed veggies. Soup with ginger.... my veggies paradise. I am really getting my favorite food here! :)
