Need a friendly Guide/ Travel Agent in Kalaw who speaks good English?
Contact: Joseph Andrews
West Of The Market
D4, Min Street
Kalaw
Tel: 95-081-50688
email: [email protected]
I met Joseph who is a Catholic while wandering around Kalaw and was invited for a cup of tea;
He was most helpful as I quizzed him about trains, buses and everything else about the area:
I would certainly recommend him if you need to book anything from a hotel/guesthouse to a bus ticket or air ticket.
He can give you some very useful advice.
Need assistance in Kalaw?
Ask Joseph.
West Of The Market
D4, Min Street
Kalaw
Tel: 95-081-50688
email: [email protected]
I met Joseph who is a Catholic while wandering around Kalaw and was invited for a cup of tea;
He was most helpful as I quizzed him about trains, buses and everything else about the area:
I would certainly recommend him if you need to book anything from a hotel/guesthouse to a bus ticket or air ticket.
He can give you some very useful advice.
Need assistance in Kalaw?
Ask Joseph.
Where to stay in Kalaw:
Kalaw has quite a few Hotels and Guesthouses but just to get started here are a couple in the $8 - $15 range.
As with the others on this site prices are per person, per night and usually include breakfast which seems to vary wildly in quantity and quality;-
$8 - $10
Golen Kalaw Inn (Kyaw Kyaw)
5/92
Nat Sin Road
Quarter 5
Kalaw
Tel: 081-50311
email: [email protected]
Not a bad budget place which was quite busy with backpackers when I visited; town is only a few hundred metres away.
$15 (ask for Sam)
Golden Express Hotel
New Shine Hotel (Kalaw)
21, Union Highway,
KalawTel: 95-1-226-779, 225-569, 705-876
email: [email protected]
Website: www.goldenexpresstours.com
$22
Dream Villa Hotel
Zatila Street
(5) Quarter
Kalaw
Tel: 095-081-50144, 50447
email: [email protected]
This is a nice place which caters for tour buses; the bulding is nice, the staff speak English and it is very central.
$25
Green Haven Hotel
Shwe Oo Min Pagoda Road
10th. Quarter
Kalaw
Tel: 081-50639, Mobile: 52-80-822
email: [email protected]
Website: www.greenhavenhotel.yolasite.com
This is a nice hotel if a bit of a long walk out of town, (about 20 minutes); it mostly caters for tours.
It is a very large building and it in very good clean condition and in a nice quiet hillside location;
I was the only guest so it was very quiet, I was met on the drive by 4 ladies who offered me a cool drink, a cold towel and wanted to carry my bag!
The rooms are nice with clean modern showers, TV and the usual stuff.
They really need a shuttle bus, taxi or motorbike as walking back and forth to town can get a bit tedious.
Breakfast contained just enough calories to get me into town! where I could eat again.
As with the others on this site prices are per person, per night and usually include breakfast which seems to vary wildly in quantity and quality;-
$8 - $10
Golen Kalaw Inn (Kyaw Kyaw)
5/92
Nat Sin Road
Quarter 5
Kalaw
Tel: 081-50311
email: [email protected]
Not a bad budget place which was quite busy with backpackers when I visited; town is only a few hundred metres away.
$15 (ask for Sam)
Golden Express Hotel
New Shine Hotel (Kalaw)
21, Union Highway,
KalawTel: 95-1-226-779, 225-569, 705-876
email: [email protected]
Website: www.goldenexpresstours.com
$22
Dream Villa Hotel
Zatila Street
(5) Quarter
Kalaw
Tel: 095-081-50144, 50447
email: [email protected]
This is a nice place which caters for tour buses; the bulding is nice, the staff speak English and it is very central.
$25
Green Haven Hotel
Shwe Oo Min Pagoda Road
10th. Quarter
Kalaw
Tel: 081-50639, Mobile: 52-80-822
email: [email protected]
Website: www.greenhavenhotel.yolasite.com
This is a nice hotel if a bit of a long walk out of town, (about 20 minutes); it mostly caters for tours.
