Putao: Tranquillity in the Snow-capped Himalayas
By Amy Nair
My husband and I have been married for ten years, and to celebrate this milestone we decided on a romantic getaway. The thing with us and our holidays is that we love to go to less crowded places and yet not miss out on all that new destinations have to offer. We zeroed in on Myanmar, a country mysterious enough that it has stayed special and away from the usual tourist foot traffic.
A Cute Hill Station
Putao is a small hill station surrounded by green valleys and snow-capped Himalayan peaks. Tucked away in the northern corner of the country, the town extends across several hills.
Putao is sparsely populated, so you’ll hardly see anyone when you’re there. Truly speaking, we saw more cows than cars when we were there. But it only contributed to the carefree atmosphere as we walked around the hilly roads and enjoyed the view . Putao was a treat for us.
Getting to Putao
We landed at Yangon International Airport and took a domestic flight to Putao Airport. The flight from Yangon to Putao had a stop at Myitkina, probably because of the lack of passengers. Putao is a restricted area, thus it can only be reached by air if you’re a foreigner. The airport is located quite near the city, so it wasn’t difficult to book a taxi to our hotel.
Getting Around in Putao
The hills reached for miles and walking was the only way we got around. The option to rent a bicycle was also available from the nearby town, but the air was just too good to miss out on. As a hill station, the air there was a refreshing breeze that lifted my spirits greatly, and it was truly a liberating encounter.
Many areas of Putao are restricted for foreign tourists, so we made sure to stay clear of them once the staff at our hotel informed us.
Amazing Views
Being surrounded by snowcapped mountains alone in a distant hill has its charm and we enjoyed it immensely. We saw the famed Hkakaborazi Mountain at a distance on one of the days when the skies were clear. The area around this tiny town is full of astounding flora and fauna, some of which I have never seen in my life. We went in search of the rare and famous Black Orchid species which was known to grow around, but could not found any, unfortunately.
Our guide told us that these were usually situated further in the forests, but as it was getting dark we did not take up his offer.
Trekking at Putao
I am not much of a trekker, thus we never intended to trek in Putao. However, the lush green forests beckoned to me the next day and I was feeling particularly adventurous, so we ended up trekking anyway. We got a guide from our hotel who took us around the forests. There were many hiking routes with varying difficulties. We chose the easiest path since I wasn’t very familiar. We created our own routes, slipping through trees and bamboo groves. There were a few mossy areas along the slopes which were quite slippery, so we fashioned walking sticks from the broken branches on the ground to help stabilise our footing. Overall, it was fun.
Friendly Locals
The inhabitants of Putao mostly belong to Kachin, Lisu and Rawang ethnic groups. They are simple people and greet tourists the area with warmth. I cannot think of one unpleasant encounter we had in the five days we spent in the town.
Shopping at Putao
As an avid traveller, I liked to pick mementoes in places I visited from our friends and family back home. The matching gifts I found were unique handicrafts made by the Kachin ethnic group, which featured different types of bamboo-woven baskets. I also bought some local cookies and chocolate. There were also shops that sell woollen garments in Putao and hiking equipment for the adventurous souls that wish to attempt the climb up to Mount Hkakaborazi.
We had a memorable time at Putao exploring the the small rivers that flowed between the villages and pebbled roads where the local people would pass by and offer us a greeting. It was a welcome break from our busy schedule. These five days away from the world was a peaceful getaway with happy memories that we would remember and keep close to us.
Hey, thanks for the blog post.Much thanks again. Want more.
Enjoyed reading through this, very good stuff, appreciate it.
Escape roomy lista
Conhecem algum método para ajudar a evitar que o conteúdo seja roubado? Agradecia imenso.
webové stránky jsou opravdu pozoruhodné pro lidi zkušenosti, dobře,
fortsæt det gode arbejde stipendiater. Med at have så meget indhold og artikler gør du det
vykřiknout a říct, že mě opravdu baví číst vaše příspěvky na blogu.
With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My website has a lot of unique content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my agreement. Do you know any methods to help reduce content from being stolen? I’d definitely appreciate it.
har også bogmærket dig for at se på nye ting på din blog Hej! Har du noget imod, hvis jeg deler din blog med min facebook
pokračujte v pěkné práci, kolegové.|Když máte tolik obsahu a článků, děláte to?
webové stránky jsou opravdu pozoruhodné pro lidi zkušenosti, dobře,
Esta página tem definitivamente toda a informação que eu queria sobre este assunto e não sabia a quem perguntar. Este é o meu primeiro comentário aqui, então eu só queria dar um rápido
har også bogmærket dig for at se på nye ting på din blog Hej! Har du noget imod, hvis jeg deler din blog med min facebook
|Tato stránka má rozhodně všechny informace, které jsem o tomto tématu chtěl a nevěděl jsem, koho se zeptat.|Dobrý den! Tohle je můj 1. komentář tady, takže jsem chtěl jen dát rychlý
vykřiknout a říct, že mě opravdu baví číst vaše příspěvky na blogu.
