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Monday, August 31, 2015

"The Road to Mandalay", June 7-10 2015

From Hsipaw we took a bus to Mandalay (7,000 kyat) that lasted 8 hours instead of 6 because of a truck blocking the road. A seemingly nice (or so we thought) young taxi driver took us to ET hotel (23$ for AC room including breakfast) and we also decided to book with him a sightseeing tour around the city for the following day. Mandalay has a rich history and an abundance of interesting sights as it was the last royal capital of the Burmese empire before the British invaded in 1885, and the nearby ancient cities of Amarapura and Inwa also served as capitals in earlier times.

R & R in Hsipaw, June 5-7 2015

After a "delightful" 14 hour night bus (15,500 kyat) from Nyaung Shwe (Inle lake), we arrived early morning at the laid-back riverside town of Hsipaw in Shan state, and were picked up from the bus stop by a free service offered by Mr. Charles HotelWhen we arrived at the guesthouse we splurged a bit on a nice room with the hefty price tag of 30$ per night (including breakfast) although they have cheaper options including dorms.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Burmese Cooking in Inle Lake (Nyaung Shwe), Myanmar, June 2-4 2015

In Nyaung Shwe we mainly rested and relaxed after trekking for 3 days and didn't do much aside from sampling delicious food at local stalls and the "night market" (really just a row of a few outdoor restaurants, but the food is cheap and good!). We decide to skip the boat tour on the lake which is popular among tourists thinking our boat ride the day before was enough. We booked a bus to Hsipaw for the following afternoon and decided to sign up for a cooking class together with our new friend Liron with the highly recommended Bamboo Delight Cooking School (20$ per person) run by the lovely Leslie and Sue, who use a percentage of their profits towards various charitable causes in the local community (more info on their facebook page).

Trekking from Kalaw to Inle Lake, Myanmar, May 29 -June 1 2015

From the smoldering hot plains of Bagan, reaching the cool hills of Kalaw (7 hour bus, 11,000 Kyats, booked through Bagan Beauty guesthouse leaving at 8:00 am) was like a breath of fresh air. We settled in Honey Pine Hotel (20,000 Kyats including breakfast, no fan/AC- no need!) and set out to organize a trek to Inle Lake. There are several travel agencies in town offering similar packages but we booked with Sam's Trekking who you can find in Sam's Family Restaurant, who were the most organized and professional and also gave us the cheapest deal. They also seemed the most popular in town so you'll have a better chance of finding people to trek with.