Ich bin dann mal weg - off we go - doei doei

My last week in Myanmar! Crazy how time flies. And I'm not a fan of blogging about the last week in a country. Traveling out I'm usually too tired and too sad about leaving. So I end up writing when I'm already in a new place and last week seems so far away already. But hey, it needs to get done, so here we go. Helen and me just arrived in Hpa-An. For the first time we hadn't booked anything ahead as we arrived in the middle of the day and had plenty of time to look around. We had picked a nice place online, went there and it was full. Same for their other hotel. We got a bit frustrated as it was hot and we were walking with our big backpacks. So when the next place offered us a discount for their crappy leftover room we took it. It was still crazy expensive, but we couldn't find a cheaper alternative online. After this we walked into the town, arranged a tour for the next day and then relaxed at a restaurant where we just stayed for dinner. On the way back (again ...

It seems to become a thing that when I finally manage to upload my blog, another week if over and I can start again :-) So here we are, back from hiking in Hsipaw on the way to back south. This time in a new mode of transport: By train! The train ride is meant to be very scenic and also a bit exciting as it goes via a big viaduct from the British times. And it really was. I enjoyed the spaciousness of the train seats and that you could move around a bit more than in the bus. Time flew by, watching the beautiful nature and rural Myanmar life. The train had big windows that were open all the time and were a good air conditioning. Unfortunately we also passed by a place where locals were burning something right next to the tracks (most likely trash) and the wind brought the flames and ash through the windows. Oeps. Luckily nothing seriously happened and the little pieces of fire were quickly out. After that excitement it wasn't long until we reached the viaduct. The train slows down ...

Puh, weekly blogs are quite some work. Just uploaded week one and now week two is already over. Time flies when you are having fun! So where were we? Ah yes, Inle lake. Helen and me wanted to do some hiking, and there are basically two options: going East or going West. The west route is the standard one, although usually going from Kalaw to the lake and not the other direction. The description was nice, but we decided to go East for two reasons: less tourists and more of a real hike in mountains. And we chose well! We got picked up by our guide in the morning, with the bad news that he can't take us because his mother had passed away last night. So he had organised another tour guide for us, Yarcar, who turned out to be a really great guide. We finally found someone who's English was good enough to answer all our questions. For two days we kept bombarding him with all questions we had bottled up for a week. He was super nice and we had a good time with him. Our first stop w...