Trekking in Hsipaw, Myanmar

A bus dropped me off early one morning at the lovely historic town of Hsipaw after a night ride from Inle Lake. Hsipaw, a plateau town on a meandering river, was once home to Shan princes. The Shan are the second largest ethnic group in Myanmar after the Burmese. The town is a favorite destination for independent travelers to go on hill-tribe treks.

After exploring Hsipaw’s large central market, I headed out on an afternoon trek through some nearby villages with a local tour guide and several international guests from my hotel.

On the way out of town we passed a few large, walled Chinese residences. They acquired their wealth mainly from the gem trade, we were told. The oldest part of town had a charming “Little Bagan” of historic brick stupas and two old teak monasteries (see photos). Buddhist monks in their flowing robes moved around the courtyards.

Between villages we trekked on dirt paths through sprawling green fields of well-tended crops. Along village paths some tall, slender trees were dripping with ripe papayas. Friendly people of all ages waived at us from glassless windows and over the top of rustic fences. We were served some delicious traditional Shan noodle soup for lunch at a villager‘s home.

We were introduced to some local cottage industries taking place in wood frame houses with woven bamboo walls. One young lady perched on a dirt floor was making traditional sweets using a wok over a wood fire (see photo). She came to this village from central Myanmar to live and work because she is able to make double the money here. We passed women sitting outside in the shadow of their homes rolling cheroots, mild Myanmar cigars. Our guide told us that workers of these cottage industries typically are paid 2000Bhat (US$2) per day.

We stopped at a colorful nat (spirit) shrine under a clump of trees. An elderly lady approached it, lit some incense, and then bent over in front of the shrine with hands clasped together in prayer. (see photo)

A nearby female monastery of young nuns (female monks) was a beehive of activity. Many were departing from the monastery forever, having spent up to a month there. A heavy sadness was in the faces of the young ladies who were staying behind, some of whom were Shan orphans from the separatist skirmishes in the eastern border areas of Myanmar. Inside a few of the youngest nuns were focused on their studies at long wooden tables. They giggled as I looked through some of their books with them.

This trek in the Shan countryside was one of the highlights of my month-long travels in Myanmar.