Review of Proposal For A Trekking Trip

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Proposal For A Trekking Trip

I wound like to make a proposal for a trekking trip. There are several trekking sites in Myanmar such as Mount Popa, situated in Kyaukpadaung Township, Mandalay Division, Kyaukhtiyo, situated in Kyaukhto Township, Mon State, Tayaw Mountain, situated in Kalaw Township, Southern Shan State etc.

Among them, I would like to propose for a trakking trip Tayaw village. The reason why I choose this trekking site is that you can have a good opportunity to make an actual trekking and to see the customs and ways of life of Palaung people.

So, I am informing how you can access to Tayaw village. First, you take a flight from Yangon to Heho and hen take a car to Kalaw, which is 70km west of Taunggyi. If you like to take a car from Yangon, Kalaw is half way along the Thazi-Taunggyi road. When you arrange for trekking.

So, here now I need to mention some information about Kalaw. Kalaw sits high on the western edge of Shan Plateau. This was a popular hill station in colonial days and it is still peaceful and quiet with an atmosphere of colonial era. There is good accommodation and you can make interesting excursion, hiking and trekking to nearby villages and mountains.

So, you have got general information about Kalaw and I would tell you the actual trekking trip to Tayaw village. It is situated about 11km south-west of Kalaw. There are about 12 hills over which you have to pass to get to the destination. This is at least about 4-6 hours on foot trip. You will need guide assistance so for that you can ask at reception counter in Kalaw. When you arrive in Tayaw village, you will see the customs and ways of life of Palaung people.

Palaung women wear colorful blue with red costumes, skirt with cane hoops round their waist and gaiters. Especially they like smoke sense. The families tend to live in long houses. Up to 20-30 people can live in this kind of long house. One thing that would become to your astonishment is that they have a bath only once a month.

Almost all the Palaung people are Buddhist. Although the village is quite small, there is a monastery. On the way from Kalaw to Tayaw village, you can see terrace cultivation. One of their main live hoods is the cultivation of Thanaphet (Cordial Miza), which is a large leaf to wrap Myanmar cheroot. They usually put Thanaphet leaves under in order to make them flat, which would be easier to make cheroot.

For education, there is a primary school. They often come into town to sell their local products. The Palaung people live very remote area from the developing cities. So, when visiting the village, it is better to contribute cash to the village health fund. You can also donate food or medicine or stationeries. Normally, the abbots of the village or the village headmen handle such donations.

As my conclusion, I want you to visit this Palaung village not only for recreation but for knowledge of the area visited such as natural environment, agriculture and social life. I hope that you will appreciate and enjoy my proposal.