Inle Lake, Myanmar

Introduction

Inle Lakes famous rowers

Roughly in the centre of Myanmar is one of the most beautiful lakes of Southeast Asia. Lush, green and fertile, remote Inle Lake is a picture of rural tranquility. As it lies in the Shan state, an undeveloped state the size of Portugal with merely one industrial plant, the environment is pristine.

The lazy pace combined with an absence of roads, technology or communications give a sense of peace thats vanished from the modern world. The lake offers plenty of photo opportunities with paddy fields, floating villages and the famous local one-legged rowing technique. Beyond is unspoilt countryside populated by colourful ethnic minorities, and the newly opened archeological site of Kakku.

Inle Lake is a stunning escape. Many feel two nights is enough, but if you really want to get your teeth into the lake and its surroundings, plus put your feet up, youll probably need more.

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Attractions

A pristine environment

It would be very easy not to budge and just to read a book with a periodic gaze at the view. The floating attractions are very low-key and simple and merely offer an insight into the simple life on the lake. Most are found around the cluster of buildings hovering above the waterline scattered around the southern end.

Huddled the waterborne cul-de-sac known as Inpaw Khone are the silk weaving workshops. Friendly old ladies churn out quality silks from their basic clanking looms. Blankets, clothes and other goods can be bought from the fixed price shop.

Nearby is Se Khaung, a frequent stopping-off point for visits to the local blacksmiths. The pedal powered billows and teams of hammering smiths are an interesting sight, these skills have all but disappeared from many corners of the world.

Just a few minutes away by boat is Nam-Pan, the centre for cheroot making. Chatty ladies sit cross-legged and roll away at the famous cheroots. Kipling rated Burmas cheroots very highly. Share a cup of tea with the cheroot makers and perhaps sample one and find out why.

One of the most revered temples in the country is Phaung Daw U Pagoda, also built on the lake. The temple is rather ordinary to look at and seems a bit musty and run down inside. As far as Myanmars magnificent temples go this one is a little clumsy, but its home of the five sacred Buddha images dating back a thousand years and is of special significance.

The Ywama floating market village bustles with boats and vegetables once every 5 days, but also opens for tourists every morning.

Definitely one of the highlights of Inle Lake is the old Nga Phe Monastery, fondly known as the Jumping Cats Monastery. The monastery is a rather rickety big old shack with an atmospheric, rather rustic interior with some grand Buddha statues. The bizarre and memorable twist is the scores of cats lazing around. Somehow, the pleasant monks have trained these usually most uncooperative creatures to jump though hoops for little treats.

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Entertainment and Eating Out

Kakku - revealed at last

Not surprisingly, the choices are very limited. Theres little going on during the day, and the nights are dead. Electricity cuts out and most of the light comes either from the moon or the dancing fireflies. The only excitement is the distant Buddhist chanting and the odd fish plopping through the water a few feet under your bed.

Despite what the local people tell you, food on the lake is poor, and often fills the belly rather than the imagination. Shan food seems to be a rather dry selection of stir-fries and crackers and is worth trying while you are there, although it must be said that few travellers rave about it.

The expensive Inle Princess Resort is one of the better places to go for dining and entertainment. The large restaurant has a reasonable menu serving generous portions of Shan cuisine. The hotel staff also put on spirited cultural shows with flamboyant costumes each night. The resort also has the lakes only bar, but its still low key.

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Shopping

Rush hour traffic

Apart from a few souvenir shacks near the Phaung Daw U Pagoda and the silk outlet there is virtually nothing that can be described as a shop on the lake. The local cottage industries are very happy to sell their goods to tourists. The weavers and cheroot makers do pretty good business.

The five local markets on and around the lake each take turns to host the days trade. Its very much a fruit and veg affair but you often find souvenirs popping up before you.

The big daily event attracting everyone is the Ywama floating market each morning. This is also where youll encounter Inle Lakes negative tourism. Its bedlam as fleets of hawker boats swoop in and cut off any escape, and dozens of arms thrust souvenirs up your nose. It might not be worth even attempting to haggle as the prices asked can be quite literally hundreds of times too high. The fifth day of the rota sees some normality return as the market opens for general trade, but if you are looking to passively observe a charming floating rural market, avoid this like the plague on non-market days.

