Three days of eventful trekking

I’m sitting on stone stairs in a hut made of bamboo where the only light comes from the fire on which our meal is prepared and the flashlight to help the cook. The hut is filled with smoke. Oxygen is blown through bamboo pipes to stoke the fire. Mesmerised I stare into that fire and wake. Awakened from my reverie by a cup of warm green tea. I’m sitting in the kitchen of a Buddhist monastery currently inhabited by 5 monks. It’s our home tonight.

The guide put up a curtain for me in the shrine of the monastery to provide privacy (and maybe not to distract the monks). Some blankets will be my mattress tonight. And I don’t only have a guide to escort me, but I also have a cook. The latter also looks like a cook and has a considerable lower pace.

The three of us took off today for a 3-day trekking from Pindaya to Kalaw. By the time I post this story I’ll be all smelly and in desperate need of a shower before anyone wants to talk to me again.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue and a fresh breeze completed the perfect weather conditions for hiking. I carry a small backpack and tried to only take the absolute minimum (which includes my new MacBook, a heavy camera and a teddy bear), still it almost explodes. So when I zip of my trousers I put them in the guides’ backpack and give him my friendliest smile.

Our trek goes right through flowering dreamy white mustard, bright yellow sesame and potato fields, over ruby red earth and we pass trees heavy of ripe avocados, deep green tea plantations, huge mango trees and loads of flora that I don’t know. Views are endless and breathtaking. Infinite and coloured valleys as far as the eye. Gradually the colours become softer and finally fade away, but the shape of mountains goes on and on and on.

We pass a couple of small villages. Everyone smiles and waves at me. This country is filled with incredibly nice people; I cannot compare it with anything I’ve encountered before.

If you’d asked me I’d probably have said that I’d love to sleep in a monastery once, but after last night I wasn't that sure anymore. I think I dozed a couple of times, but nothing more than that. The mattress is nothing more than a blanket with another blanket wrapped around it on a wooden floor. And it seemed that monks were walking around on flip-flops all the time. Which couldn't be the case as you’re supposed to take your shoes of. When a monk walked around I clearly heard the difference. And the flip-flops seemed to be drops of water falling on the corrugated iron sheet roof.

Another day of trekking lies ahead of me. We take off at 8 o’clock and have the fresh morning breeze again. As it’s still early a sparkling dew on the grass makes the environment failylike. The scenery is bloody perfect again, but we have another unexpected highlight of the day; a wedding. A 19 year old girl marries a 20 year old boy and I’m sitting there in the glittery decorated house with festive garlands and colourful balloons, while the ceremony takes place. I feel a bit embarrassed as I seem to be the attraction for a moment. The attendants have cloths or towels wrapped around their head. The ones of the bride and the groom are done is fancier way looking a bit like a candy wrapping. There is plenty of food and tea all offered to me too. I have ginger, tea leaf and roasted beans with green tea. The ceremony leader (don’t know what it’s called) sings and talks through a microphone as the room where I’m sitting is small and packed. Most people are sitting outdoor in the shadow. Listening, drinking, eating and chatting. Men and women mostly separated. Kids running everywhere.

Later on the day when we pass through a village a young woman proclaims how beautiful I am. Soon it’s clear why I am beautiful; my skin is white. We chat a bit through my guide in very simple English. She invites me over for tea. It seems that they think that my skin is so white because we actually have real showers and shower a lot. I try to explain that we’re born white by showing a picture of my niece and nephew. It makes me grin to see how everyone dives on my phone to have a look. My guide shows my suncream. That will have to be the explanation for my whiteness. I give some to the girl who rubs it into her face proudly. Differences in cultures are so interesting.

And then the surprise; we sleep in a monastery again. Beautifully located on the top of a mountain amidst a pine forest. This time only 2 monks inhabit the monastery and have done so the last 17 years.

I’m blessed with the most unique shower I’ve ever taken! The cold water actually comes from a shower. But it’s outdoor overlooking and endless green valley! I doubt a moment before taking all my clothes off. Then I decide that if they want to see an flashing white body, they should do, as long as I don’t notice ;-).

Today we only have 7 more miles to go. We pass a school and I try to sneak around the corner unobtrusively, but fail miserably and have 16 pairs of eyes pointed at me instead of at the teacher. When I take out my camera they pretend to be serious and turn their heads to the teacher, but then one by one peek over their shoulder. They gather around me and want to see the pictures I took. The teacher is quite unmoved and quietly continues her lesson, drawing beautiful signs on the whiteboard. I decide to leave to not further disturb the lesson.

At the end of the morning I arrive in Kalaw.