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Morning Fisherman
Annette got this great photo as we crossed the lake this morning. Many fisherman on Inle Lake have a unique and artistic way performing their craft.Day 23-Tuesday-February 2 After breakfast we met at the dock again at 8:30 and boarded the same boat with Rick and Jeanine. The yellow group headed out into the lake and came upon some morning fishermen. We got some nice photos. We then saw men filling their boats with more underwater vegetation.
Our first stop today was the Nyaung Shwe 5-day market, only open here every 5th day. It rotates between different locations over a five day period. It was a very interesting spot for seeing many fabulous images. Women and men from various hill tribes who live in the Inlay region come to sell their home crafts, products, fruits, fish and vegetables in this market. Being here today was a great experience.
Next, we walked over to the Hpaung Daw Oo Pagoda. Situated on Inle Lake in Shan State, it is one of the most dazzling and magical places in Asia. It is a famous principal shrine in Myanmar and it houses five small Buddha images. They are said to have been discovered in a cave in 1359 and were worshipped at various sites until a prince of the region built a special pagoda for them on a
Casting their net
They stand on the front of their boat and cast their net. spur of land and enshrined them permanently. They are now displayed in the pagoda and Inthar men have come up and put gold leaf on them, thus they have each taken unusual shapes.
Leaving here we got back into the boats and went up a narrow winding canal passing men that were digging sand from the bottom of the river near the bank and shovelling it into big bags and onto their boat. We also passed men that were harvesting some bamboo and others that were burning-off the sugar cane field.
Along the way we passed under many primitive bridges that people used to cross the canal. We also went through many small man-made dams with a path wide enough for one boat. Then we came upon a water buffalo almost in the middle of the canal. His owner was working on the bank. It appeared that he was tethered there. We slowed to get some nice photos. We also passed a number of locals that were bathing or doing laundry in the water. We then stopped at a pier that seemed to be at the end of this waterway.
Getting off the boat, we walked along
Balancing act
They spend much of their time balancing on one leg. the coast and found many locals selling their wares. We then came to a large dam that was letting water into this part of the lake.
We then came upon a lady making wafers from brown rice. She would put a dark brown solid mixture that looked like a huge sun-dried tomato into a large wok with very small gravel sitting over a burning log. A few minutes later, out came this wafer that looked like a huge brown potato chip. Ye Min asked about her and she said that she was 61 years old, had 9 children, 4 of which died. Her husband had also passed many years ago, so she was a widow that supported herself by selling these wafers.
Then we entered this long covered market. When we came out, we were in the Inn Dain Village Pagoda Complex or Weather Beaten Pagoda Complex. There was a huge field of stupas. Amazing…if you can imagine 1054 stupas ranging from ancient to newer, in various states of condition. The early ones were built of sandstone so the rainy season weather has taken its toll over the hundreds of years. A number of them have been rebuilt
Close up
They maneuver the boat and net standing on one leg. by people. We spent about 45 minutes walking around. Ye Min told us that this area had not been opened to tourists until 1998. They have catalogued them and each has a number. Some of the newer ones have a Buddha image in an opening.
After this we walked back through the market and went to the Golden Kite Restaurant. We had pre-ordered traditional or Italian. We had picked Italian…well, it wasn’t nearly as good as the restaurant we had lunch at yesterday.
After lunch we boarded the boats for the final time and made our way back to the hotel, passing many of the same folks still at work, as were many of the fishermen. We got some more great photos. As we got near the hotel, Ye Min’s boat seemed to run out of gas so another one of the other boats tied on and brought them in.
After we got back to our room, we showered and had an appointment to have massages at 4:00 in the Spa. They were wonderful!
So, we ended the day by enjoying a farewell dinner in the restaurant and hitting the sack early as we had to
Several together
They often fish in groups so they can assist each other with their nets that are draped over the frames. have the bags outside our door by 6-6:15am. Doug then went to the front desk and checked out so we wouldn’t have to do it in the morning.
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