This is one of those hill-stations with a difference, in that it’s nestled in its own small valley rather sitting proudly atop a mountain. There is a real mix of religions and ethnicities with Burmese locals mixing with other locals originating from India as well as Nepal. As with a lot of the old British colonies, Kalaw was set-up as a hill station for R&R and a break from the hot weather of the low-lands. Amusing that the British ever colonized anywhere warm when all they wanted to do was escape the heat? It’s worth getting a room with a balcony, and one with a view, because you are surrounded by the hills offering hours of beautiful walks. Again like most hill-stations, life starts early in the morning and so finishes a lot earlier than normal with the usual hive of activity as the sun starts to set.

Quite a few places charge more for rooms on the higher floors. Sometimes this is because of the view and sometimes the rooms are slightly bigger. Oddly, most of the hotels rooms face east, so if you are playing extra, it’s for a sunrise rather than a sunset.

Although a similar price to some of the other more modern looking hotels in the area, this one is just that little bit better. The staff are just that little bit more switched on. Rooms on the upper floors are bigger and more comfortable with some commanding views.

Some of the rooms feel a little tatty and they have that Asian approach to electric sockets, where only some of them work! However the hot water shower was good and the breakfast was excellent.

Small but extending. Was rough, but getting better! Staff friendlier than next door. Their balcony faces west and is a great spot for sunrise. Upper price gets you en-suite and an upstairs view.

We arrived at 3am on the bus and unlike other hotels we were charged for a full night to stay. Rooms are either shared bathroom or en-suite. There really is no comparison, with the en-suite rooms offering a large balcony area to look out over the town, seats and doors that fit! The $7 rooms aren’t really much more than a wooden shed, no power-sockets and sum don’t even have bed-frames, with just a mattress on the floor. They do seem to stop pumping water to your bathrooms on a regular basis though and not just for showers! Not the friendliest of staff.

One of the group of newer hotels, being only 3 years old, with a modern reception area. The rooms are comfortable though the single rooms generally don’t have windows.

An upgrade of a double room to $35 gets you a kettle and an AC unit for warming the room. The rooms are big and clean and although the front of the hotel is on the main road running through Kalaw, the rooms go a long way back. Double rooms towards the upper floors offer better views. 

Highly recommended restaurant for Myanmar food.

What’s nice about this place is that there’s generally more locals than there are tourists. That said, we’re sure they are one of those new-aged dual-priced establishments otherwise the chap sitting next to us drinking beer as quick as an Englishman drinks tea must have been a rich man indeed. The food is okay, but even in Yangon you would only expect to pay 1,500Ks for this standard of meal.

Overnight treks were also priced at 15,000Ks per person, per day.

Trek: Local, 1 day with lunch, costs 10,00Ks including lunch

More to come!

Their card states that they speak English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. I had him stumbling with German and English. That said they do come highly recommended by travel guides but sadly not all other travellers. Outsourcing of guides and pre-arranged boats that have been paid for but not arrived are common complaints that we’ve heard.

Trek: 3 days, 2 nights to Inle Lake, costs 15,000Ks per person, per day +extra charges

The following is taken from Suzanna Clarke’s blog for us called “18 Days”.

“I arranged a 3 day, 2 night trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake to start the next day.  The cost (for one person) was $61, including the guide, accommodation, all food (but not drinks), transporting my main backpack to Inle Lake, and the boat trip on Inle Lake at the end of the trek to Nyaungshwe, I was grouped together with 5 other people.  The trek was very good and the guide (James) was fantastic.  A cook was provided and the food was delicious, definitely some of the best food I had in Myanmar.  The Singh brothers asked about dietary requirements when I signed up to the trek, and I told them that my diet is vegetarian and gluten free, however they did not tell the guide about this.  But James the guide went out of his way to make sure that I was well catered for.”

The trek was more challenging than I was expecting (last year I trekked to Everest Base Camp, so I thought this trek would be nice and easy in comparison!).  I think this was mainly due to the distance and the pace.  We walked about 12 miles on day 1, about 15 miles on day 2, and about 9 miles on day 3 (we stopped trekking before lunch on day 3).  Altitude was not a problem as it wasn’t much higher than around 1,000 meters, and it was mostly flat, with a few ups and downs.  The scenery was nice, but not stunning.”

The first night we stayed in a village (no electricity or running water) and the second night we stayed in a monastery.  Both nights all 6 of us slept in the same space, on mattresses lined up on the floor with no space in between them!  The first night in the village was very chilly, maybe about 10 degrees, so I’m glad I had my walking boots and fleece.