Trek to a waterfall without water

Most people come to Hsipaw, located in north-west Myanmar to trek for days to the neighbouring minority villages. That was what attracted me in the beginning too. But sloth got the better of me. Plus I was a little turned off when I saw the group of tourists crowing around the table at a popular guesthouse to “shop” for a trek off a standard list of options, as if to tick off a checklist of things to do in Hsipaw. The thought of spending a couple of days making small talk, entertaining the guide and fellow trekkers when all I wanted was to be left in solitude, left me totally unconvinced.

I then decided against planning anything for the next two days and left things to my mood, for the better or for the worse.

Having checked out the different possibilities in the comfort of the hotel room that evening, I came across a map online to Nam Tok waterfall located 4km away from Hsipaw. Upon leaving the hotel that morning, the lady at the reception asked me what I was going to do while waiting for the boat to take me across the river. At my reply about walking to the waterfall, she asked, Today? I thought to myself, isn’t that obvious? I said yes again and brushed the question off to board the long tail boat that was fast approaching.

As I started what was to be a 2 hour walk one way, I suddenly remembered what the guide at the trek-shopping guesthouse had said the day before, there is no water at the waterfall now as it is not summer yet. Ahhhhhhh, I screamed internally. Burmese diplomacy. They never tell you things openly nor in the face. A doubt that is sometimes voiced out is as far as the locals will. Which is customary all across Asia to be honest, just that it is practiced in varying degrees. As a born and bred Singaporean, I admit to be rather poor at the art of discrete hinting. I often need things to be spelt out before I can get the point. And yet, I have recently caught myself complaining about how painful and tiring it was working with Caucasians who needed things to be even clearer than I did!

Sigh. Everything is relative indeed.

Now back to this trek which I was happy to embark on despite the prospect of not seeing any water gushing out of the waterfall. As we often say, its the journey that matters and not the destination, isn’t it?

I started pouring over the map, not believing my luck at having chanced upon this gem the day before, more so when I glanced at the map I got from the hotel, which apart from an arrow into nothingness, did not provide any more details regarding the location of the waterfall.

As I walked, I realised once again how I had to recognise signs of railway tracks on the hand drawn map. You can imagine how ecstatic I was when I actually found the noodle factory! Well, factory is probably a big word at that time of the day. I basically chanced upon noodles being hung out to dry in a courtyard. As I passed the numerous houses with Chinese New Year couplets in the village, I marvelled at how many Myanmar Chinese families there were in Hsipaw. To my surprise really. After a couple of wrong twists and turns (the trick is really to try all paths until you find the right one leading to Rome), I found myself between two padi fields, which once again was totally conform to what was drawn on the map. I heaved a sigh of relief.

I started slowing down to walk at a rather leisurely pace. I realised that I was going too fast the day before on my bike as I was anxious to reach my destination; and that today, I am starting to savour the moment. What I did not know was that I would stop altogether the next day to linger at Mrs Popcorn’s garden (a nice local organic restaurant) and write. The beauty of travelling in undeveloped countries, is that one learns to slow down to smell the flowers and savour the sights. And that is exactly what I did. Though I admit not to recognise any of the vegetables that was being grown around me.

I then came across a lovely old lady playing in the sun with her grandson and I lingered to mesmerise the kid with polaroids of himself. What a wonderful invention. I always manage to distract children with photos of themselves while I whisk out my SLR to capture that particular moment when their eyes twinkle at seeing…themselves. At seeing a photo of her cute grandson, the old lady took the initiative to ask for a photo of her and her grandson! I immediately understood the significance of this geste as it is rare for any self-respecting shy-at-heart Burmese person to do anything of this nature. I then witnessed a more-than-familiar scene after – the photo was pocketed without any exaggerated openly-expressed signs of joy (only to be passed around the hands of exited neighbours and family members the minute I was out of sight). I truly respect this zen culture where outward emotions are not the norme and keeping calm is the highest level of self-containment.  

After leaving the village, I found myself hiking up the road in the direction of Mandalay when I caught myself again to notice the Islamic sign of a muslim cemetery at the side of the road. Alas, this was clearly indicated on the hand drawn map once again. I was a little disturbed to have to walk past not one but two cemeteries as there was a Chinese one just beside the Muslim cemetery. But oh well, we have to do what we have to do. As I trudged uphill, I came across a group of men and kid herding goats to graze…at the cemetery. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at such a scene. I wonder if the families of the deceased would be happy. After all the goats are helping to keep the grass from overgrowing and hiding the tombs from sight, whilst feeding themselves of course. Wherein lies the problem, I wonder? It is a win-win situation after all. 

As I gazed at the Chinese cemetery which honestly reminds me of Bukit Brown (one  of the largest Chinese cemeteries in the world to be found in Singapore), one of the goat herders cried out, waterfall? Once again, the Burmese always offer help when you least expect it. The poor guy was probably afraid that this blur tourist was going to get lost in the wilderness! I was amazed at how accurate the map was – the number of bridges, streams, and banana plantations were all accurate, located exactly where I was supposed to find them, as indicated by the trusty old map. Long live technology and the habit of sharing resources online. It really brings people of the world closer, especially unprepared and disorganised tourists like me.

After walking for two hours, I finally found the waterfall and I decided to do what I do best, plonk myself down on a rock and stare into nothingness.

Thus is life!