Hsipaw 3D/2N Trek

“Let’s regret it later.”  Act now, feel the tender bruise of failure when it is finished.  This small phrase has become a sort of motto for our trip through Myanmar.

Our latest dilemma began some time before we reached Hsipaw, the jumping off point for treks around the Shan State.  We didn’t know if we should even bother attempting to reach the city, a grueling 7 turned 12.5 hour train journey from Mandalay.  Previous to entering Myanmar, we hadn’t even heard of this place or trekking opportunity, knowing only of the more famous and touristy option of trekking from Kalaw to Inle Lake.

One “Let’s regret it later,” and we were on the train.  After a hellacious four hour wait beginning at 4 AM and a long train journey later, yet again we were faced with a decision.

We contemplated whether we should attempt a 2 night trek or stick with the seemingly more popular 1 night trek offered by our guesthouse, Lily’s the Home.  Initially, we decided that the price difference ($25 for the 1 night vs. $60 for the 2 night) and the description of the second night did not make us feel like the added effort was worth it.  But, after sleeping on it and another “Let’s regret it later,” we made the last minute decision to join the 3D/2N trek.

The Trek

Six of us, two Germans, two Polish ladies, E, and I left the guesthouse in the middle of a cloud.  It was rainy and foggy for the first two hours as we slowly traversed farmers’ fields and climbed a few hundred meters.  Our amazing, altruistic, fun, knowledgeable, 20-year-old, fluent-in-four-languages guide, Aung San patiently answered our questions about every animal and plant we came across.  In case you didn’t already get the idea, Aung San was the best guide we have come across in Myanmar.  He knew all the names of the huge variety of plants we saw in all four of his languages, even if we didn’t know it in English, our first language.

One hour flat, three hours up.  That’s how Aung San described our first morning hiking.  But, we took so many breaks, our three hours up turned into four.  At about 1:30, we arrived in Pankam Village, the first of four Palau villages we would visit.  Here we enjoyed a delicious lunch.  Did I mention that all the meals of the trip are vegetarian?  It was heavenly not to worry about meat for three days!

To spare you from having to read my praises of the food for the next several hours, I will simply list my favorite dishes.  These include fermented tea leaf salad, fried green papaya, yellow pumpkin French fries, stir-fried chayote squash, and lentil crisps among others.  Hopefully it suffices to say that each one was a small bowl of vegetarian bliss.

While most treks from Hsipaw stop in Pankam Village for the evening, we pushed on for another two hours through mountainous tea fields until we reached Htansant Village.  This village happens to be Aung San’s hometown.  We were welcomed into his childhood home by his mother, father, sister, and brother-in-law.  The six of us would overnight there on mats covered by heavy blankets in tiny second floor rooms after a delicious meal prepared by his mother and sister.

As a side note, the accommodations on the trek are very basic.  They do not have running water (and therefore showers) or Western toilets.  We were shown to the communal town spigot to wash our faces and hands, but needless to say, we smelled terrible at the end of three hot days.

The second day of the trek began bright and early with another delicious breakfast from Aung San’s mother.  By 8AM, we were off on our 25km mission.  The second day would take us past rice and tea fields, down the side of one mountain, quickly up the side of another, past rows of horses hauling dried corn to town, and into the dark for an hour before we reached the village of Khun Kaw where we would fill our bellies and rest our heads for the night.

The village shop where we overnighted was significantly less welcoming than Aung San’s house, but it still had its perks.  While there was no running water and a pretty rank outhouse, the family did have a satellite dish and a flat screen TV which showed Premier League football throughout the evening.  E was one happy boy.

On the third morning, we awoke to a village shop full of horses and sling-shot wielding boys.  It was Sunday in the village, a day of half-rest.  No rest for the weary though.  At 7, we began the 23km walk back to Kyaukmae where we would catch a bus to Hsipaw.  I have to say that this day was by far the least interesting.  The last four hours or so took us on a long, boring, flat, sweltering, and dusty road.   It was a relief to see a tuk-tuk waiting for us just on the outskirts of town.  We were finished!

Regret it later?

No, I certainly do not regret our decision to hike for three days.

With that said, I am not sure we gained anything on the second and third day that we didn’t see on the first.  Certainly the second day took us further into nature and away from other tourists, but the second night’s guest house was not overly accommodating.

Overall, I would struggle to recommend the three day trek over the two day trek for anyone except those interested only in the trekking itself.  Do the three day trek if you like to walk through forests and climb mountains.  Do the two day trek if you are more interested in the villages.

---

Overview

Day 1

Hsipaw → Pankam Village → Htansant Village
400m → 1300m
8:00AM → 5:00PM
18km

Day 2

Htansant Village → Man-Lhoy Village → Khun Kaw Village
1300m → 600m → 1000m
8:00AM → 6:30PM
25km

Day 3

Kun Kaw Village → Kyaukmae → Hsipaw
1000m → 400m
7:00AM → 3:30PM
23km

---

Packing List

Lily the Home Guesthouse does not provide guests with a list of needed items.  Here are my suggestions:

Flashlight
Flip Flops
Light clothes to hike in
Heavy clothes to sleep in
Good walking shoes
Toilet Paper
Sunscreen
Bug Spray
Hat or Umbrella (That sun is hot!)

---