Kachin Tribal Village Trek, Burma/Myanmar - Hiking in the Jungles of Burma

Thankfully, the flight to Putao was direct and quick. We had a quick dinner before hopping in a jeep to be carried to our adventure. How many people can you fit in a jeep? Well, in Putao, at least 14. Amid much laughter the porters were loaded on a scrap of bumper at the back end. It was a crazy ride. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see much sitting, or more accurately, hanging off the back. As we drove kids gleefully ran alongside the jeep. It seemed that just seeing a jeep was a treat. They tried sprinting to keep up as we drove backward in time.

We stopped at a hut where we would stay the night. The floors of the huts were made of thick, solid wood planks and the house’s overall construction far exceeded anything I expected. Equally impressive was the size of the hut. Quite roomy for a hand-planed, do-it-yourselfer. As we settled in, we attracted a covey of kids. Kirk and Nancy outdid themselves and were totally prepared to interact in ways I never contemplated. Kirk pulled out postcards from home as well as a picture book of Burmese animals. The kids were fascinated. Kirk pointed to an animal and said its name in English. The kids responded in Burmese. Nancy followed by breaking out a wildly colored super ball and series of tops for the kids to spin. Even without a common language to communicate, we had no problem playing with the children.

It wasn’t until the following morning that Nancy pulled out the magical slinky from her bag. While it didn’t walk down the steep outdoor steps of the hut “without a care,” the locals found other ways to amuse themselves with it. One old, barefoot man gleamed with the joy of a child as he let the slinky drop to the ground and bounce back up. At first the kids were scared, but eventually they warmed up to it and were amazed.

The story continues...