Review of Golden Kalaw in Kalaw, Burma

Where We Slept is our hotel roundup from our time on the road. We hope it helps budget travelers see how far their dollar can go--even though sometimes, it's not far enough!

We arrived in Kalaw from Yangon at 3am, as promised by our bus company. We intended to stay at the Golden Kalaw Inn, but they told us they were booked when we rang the doorbell at 3.

We spent the first night at the Golden Lily, right next door, for $7. The next morning, we transferred to the Golden Kalaw and had a double room with private bathroom for $12. Well worth it, and good breakfast with an amazing tofu scramble. Our room overlooked the garden, so we had nice light and the owner let me use his phone to call about 30 hotels in Inle. The biggest plus: the toilet even flushed!

A word of warning: The Golden Lily was not pleased that we decided to switch rooms and that we wouldn't be trekking with them. Just something to keep in mind!