Wan Seng Favorites

Favorite thing: As with most everywhere in Burma, (but especially in the "troubled" regions like the Shan State), you can't go too far without running into police check points and heavy security.

The trip to Wan Seng is no exception. Before heading up here, you must get approval from the local immigration office in Kengtung to travel on this road. (your guest house can likely help you with this) You then have to give a copy of the approval form to each guard check point that you pass. (and likely have to wait around for 20 minutes, while they decide it you are deemed worthy of continuing onward...)

Favorite thing: You can certainly see that the people out here have to work hard to subsist out here. I saw one young girl with probably a 30 kg load of bananas on her back hiking up a steep goat path that I think I would have trouble keeping my footing on.

Here you can see that neither the young or the old are spared their share of the burden. An elderly lady carrying a large pile of wood back to the village, and a 5 year old boy carrying his 2 year old sister on his back.

Favorite thing: Hmmmm... Clean air, Beautiful Mountains, Hungry: Go gather some bananas, Cold: Go gather some wood to burn. In all I have to say that I found the Loi way of life to be a lot more comprehensible than my own...

Thats it !!! F*ck it, I quit !!!! SELL THE CAR !!! SELL THE KIDS !!! SELL THE WIFE !!!! BURN THE HOUSE !!!! I'm never coming home.

I am a hunter/gatherer now.... If you're ever on your way from Kengtung to Mongla, be sure to stop by and say hi... I'll be up here with my new found hunter/gatherer friends....

Favorite thing: I saw quite a few young Loi girls dressed like this:

Burlap skirt, burlap leg wraps, Long sleeved coloured arm bands, thick silver wrist bands, beaded neckaces, and maybe some spots or lines of red makeup on their cheeks. Also, more often they would be wearing a head scarf.

Favorite thing: As you walk around the villages during the daytime you will find that for the most part, only the children and older people are about.

Most of the men and women are out in the surrounding areas, doing their daily rounds of hunting and gathering and the like.

The Loi (Lwe) kids that we came aross here seemed pretty reserved at first, although they quickly warmed up to us. I found that they really got a kick out of seeing their picture on the LCD screen of my digital camera after taking their photo.

After showing them this once, they were all jumping up and down and arguing with each other over who gets to have their picture taken next...

Favorite thing: The living arrangements for the Loi (Lwe) tribe are somewhat different that the other hill tribe people in this region.

The Loi tend to live in "long houses" which are a larger wooden/thatched hut type structure that houses as many as six families together. Most of the other tribes around here, (Akha, Lisu, Lahu...) tend to build individual huts for each family...

Favorite thing: There are actually two separate Loi (Lwe) villages along this path. The first is called Wan Nyet and is about an hours hike up hill from the trailhead. The second village is called Wan Seng and is another hours hike uphill.

Here is a colourful Buddhist monastery that is in the first village. Note the architecture of this building is more reminiscent of Tibet than of either Burmese or Shan temples that you normally find in the Shan State of Burma.

Favorite thing: The second and larger village, Wan Seng, is about an hour's walk past Wan Nyet. The monastery complex at this village is larger and more ornate that the one at Wan Nyet.

There also seemed to be a bit more activity here. There were a number of young monks outside of the monastery painting a redecorating it. Again the archtectiture style here appears to be more Tibetan than what you would typically find in a Burmese or Shan Buddhist temple.