Sightseeing around Kyaing Tong town on 07 January 2012

We walked to the main market of Kyaing Tong from Princess hotel. It’s just 5 minute walk from hotel. We could see sea of motor bikes parked at the entrance of the market. All the way through the main aisle we saw vendors selling fruits, tea, foodstuff imported from Thailand, spices and herbs, prayer flags, ethnic textile, head dresses of Akha people, beautiful outfits of Lahu people, babmboo baskets, various kinds of rice including mountain rice in red color and etc. After the market visit we went to a local monastery to witness the annual confession of monks from different monasteries around the town. The atmosphere was really spiritual. In the courtyard of the monastery, we saw some 40 or so small temporarily built straw huts where monks from all over are staying for 11 days here during the festival. It starts from the fifth waxing of our lunar month of Pyatho till the fullmoon which would be the next day on 8th January. The devotees from all over are coming and visiting to the corresponding monks of their areas. Inside the monastery we saw people praying in front of monks which is to invite the spiritual beings to come and listen to the prayers later said by the monks. At one corner at the kitchen of the monastery ladies are preparing sumptuous meals to offer to the monks for the second last day. People are so nice and accommodating to us that we even had a conversation with a monk. It was something new for us. We had a chance to see it thanks our local tour guide Sai Ywet who asked me the night before if we would be interested to go. Not a single foreigner was there but us. We were very very privileged.

Then we visited a pottery village, a lacquerware making home and back to hotel for checking out. On the way to the airport we stopped at a nice Sein Pan Nee Nee restaurant and had lunch together with clients and Sai Yewt and our driver. I hosted the meal for all of us as the farewell lunch for all of us. We will be saying goodbye to Kyaing Tong and my clients would be leaving Burma the next day morning.

trekking to Ho-kyin, 4 villages of Akha people on 06 January 2011

We started out at 8:00 a.m. by picking up our picnic lunch. Drove to the outskirt of Kyaing Tong town to view the water buffalo market happening every other day and every two days alternately. We saw only one water buffalo and several cattle for the time now is low action season for agricultural sector and the summer is coming in in late February. After the water buffalo market we drive down south of Kyiang Tong along the road to Thai border for an hour. Thai border is just about 100 miles south of Kyaing Tong. Stopped at the trailhead at 1300 meters altitude on the roadside and started hiking uphill. On the way we saw some plantations of rice, crab apple, tangerine and rice. Among many shrubs we saw there were some wild ginger flowers in deep bright red which grows and blossom right on the ground. After half hour we reached to the highest point of our trail at 1570 meters where pine trees are found here and there. We started going down the trail to see the view of the valley on the right side scattered with villages. Those are 4 Akha villages of Ho-kyin.
Some 15 minutes later we reached to the first village of Buddhist Akha with a small pagoda at first sight when we entered. The house next to is where they cook mountain rice and corn liquor. We were shown the big sacs of fermented corn and rice stored in a house. Then we started seeing a couple of Akha ladies with their beautiful head dresses and colorful costumes with babies trailing behind them. There are houses here and there. Pigs, dogs, cats and bulls forage and moving around. A small family of chicks and the mother chicken being chased away by a dog which churned up the dust in the sun. Then we saw the fertility poles where they carved the male and the female figure out of wood in the center of the village. It is a mix of animist and Buddhist believes flourished here. Some Catholic missionaries arrived in Burma in 19th century and some minorities in the mountainous areas of Burma were converted to Christianity. Akhas are one of them. We found a church in the second village where we had lunch at a house of an Akha woman.

Trekking to Wan-Nyat & Wan-Seng villages of Loi people

We picked up our lunch boxes at Golden Banyan restaurant in the morning at 7:30.
Drove to the trailhead at 3200 ft which is located on the road to Chinese border after two check points
Started trekking for 1 hour to get to the first village of Wan Nyat with a monastery and 4 long houses. We visited the beautiful old monastery and continued trekking up. Arrived the Wan Seng village around noon. It is located at 5000 ft above sea level. They have a wonderful 400-year-old monastery and seven long houses. At least 20 Loi families live in each long house accounting from 80 to 100 people.
After visiting two long houses we backtracked along the trail and stopped at Wan Nyat village of 4 long houses. We noticed people have been drying wild grass in their yards on small wooden stages to make them brooms to sell in Kyaing Tong market. Some men of the village are trying to work out an area of clearing for constructing a new long house. We have returned to the car and drove back to Kyaing Tong. Stopped by at Golden Banyan restaurant for tomorrow’s lunch during our trekking to Akha villages.

