Our goal the next day was to find Uncle Sam’s trekking business to start our journey to Inle Lake. We found it and were welcomed by Uncle Sam himself, a legend in the area for his 26 years of trekking the mountains. We had lunch at his family restaurant, watched the world cup with his older daughter, and then learned about the 3 day and 2 day trek options.

Kalaw is a small town, so there aren’t a lot of places to eat. We headed back to Sam’s restaurant again for food that night. We were treated to a candle light dinner because the town’s electricity had gone out due to the storm. The next morning a group of nine people left for the 3 day journey, and Alicia and I chose the 2 day and 1 night journey. We made our way from Kalaw to Inle Lake through the mountains of many different villages and ethnic hill tribes: Lamine – Taung Yoe Tribe, Nan aw, Pawke – Pa Oh Tribe, Kone La – Danu Tribe (Lunch), Pattu Pauk – Paoh – Taung Thu Tribe (slept in Li Lone house). The land was beautiful and full of so many kinds of crop. Because of the rain, the trails were extremely muddy and slippery. In one village, I face-planted into the mud, but I only hurt my pride (even though nobody saw me). For day one, we trekked 6 hours and stopped to have lunch in one of the villages. An older man welcomed us into his home. His entire family was out in the fields working for the day. We journeyed on to Pattu Pauk – Paoh Taung Thu Tribe to stay the night with some very kind people. They warmly welcomed us, and we had dinner with the father. He was fascinated to learn about us and our country as much as we were fascinated to learn about him. Ku Kuu translated for us. Day two was another six hours or so, and after many hills and great views, we arrived at Inle Lake. The lake is full of floating markets, villages, restaurants, a post office, and gardens just hanging out on stilts in the lake. Mountains full of temples surround the lake which create a stunning view. Our hour and half boat ride to our hostel was wonderful. We were finally off our feet and had the wind blowing in our face. Our hostel was very nice and nearby several restaurants. We did some laundry in the sink and tried to rid ourselves and our belongings of the mud. That night we had a pizza dinner with four Europeans that had just completed the same trek. They were very kind and entertaining, so it made for a fun night. We scheduled our lake tour, and headed back for a good night’s sleep. Bright and early, we started our lake tour to the morning market, the umbrella shop, the long neck ladies, the silk and cotton workshops, the silver shop, the cigar making shop, the gardens, and a monastery (all located on the water). The fishermen are amazing and an icon on the lake. They stand on the very end of their boat on one leg and with the other leg they move the paddle. With their hands, they hold the nets and stick to fish. On our stops, we met and Englishman, an Indian man, and a girl that works in Malaysia. We had lunch with them, and then Englishman Gary told us he was in the restaurant the night prior and could hear our entire conversation. He kept mocking us because the group was so loud. It was a good day on the lake.

Also, here’s a shout out to two of Michael’s aunts: Aunt Lynn and Aunt Rosalie. They’ve both lived in Thailand and visited Myanmar, so they were great resources. Thank you!