Myanmar (Burma) - Inle Lake

Inle Lake could not be more different to Bagan.  From the dry, red, scorched earth of Bagan we landed in a green and blue water world.  To get to Inle Lake you actually have to fly to Heho airport in Shan state, which is about an hour drive from the lake.  This area of Myanmar is the agricultural cradle of the country.  Most of the food is produced here due to the very fertile land.    Besides agriculture, this state is also rich in mines and minerals, thus it's considered one of the richer states in Myanmar.  You can imagine that the Chinese and Russian investors are very much interested in Shan state!  Who cares re the American and European embargo … right?

As you approach Inle Lake, you will realize that the long lake is situated in a valley flanked by green hill ranges on both sides.  The lake is at 900 m altitude, does the temperature is much lower here.  Do I dare say that it was slightly cool during the night?  The lake is a sheath of translucent glass, never knowing where it begins or ends.  The water turns into marshland turns into jungle, so the boundary is very fluid.  This effect definitely adds to the mystique.  Life here happens on water.  Instead of driving cars the local tribes commute in wooden boats, instead of living on solid ground the locals live in bamboo houses that are built on stilts.  And instead of growing their food on land, the people here live off fishing and vegetables that are grown on floating gardens.  Over the centuries, the local tribes which live in more than 100 villages around the lake have learnt how to survive on water and how to live in harmony with their liquid surrounding.  The place is a photographers dream!

SIGHTS TO SEE:

> Travel by long boats:  there are no cars in this 'city', only boats.  And sitting in a long boat as you navigate the long lake and its many waterways is like begin in a meditative trance.  You can hardly believe there is such a beautiful place in this world!  Indigenous to this place is the very unique way the locals row their small wooden boats.  The special rowing is done with one leg while they balance their body with the other leg, while standing on the edge of the boat … how they do it I don't know!  With the rowing leg, they use the inner tie to create a figure eight-like motion in the water.  It's an incredibly harmonious movement.

> Visit local villages:  this is a veritable city on the lake with people working and living on the water.  There are some beautiful crafts to be seen in the various towns:  Inpawkhone weaving village is one of them, where besides silk weaving they also do a special lotus thread weaving which is incredibly laborious (see the video).  You can also visit blacksmiths and cigar factories.

> Floating gardens:  the locals have invented a special floating garden design on which they grow their vegetables.  These narrow strips of buoyant natural material are superimposed with soil and anchored to the lake bed with bamboo sticks.  And on top of this they plant their gardens, the strips being spread apart enough so that the local boats can come through to harvest the vegetables.  And the floating gardens are strong enough for the locals to stand on them as well.

> Visit local floating market:  on Inle Lake you will still find a living floating market, that rotates between 5 locations every 5 days.  The locals from all the villages surrounding the lake come here by boat to sell their fruits, vegetables and other goods.  There are also a lot of 'tourist stands' where you can buy some beautiful local handicraft.

> Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda:  this is the lakes main sanctuary which contains five sacred buddha images covered in gold.  However, instead of buddhas these images look like egg-shaped lumps.  Initially there were 5 buddha statues, however, the tradition is that everyone who comes to the temple is to buy a small set of gold-leaf sheets and paste them onto the statues.  Of course with time, the buddhas have lost their shape due to this process.  The only downside, women are not allowed to touch the statues!

> Nga Hpe Chaung Monastery:  this floating monastery has an incredible collection of bamboo carved buddhas.  Why bamboo?  Because living on water, if the temple was to be blown away during a storm, the buddha statues would simply float and not be damaged or lost.  However, the monastery seems to be more renowned for its jumping cats.  Yes, here you will find a whole bunch of cats that have been trained to jump through loops.  However, the monks told us that the cats are now retired.  We did see a few little pussy cats perform the daring feat though :-)

> Pa-Oh village of In Dein and the Shwe Inn Tain Pagoda:  this is another monastery further away from the lake.  To get here you need to take a long-boat up one of the canals, up some mini-waterfalls and after about an hour you finally arrive to this monastery and the land of a thousand abandoned pagodas!  As you walk amongst the recently discovered pagodas that are strewn around and crumbling, you are confronted with the question:  do we try and preserve these pagodas which are crumbling for albeit very ornate, they were not built very well, or do we let nature take its toll?  There are some pagodas that have been restored … in a terrible way!  Gaudy and kitschy are the first words that come to mind when you see them!  Our guide Shine had his theory.  Buddhism teaches the law of impermanence, where nothing lasts forever.  So why not just let them follow their intended path?

> Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery:  this monastery is located on the way to Heho airport, where young novice monks come to learn about Buddhism.  These are 10 year old boys that are part still children and want to play, yet part of them is on a path to nirvana.  Beautiful process to witness.

RESTAURANTS:

> Golden Kite Restaurant:  this definitely wins the award for the biggest surprise of our trip!  On the southern tip of Inle Lake there is a big house on stilts that is the Golden Kite Restaurant.  And it's an Italian restaurant out of all things!  We were expecting some local food, but instead we ate great pizzas made in a wooden oven, ravioli, bruschetta and home-made pasta with fresh ingredients from Italy.  To top it off, the proprietor was an Italianized Burmese … who had never been to Italy!  He waved his hands while a-talk-ing like-a this, always touched you while conversing and was very animated.  Just like an Italian.  The story goes like this … many years ago he had a Burmese Restaurant where he met an Italian lady who taught him how to cook Italian food.  He got so encouraged by his new skill that he decided to close the Burmese Restaurant and open and Italian one instead.  The rest is local history!  He's now rich, successful, happy … except he has terrible coffee.  That's the only thing that needs to improve!

> Ann's Restaurant:  located on the western part of the lake, this restaurant is run by a very successful local women who when you meet her, exudes class.  Talking to her, you feel like you're talking to royalty!  After you've finished your meal overlooking the gorgeous Inle Lake, make sure you also visit the magnificent orchid garden right behind the restaurant.  Too bad the orchids were out of season when we were there!  The lady also runs a hotel by the same name with a floating spa.  The idea of being massaged in a bungalow that is floating on the lake seemed very appealing to me.

HOTEL:

> Inle Princess Resort:  Although not actually on the main lake, but located on one of its waterways, this hotel is a dream!  As you approach the dark wooden structure, the long boat shuts down its engine as it approaches a wooden floating outpost some 150 meters from the hotel.  From the wooden dock jumps in a young boy who begins to row the long-boat with the traditional one-foot rowing movement.  The reason is that the hotel believes in no un-natural noises protruding into its natural sphere.  So your approach is in silence and in harmony with the surrounding environment.  All the hotel rooms are very spacious and beautifully decorated bungalows, that either face a peaceful inner lake or on to the waterways.  Staying here was like being in a dream.  Beautiful gardens, peaceful sounds, and luxurious.