Pindaya-Heho by car, Heho-Kyaing Tong by flight 04 January 2012 (Independence Day)

Woke up early to the marching girl band without brass for celebrating 64th Independence Day of Myanmar from the British since 1948
Watch Danu minority girls in beautiful costumes
Breakfast at hotel and checked out to drive to Heho airport for flight to Kyaing Tong
Stopped at Aung Ban highway stop for bying some snacks
Stopped at a small farm which grows tangerine, strawberries and dragon fruits
Took the flight to Kyaing Tong via Air Bagan
Arrive Kyaing Tong airport and checked in Princess hotel
Drove 25 minute to visit Wan Sai village of Akhu minority village

From Inle Lake to Pindaya by car on 03 January 2011

Checked out hotel and drove to Pindaya
Visited Aung-ban 5-day market
Arrived Pindaya and checked in Inle Inn Pindaya
Stopped at Tha-yet-kon village to observe the bamboo hat making house
Had lunch at Green Tea restaurant on the northern shore of the lake of the town
Took steps up the hill to reach the entrance of the cave with Buddha images
Visited the cave with the maze of 8000 Buddha images
Drove to Shan-paper making and paper parasol making house
Took a walk from the paper making house to downtown of Pindaya and back to hotel

Biking around Inle Lake on 02 January 2012

Hass and Georgia checked out hotel for flight back to Yangon
Hired bikes from hotel to bike from Khaung Daing to Nyaung Shwe town, Inle Princess Resort at Magyizin village, Red Mountain Winery, Shwe-yan-pyay monastery & temple, View Point restaurant and back to Pristine Lotus Resort

Sightseeing around Inle Lake by boat on New Year’s day 2012

Visited Nampan 5-day market by boat
Things we saw in the market: black smith, veggies, tofu salad shops, rice wafers, pigs, meat, fish, sour ants, cheroot leaves, bamboo mat rolls, bamboo poles on bullock carts, tangerines, fabrics, clay pots

Sailed to nearby In-paw-khon village for a visit to a silk and lotus weaving factory
Lunch at Burmese Cate Café with traditional stick rice noodle soup
Set sail again to a cheroot rolling house and Inle-style teak boat and canoe making place
On the way back stopped at Nga-phe-chaung monastery with a great collection of Buddha images and the cats that can jump
Returned to hotel by boat

Bagan to Heho by flight & Heho to Inle Lake by car on 31 Dec 2011

Morning flight to Heho and drove straight to Pristine Lotus Resort at Khaung Daing on the western bank of Inle Lake
Visited Khaung Daing 5-day market
Checked in at Pristine Lotus Resort
Boat trip to Intha Lay #2 restaurant and had lunch
A short hop by boat to nearby Phaung Daw Oo Temple with 5 Buddha images in the form of big gold balls deformed from the pasting of gold leaves by pilgrims from all over
Sailed through the serpentine creek of Indein to visit the temple ruins at Indein village
Return to hotel by boat
New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner at Pristine Lotus Resort

Sightseeing around Bagan on 30 December 2011

Frances and Michael went Ballooning over Bagan at sunrise
Georgia and Hass took a walk through shops around Ananda Temple and visited a monastery
Walked to Ananda temple from Tharabar hotel through shops of glazed pottery
Visited Ananda temple with 32-foot tall standing Buddha images
Proceeded Myin-ka-bar Gu-byauk-gyi temple with well preserved mural paintings
Lunch at Sunset Garden restaurant on the Irrawaddy River bank
Stopped at Bagan House lacquer ware shop
Visited Patho-tha-mya temple with serene Buddha images in the inner sanctum and mural paintings around the corridor
Walked back to Tharabar Hotel through eastern palace gate called Tharabar gate
Dinner at Black Bamboo restaurant at Nyaung Oo town

Yangon to Bagan (excursion to Mt. Popa) on 29 Dec 2011

Met 4 American clients at hotel at 5:15 and transferred them to Yangon airport for early morning flight to Bagan at 0630. My wife Audrey and another fellow tour guide have picked clients up at Yangon airport when they came in with different flights on different dates. On the way to the airport I have explained the agenda for the day. In fact we are suppose to go sightseeing to temples of Bagan. I was here 5 days ago with my last clients and made an excursion to Mt. Popa. Usually I stopped at a village on the way. On that day I found out the villagers were gathering at one house preparing for the big ceremony for their sons and daughters. In Judaism it would be Barmitzva but for Buddhist it’s initiation ceremony of sons to monkhood and ear-boring ceremony of daughters. I found out the ceremony will take place on 29th December. So I told my clients for going straight for excursion to Mt. Popa to view the ceremony by switching temple viewing to the next day. They all agreed to do so. So we drove to Gyan Hlee village to witness the initiation ceremony of young boys to become monks. It was something they will never forget! Boys in princely dresses. They are very colorful and sequined and even horses are decorated. Each boy is put on the back of a horse which is the reenacting of the renounciation of the wordly riches by the Price Siddartha before he attained Enlightenment and became the Buddha.
Continued driving to Mt. Popa and lunch at Popa Mountain Resort
Stopped at the base of Mt. Popa for a visit to the shrines of 37 Nats or spirits
Took steps up the rocky craig of Mt. Popa to view the surrounding plain
Drove back to Bagan, stopped at Everstand lacquerware workshop and showroom
Walked with Frances to Dhamma-yan-gyi temple
Sunset watching atop North Gu-ni temple
Dinner at Nanda restaurant with Burmese marionette show