devido a esta maravilhosa leitura!!! O que é que eu acho?
fortsæt med at guide andre. Jeg var meget glad for at afdække dette websted. Jeg er nødt til at takke dig for din tid
) سأعيد زيارتها مرة أخرى لأنني قمت بوضع علامة كتاب عليها. المال والحرية هي أفضل طريقة للتغيير، أتمنى أن تكون غنيًا و
O conteúdo existente nesta página é realmente notável para a experiência das pessoas,
|Tato stránka má rozhodně všechny informace, které jsem o tomto tématu chtěl a nevěděl jsem, koho se zeptat.|Dobrý den! Tohle je můj 1. komentář tady, takže jsem chtěl jen dát rychlý
for the reason that here every material is quality based
råb ud og sig, at jeg virkelig nyder at læse gennem dine blogindlæg.
Znáte nějaké metody, které by pomohly omezit krádeže obsahu? Rozhodně bych ocenil
skupině? Je tu spousta lidí, o kterých si myslím, že by se opravdu
grupo do facebook? Há muitas pessoas que eu acho que iriam realmente
ocenili váš obsah. Dejte mi prosím vědět.
) Jeg vil besøge igen, da jeg har bogmærket det. Penge og frihed er den bedste måde at ændre sig på, må du være rig og
fortsæt det gode arbejde stipendiater. Med at have så meget indhold og artikler gør du det
|Hello to all, for the reason that I am actually keen of
díky tomuto nádhernému čtení! Rozhodně se mi líbil každý kousek z toho a já
pokračujte v pěkné práci, kolegové.|Když máte tolik obsahu a článků, děláte to?
مرحبًا، أعتقد أن هذه مدونة ممتازة. لقد عثرت عليها بالصدفة ;
apreciariam o seu conteúdo. Por favor, me avise.
for the reason that here every material is quality based
Com tanto conteúdo e artigos, vocês já se depararam com algum problema de plágio?
že spousta z něj se objevuje na internetu bez mého souhlasu.
الاستمرار في توجيه الآخرين.|Ahoj, věřím, že je to vynikající blog. Narazil jsem na něj;
har også bogmærket dig for at se på nye ting på din blog Hej! Har du noget imod, hvis jeg deler din blog med min facebook
) Vou voltar a visitá-lo uma vez que o marquei no livro. O dinheiro e a liberdade são a melhor forma de mudar, que sejas rico e continues a orientar os outros.
Tak skal du have!|Olá, creio que este é um excelente blogue. Tropecei nele;
at web, except I know I am getting familiarity all the time by reading thes pleasant posts.|Fantastic post. I will also be handling some of these problems.|Hello, I think this is a great blog. I happened onto it;) I have bookmarked it and will check it out again. The best way to change is via wealth and independence. May you prosper and never stop mentoring others.|I was overjoyed to find this website. I must express my gratitude for your time because this was an amazing read! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I’ve bookmarked your blog so I can check out fresh content in the future.|Hi there! If I shared your blog with my Facebook group, would that be okay? I believe there are a lot of people who would truly value your article.|منشور رائع. سأتعامل مع بعض هذه|
مرحبًا، أعتقد أن هذه مدونة ممتازة. لقد عثرت عليها بالصدفة ;
مرحبًا، أعتقد أن هذه مدونة ممتازة. لقد عثرت عليها بالصدفة ;
at web, except I know I am getting familiarity all the time by reading thes pleasant posts.|Fantastic post. I will also be handling some of these problems.|Hello, I think this is a great blog. I happened onto it;) I have bookmarked it and will check it out again. The best way to change is via wealth and independence. May you prosper and never stop mentoring others.|I was overjoyed to find this website. I must express my gratitude for your time because this was an amazing read! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I’ve bookmarked your blog so I can check out fresh content in the future.|Hi there! If I shared your blog with my Facebook group, would that be okay? I believe there are a lot of people who would truly value your article.|منشور رائع. سأتعامل مع بعض هذه|
fortsæt det gode arbejde stipendiater. Med at have så meget indhold og artikler gør du det
Kender du nogen metoder, der kan hjælpe med at forhindre, at indholdet bliver stjålet? Det ville jeg sætte stor pris på.
webside er virkelig bemærkelsesværdig for folks oplevelse, godt,
råb ud og sig, at jeg virkelig nyder at læse gennem dine blogindlæg.
|Hello to all, for the reason that I am actually keen of
Hi there to every one, the contents existing at this web page are truly remarkable for people experience, well,keep up the nice work fellows.
webside er virkelig bemærkelsesværdig for folks oplevelse, godt,
gruppe? Der er mange mennesker, som jeg tror virkelig ville
på grund af denne vidunderlige læsning !!! Jeg kunne bestemt virkelig godt lide hver eneste lille smule af det, og jeg
It contains fastidious material.|I think the admin of this website is actually working hard in favor of his site,