‘I didn’t want to leave this imperfect paradise, yet the very pleasure I took in it somehow rekindled my childhood tendency to imagine what other paradisal places there might be in the world …”

Pascal Khoo Thwe’s lyrical memoir From the Land of Green Ghosts about growing up in Kayah State has drawn many travellers to visit Myanmar’s smallest state. For a long time, seeing the Kayan-Padaung “long-neck” ladies was exploitative and involved visiting “human zoos” in Myanmar or over the border in Thailand.

That is no longer the case. Thanks to the community-based tourism projects supported by ITC / CBI, travellers can meet these ladies on their own turf, and on their own terms.

We will then take you by boat up to Samkar Lake: Inle’s smaller, quieter sister. Spend a night here before puttering up through the reeds into Southern Shan State.