We always drew glances from the locals. Kalaw was not yet overrun by tourists.
Baby Milo? The villagers at this shop thought it was funny that I wanted to take a picture of this guy's shirt.
A cave full of Buddhas
gold stupas outside of the cave of Buddhas
birthday cake on the menu. also… golf course in Kalaw, Burma. Doubley unexpected
monks just want to have fun
balancing two 5-gallon jugs of something, but still smiling about it
an engine strapped to some metal with 4 tires. crank start.
starting our trek. a kid walking a water buffalo
the path wasn't exactly clear. some bamboo helped us get over this marshy area
this cow just showed up with a bunch of friends wandering through the forest
almost to lunch!
view from lunch
people slept in the building on the right and cooked in the building on the left
the huts we ate lunch in
Lina in the hut
Our waitress hiding from the sun
a hill village
the village kids were pleased to meet us! although they wanted pencils. we were told not to give anything because it would encourage begging
peace
monks just want to have fun. the little monk played limbo with the other monk's leg
tea leaves drying. same tea as the delicious tea leaf salad
a home made sled. with no tv, videogames, etc, the kids here were always outside creating their own games
a stupa in the middle of nowhere
these girls were pounding the rice to make rice powder
this was one curious/funny kid. at one point he was walking around town flashing everyone, including the locals. Kids are kids everywhere.
walking on the train tracks
an old fashioned track switch
this cat owns the train station. or at least thinks he does
rice paddies beyond the tracks
rice paddy upon rice paddy
another engine strapped to some metal. this vehicle was a bit more refined than the one we saw in Kalaw proper
skynet. it's here.
field surfing behind the water buffalo.
big buffalo, little house. but the house wasn't that little.
this is where we slept the first night of our trek. comfortable floor, but freezing cold mountain air conditioning
funny buffalo face
oh, the kid didn't like that last comment
sunrise view from the base of our house
just walking the buffalo. like a dog. dogs walked themselves here.
just a bunch of kids riding water buffalo
the Burmese are very comfortable sitting in this position
workers carrying bamboo over the fields
one of the last weavers in this one village. The kids in this town laughed when we asked if they knew how to weave.
pretty much these faces
these kids were picking leaves off of trees with bamboo poles to make Peter-pan-like costumes
a coal mine. literally just a shaft that a person goes down to pull out buckets of coal.
2nd night stay in a Buddhist monastery
brotherly monks
playing a game with a bushel of tree nuts
some Europeans introduced frisbee to the monks
and this was where we slept on the floor of the monastery. much more comfortable than the family house because the building was more sealed
the simple farm life. one woman. one field. one hoe.
Lina and her new friends
just some kids taking a smoke break at a motorbike stop
going crazy for our coconut! much needed electrolytes after 3 days of trekking!
erosion. probably caused by the replaning of rice upon rice upon rice
natural irrigation stemming from Inle Lake
venturing out on to the canals to Inle Lake
a bamboo frame house under construction
a man picking plastic bottles out of the water. at least someone cares about the environment around here.
parallel parking boats isn't always so easy
A fancy monastery
a smoggy boat
Reduce, Reuse, Reject?
This boat was almost under water with whatever they were carrying
pink umbrellas keeping the passengers dry and out of the sun
a local fisherman. this is how people fish by themselves on this lake. foot wrapped around an oar. opposite hand with a fishing net.
This boat raised Lina's bird fear level by several degrees
No cutting floating island.
More Kalaw
Interested in more details or planning a trip? Check out our Kalaw tips page and read more on our trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake.
What was your favorite photo from our Kalaw to Inle Lake trek? Let us know in the comments!
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