A 5 hour hike brought us from Hsipaw to the mountain village PanKam, passing several small villages and beautiful landscapes on the way. We found the young wife of the headman who spoke well English and introduced us to her mother-in-law to stay for the night. Since we arrived early in the afternoon we were offered lunch which contained authentic Myanmar dishes. Lunch, dinner and breakfast the next morning were all cooked over the open fire in the middle of the common room and was the most delicious food we had during our entire stay in Myanmar. At night our host brought us to the neighbor’s house where the family was processing fresh tea leaves by steaming them and afterwards crushing them with their hands on a bamboo sieve.

After a hardy breakfast we made our way back to Hsipaw while the sun pierced through the early morning mist.