Kyaukme motorbike tours & trekking
Come and experience the natural beauty and cultural diversity of Shan State, Myanmar
My treks will take you to both Paulang and Shan villages in the mountains of Kyaukme, but we will mostly visit Palaung people, who are the main ethnic group in the area. The Palaung people descended from the mountains of the South of China thousands of years ago and now make a living from cultivating tea and herbal plants and cutting wood. There are many different types of Palaung people in Asia, but two live in this specific region.
The two groups in this region are the Shwe Palaung (Gold Palaung) and Ngwe Palaung (Silver Palaung). You can tell the difference between these two groups by observing the colour of their belts; which are made of bamboo and a certain type of kind of long grass. They have beautiful traditional costumes weaved of different-coloured fabrics. Unlike the majority of people in Myanmar, the Palaung people wear their beautiful traditional costumes in their everyday lives, which makes visiting their villages particularly lovely. Most people in Myanmar reserve their traditional dress for certain festivals.
When trekking in the mountains you can see Palaung people picking tea leaves on the hillside, steaming tea leaves and scattering them in the sun for drying. They produce three kinds of tea which are green tea, pickled tea and tea powder. Most families still live in the traditional Palaung houses, which are made of bamboo and thatch and have a small garden in front.
It is extremely interesting to learn about the unique culture and religion of the Palaung people. They consider themselves as Buddhists but they also hold spiritual (Animist) beliefs. Each village has a beautiful Nat Shrine. They call it Zhao Main which means King of Nat. They believe that the Nat has supernatural powers whicch are able to help people with business and health problems and protect the village from various disasters. They have many interesting stories about spirits which I can share with you.
One of the best things about visiting the villages is the excitement of the residents to meet you and the warmth of the welcome you receive. Once you get in the village, you'll encounter everybody welcoming you to have a seat in their house and a cup of tea. The villagers are extremely happy and excited to meet you as it is a rare opportunity for them to meet people from and learn about other cultures, as they are curious about these but do not get to travel a lot. Furthermore, the children in the villages will often think that you are from another planet as they almost never see tourists, and some of them will even run away and hide as soon as they see you!
Different Tour Options
A. Trekking
We have guided hill tribe trekking trips for from 1 to 14 days (2 to 4 days is most typical). We can do medium to hard trekking, for from 4 to 8 hours per day. Meals are included and we’ll stay in Paulang or Shan villages each night.
We have guided hill tribe trekking trips for from 1 to 14 days (2 to 4 days is most typical). We can do medium to hard trekking, for from 4 to 8 hours per day. Meals are included and we’ll stay in Paulang or Shan villages each night.
Kyaukme is still off the beaten tourist path, so you are unlikely to encounter any other tourists in the villages that we stay in.
B. Motorbiking
A guided motorbiking tour up to the Shan and Paulang villages is a great way to see a lot of remote areas in Shan State, Myanmar. We have done motorbike trips of from a single day up to 10 days.
Note that you do NOT have to have any experience with motorbikes. You can use a semi-automatic (foot tapping to change gears and no clutch) – easy to learn in just a couple minutes. About half of our guests have not ridden motorbikes before. It’s a lot of fun !
Also note that if you have motorbike experience, we can explore some more challenging terrain on dirt bikes – a lot of fun. The more days you book, the greater distance we can go and get up into the really remote areas.
C. Combo Trekking & Motorbiking
All of my tours can be tailored to suit your needs - please feel free to contact me and I can organise the perfect trek for you! - [email protected] / +95 (0)9 403706076 / (0)9794454418 - or via our webform, or even Facebook! - https://www.facebook.com/joymotortrekkyaukme/
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