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Cyber Inle Lake and Banking
The simple lake buildings are on stilts. There are no phones and electricity comes from small generators. The most advanced technology out here is the wind-up phone linking your room to reception and their radio links to shore. Back on dry land at Nyaungshwe are telephones and ridiculous rates with terrible connections. The Internet is illegal and email is not linked to the region. As far as communications are concerned, forget it!

After Yangon youll have a better idea of the dire financial operations of Myanmar. Inle Lake is a rural backwater. You cannot count on anything other than the contents of your own wallet or purse; there are no financial systems floating on the lake and nothing of practical use to foreigners in the whole state.

It gets worse - no credit cards are accepted! Come prepared, bring hard cash to the Inle Lake! Several travellers have come unstuck when hit with the bill, leading to some novel arrangements.

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Tours

Life on the lake

Besides the boat trips onto the lake or canoe trips down the tributaries, there are one or two tours available to the surrounding rural areas. The lakes rich ecosystem is a dream for bird-watchers and nature lovers. Tour prices charged out here at the hotels can be excessive, shop around.

Leisurely hikes around the lake and into the surrounding hills and villages are easily arranged. There is a shy family of long-necked Karens living nearby. Their housing and food is provided by the local population in return for impromptu photo sessions with tourists.

Only very recently opened to foreigners, Kakku is a densely packed collection of thousands of crumbling stupas a few hours from the lake. Very little research has been done on the mysterious stupas, recent work suggests they are 300 years old but other estimates place them back as far as the 11th century. Special permits are required to get out here so only a dribble of foreigners visit weekly. They are in dire need of professional restoration work - unfortunately, the well-intentioned local Pa-O people have totally destroyed and rebuilt some of them, and more disastrous attempts are popping up. Most are untouched, incredibly, with centuries old Buddha statues just lying around in pieces and the stupa vanes tinkling in the wind.

Treks through the remote hills and Pa-O villages are easily arranged, but again, as this is a restricted area some paperwork is in order, which bumps up the price of a tour. Due to the separatist movement in the Shan state, the area is politically sensitive and the government arent to keen for travellers to stumble across the huge opium fields of the region either. It seems though that they can be glanced at with a bit of persuasion.

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Getting From A to B

A community on stilts

Rather obviously the best way to get around the lake is by boat. The jetty at Nyaungshwe, the village on the North shore of the lake collects fees from foreigners before allowing you on the boats. The few hotels on the lake have their own boats though some charge outrageous rates for them - the equivalent of 2 weeks wages for any journey!

Back on dry land at transit point Nyaungshwe, road transport is available to the state capital Taunggyi and beyond. You can go by pickup as the Shans do, or fork out for a car and driver. The travel offices around the jetty will be able to help.

Scruffy Heho Airstrip is 45 minutes drive through the scenic countryside from Nyaungshwe. The runway is narrow and uneven and makes for a hair-raising landing. Expect plenty of red tape on arrival.

Note: Getting transport from the airport is a stressful affair if you have no pick-up. Loitering outside are some uncooperative taxi drivers making a living by ripping off tourists and charging the equivalent of two weeks pay for the trip to the lake! Stand firm, eventually one will creep up and mumble something more reasonable. To get a lower price negotiate in Kyat not US Dollars.

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Events

Jumping Cat Monastery

Inle Lake hosts plenty of festivals, many coinciding with a full moon. Offerings and prayers focus on various temples throughout the year.

Starting on 4th January Independence Day sees Myanmar filled with lively and enjoyable fairs for a week.

The most enjoyable festival is the outrageous 3-day Water Festival in baking mid-April. Supposedly a religious celebration of the start of the New Year, the festival always ends up being a water-fight of national proportions, and that goes for everyone - tourists included. Theres no escape on a lake.

The Phaung Daw U Pagoda is the focus of the October feast. The three-week festival starts with the September full moon with four of the five sacred Buddha images are ceremoniously paddled around the lake on a flamboyant barge. The fifth has remained at the pagoda since its miraculous reappearance after being lost in the lake. Precariously balanced one-legged longboat races follow which usually sees scores of rowers falling in. Book accommodation well in advance as this is the only time the lake gets really busy.

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Tourist Information Offices
There are some independent operators around Nyaungshwe and lake hotels can help. There is a tourist booth at the jetty but the function seems to be to collect your $3 tourist zone fee rather than provide any decent info. The free Today magazine is handy, grab en route to the lake as they are in short supply.

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