Translated By : Kyaw Kyaw Linn

Written By :HninSiThakhin

Kalaw is a town that will never become commonplace for its visitors and that is always lovely. Having a wide variety of places to visit and a year-round cooling weather makes the small town a mostly visited place. Hearing the name ‘Kalaw’, a view of a collection of colonial era buildings will appear on one’s mind’s eye, and you can take a heritage walk to explore these 100-year-old buildings.

Standing several nice-to-stay hotels there adds more interests to visitors to come. Among them, what that causes the charm town much prominent is the Kalaw Heritage, an oldest hotel in it, since 1903. What to be acclaimed is that hotel’s buildings, interior designs, and room structures have been under keeping as they were in the colonial era, setting it to have the atmosphere of the era. Second to ‘Strand Hotel, Yangon’ in age, the hotel is deliberately visited by those who love colonial period’s buildings and ancient artworks.

Due to the fact that the hotel is very beautiful and because of its aged buildings, it becomes a movie site to where even outsiders often come and take photos and is also a tourist attraction.

PINE

The name of the reception-included two storey building is ‘PINE’, built in 1906. It provides 12 rooms upstairs — 8 Delux rooms and 4 Heritage Suites. Suite rooms stand at edges possessing stunning window view of mountain scenery and are the best ones to get pleasures from natural beauties. Occasionally, German author Jan Phillip Sendker intentionally comes and takes a long stay in one of these two rooms. Each Delux room is priced at MMK 115000 per night for local guests and at $ 120 for foreign guests. And Suite rooms, MMK 140000 and $165 for local and foreign guests respectively. Downstairs of PINE includes Heritage Bar, Sisson’s restaurant and gift shop.

ACORN

Older one in the two colonial buildings, constructed in 1903. No revapment has been made to the building, keeping it the same as it was built. Especially foreign guests prefer the building and usually stay by prebooking. 15 Superior rooms are housed, each priced at $100 for foreign guests and at MMK 90000 for local guests.

TUDOR

Latterly built two story building that has not turned hundred . This white building features 18 Classic rooms each with the price of MMK 6500 for local guests and $ 75 for foreigners.

The three buildings — PINE, ACORN and Tudor — provide 45 rooms in total. All the rooms are embellished in Europe style, giving guests a feeling as if they are in a West’s hotel and a breath of colonial period. Not every room comes with an air-conditioner but with old-fashioned ceiling fan. Sisson’s restaurant serves breakfast and dinner to guests with delicious West, Myanmar and Chinese foods. Not only the hotel’s guests, even outsiders often come and have breakfast in the restaurant. Heritage Bar next to the restaurant is decorated with antique farmhouses and it is here where you can have coffee or chooseable and reasonably priced cocktails. In front of the bar is gift shop to buy souvenirs.

LOVER’S TREE

There is one more attractive place in the hotel’s compound, ‘Lover’ s tree’ , a pair of conifer and banyan trees aged over hundred years. No guest, local or foreign, would come back home without taking a photo with the trees.

So, for those who long for getting a feeling of colonial period and who want to cerenly stay in a proper place, Kalaw Heritage hotel is the finest to fulfill your needs.

Travelling_Journal/Vol_1_Issue_12