It is a very large building and it in very good clean condition and in a nice quiet hillside location;
I was the only guest so it was very quiet, I was met on the drive by 4 ladies who offered me a cool drink, a cold towel and wanted to carry my bag!
The rooms are nice with clean modern showers, TV and the usual stuff.
They really need a shuttle bus, taxi or motorbike as walking back and forth to town can get a bit tedious.
Breakfast contained just enough calories to get me into town! where I could eat again.
Trekking:
Kalaw is an old British Colonial Hill Station and now a trekking centre for this area:
For information and to book a guide contact:-
Sam's Family,
21, Aung Chan Thar Street,
Quarter No.5,
Kalaw
Tel: Home: 95-81-50377, Office: 95-81-50444, 50237
Sam is a licensed guide with decades of experience and is quite a character: his team of 7 speak English,French,German and Japanese will not lead you up the garden path.
2 day treks to Inle Lake are popular and include a stay at a village en-route.
You can also eat at Sam's Restaurant where they serve a good meal.
Kalaw is an old British Colonial Hill Station and now a trekking centre for this area:
For information and to book a guide contact:-
Sam's Family,
21, Aung Chan Thar Street,
Quarter No.5,
Kalaw
Tel: Home: 95-81-50377, Office: 95-81-50444, 50237
Sam is a licensed guide with decades of experience and is quite a character: his team of 7 speak English,French,German and Japanese will not lead you up the garden path.
2 day treks to Inle Lake are popular and include a stay at a village en-route.
You can also eat at Sam's Restaurant where they serve a good meal.
Click on the bus to view some photos of the bus trip from Kalaw to Thazi
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Taking the Bus from Kalaw to Thazi.....................and the train from Thazi to Yangon
You can get a bus from Kalaw town centre to Thazi (where you can join the train from Mandalay to Yangon).
The buses leave in the morning, before 10 a.m. so I was told but as I am not an early riser I turned up about 10:45 and still managed to get on a bus; It is about a 4-5 hour trip through the mountains and is quite spectacular and being the only European on the bus I got to sit up front between the driver and another passenger where I had a great view of all the potential hazards!!!
The bus stops once for about 1 hour where you are able to get a meal and stock up with bottled water while the driver pours water on the wheels to cool the brakes!
A wonderful experience which was made more interesting when the driver forgot to let me off in Thazi and took me on to Meiktila where I had to ride on the roof of a minibus back to Thazi.
I would like to visit Meiktila again, it looked like an interesting place.
There is not much to see in Thazi but I was able to get a meal and drink some excellent beer;
The train for Yangon is called the "Mandalay Express" ( a name which could not be further from the truth):
it departs from Thazi in the evening about 6 p.m. and takes 12 hours to reach Yangon; sleeper compartments are available but NOT on Sundays.
The buses leave in the morning, before 10 a.m. so I was told but as I am not an early riser I turned up about 10:45 and still managed to get on a bus; It is about a 4-5 hour trip through the mountains and is quite spectacular and being the only European on the bus I got to sit up front between the driver and another passenger where I had a great view of all the potential hazards!!!
The bus stops once for about 1 hour where you are able to get a meal and stock up with bottled water while the driver pours water on the wheels to cool the brakes!
A wonderful experience which was made more interesting when the driver forgot to let me off in Thazi and took me on to Meiktila where I had to ride on the roof of a minibus back to Thazi.
I would like to visit Meiktila again, it looked like an interesting place.
There is not much to see in Thazi but I was able to get a meal and drink some excellent beer;
The train for Yangon is called the "Mandalay Express" ( a name which could not be further from the truth):
it departs from Thazi in the evening about 6 p.m. and takes 12 hours to reach Yangon; sleeper compartments are available but NOT on Sundays.