Travel Blog » Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

Inle Lake Travel Blogs

Background: Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and is currently under house arrest. In December 2004, the junta announced it was extending her detention for at least an additional year. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed.

Burma

Map of Burma

Burma's Flag

Hostels in Burma
Latest Inle Lake Blog Entries
Inle Lake Photos

By Team A2
December 4th 2009

Day 51: Jumping Cat Monastery Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

A group of monks here in Inle Lake had a bit of time on their hands and a group of smarter-than-average cats in their monastery. All the fun started when the cats began to jump up on the monks' laps while they were meditating - and then through their clasped hands. The monks realized the cats' acrobatic potential and taught them to jump through little hoops for treats. Now it's a major tourist attraction. The real name of the monastery is Nga Hpe Kyaung. It's a stunning teak wood building that sits on stilts right in the lake. We were a [View Full Entry]

By Team A2
December 3rd 2009

Day 50: The Floating Villages of Inle Lake Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

Sometimes it is hard to believe that this isn't all a dream. This morning we had breakfast at dawn, under our large acacia tree. The full moon was low on the horizon and we had a perfect view of its reflection in the Ayeyarwady River. Our flight today to Inle Lake was at 8:15am. Our phenomenal guide and driver, Aung Shwe and Minmin, picked us up at the hotel at 6:45am for the ten minute drive to the airport. Bagan has been one of our favorite parts of our entire trip, in no small part because of Aung Shwe and Minmin. [View Full Entry]

By lanegra
September 15th 2009

I doubt words can describe it... Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

This road is paved, kinda.

...But I will try to put Inle Lake into words... I think I fell in love with this place. It's definitely not for the restaurants, they are seriously lacking here but in everything else there is so much natural beauty that it's crazy. I did a few things while here.. rented a bike and cycled for about 12-15 miles. I went out to Inle Spa, where I was the only person there. Made for a nice time to relax even though it was a cloudless day and probably near 100 degrees. I probably spent as much time in the spa water [View Full Entry]

They do the entire process while watching Korean novelas.

By The Doc moves to Thailand
July 12th 2009

Idyllic Inle Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

Wow, this is Inle Lake!

Before we left Kalaw we paid a visit to the Catholic Church (photo in previous blog) and met the lovely priest, Father Paul. It was interesting how many places of worship there were in this small town - a mosque, various Christian Churches and numerous temples. Nevertheless the government has been known to discriminate against those who are not Buddhist, so while people practice different religions their freedom of worship is often inhibited. We were told that the government had tried to open up schools and businesses on Sundays in Burma and had to retract their plans once they realised tha [View Full Entry]

By Asienneuburg
June 28th 2009

Myanmar Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

Fiakerfahrt

Der zweit groeste See in Myanmar. Ein Bootsausflug zu auf Stelzen stehenden Doerfern. Optische betracht eine Mischung aus Venedig und Neusiedler See, jedoch von beidem nur das Schoene. (Also Taubenscheisse auf alten Tretbooten) Bekannt ist der See fuer seine schwimmenden Gaerten und den einbeinigen Ruderern. Das ist kein Behindertenintegrationsprojekt sondern eine Technik die eine schnelle Fortbewegung des Bootes und ein gleichzeitiges Netz in den See werfen ermoeglicht. Fuer uns war es ein Highlight, weil eine touristenfreie Zone und die gesamte Umgebung verdient den Begriff idyllisch. Am z [View Full Entry]

By Genevieve n Stefanie
March 15th 2009

Stupa This, Stupa That - Myanmar (Burma) Part II Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

Smoking

Myanmar Part II Day 66- 74 Day 6 of Road Trip We arranged a boat trip for the day around Inle Lake. The river along Naungshwe eventually opened up into the huge expansive shallow Inle lake. Zaw Zaw had bought some treats along that we got to throw up to the seagulls that flew right up to us, hovering about 3 feet above us waiting for us to throw the treats. Another interesting thing about the lake was that the fisherman use their lower calf and heel to paddle the boats (see photo). Our first stop was a local market that [View Full Entry]

By Sepulchre
March 1st 2009

Floating on Inle Lake Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

Indein - Inle Lake

Vampires and fishermen Sorry for the lack of photos so far - no CD drives in Internet cafe's here in Myanmar The next morning John and I hired a motor boat to take us around the lake for the day. We split the cost and that is one of the boons of traveling together with someone, it mitigates the desire to go independent, which I certainly had at the time. We managed to avoid the commission system of the hotels and boatmen, mainly because the vampireish woman who ran the Teakwood Hotel was so pushy and in your face about asking [View Full Entry]

By Philopreis
February 24th 2009

Het Inlé-meer Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

Padaung

De 2 vorige bijdragen waren reeds gepubliceerd, maar zijn nu geheel bijgewerkt. Deze hadden jullie nog volledig tegoed, inclusief foto’s. Enjoy! 22/10/2009 One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things -- Henry Miller Dinsdag 24/02/2009 : Naar het Inlé-meer Zoals gewoonlijk vroeg uit de veren om onze binnenvlucht te halen van Mandalay naar Heho (Shan State), toegangspoort tot het Inle-meer. Eerst is er een bezoek gepland aan de beroemde Pyndaya-grotten, waar ruim 8.000 Boeddhabeeldjes, in de loop der jaren [View Full Entry]

By SqueakyBean
February 4th 2009

A Warning... Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

Hi all, This is my first backdated entry. I apologize for being disorienting, but I'm going to be going back in time, meaning eventually you might get to hear about the start of my trip. Now, I feel it's important to offer you this warning. At some point in your lives, my dear friends, you may come across a decision that will have you choose between comfort and a 20-hour bus ride. I entreat you. Choose comfort. E and I chose the path of "least expensive" (we usually do), which is how we found ourselves on this stupid bus in the [View Full Entry]

By LivingTheDream
December 25th 2008

Christmas at Inle Lake (Nyaungshwe, Central Myanmar) Asia » Burma » Inle Lake

Christmas spirit at Inle Lake

(Day 265 on the road) I arrived in Inle Lake, famous for its people living on and close to the water, on a gruesome 16 hour overnight journey from Bago. The roads were awful, as was the state of the bus and the temperature inside (close to freezing, especially since they left the main door open at all times for some strange reason). We arrived here at the ungodly hour of four in the morning, but luckily we quickly found a nice bungalow by the canal in the town of Nyaungshwe (of where we moved out later however due to the [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Asia » Burma » Inle Lake