Day 24 Nyuang Shwe

---

Inle Lake was our destination today. We had organised through the Smiling Moon Travel Agency to hire a boat and driver to take us around the lake. We had read of the peculiar rowing style of some of the lakes fisherman and anticipated seeing it. The boat was quite large and was a smaller version of the long tail wooden boats in Thailand. Something akin to an oversized wooden canoe. In the early morning the trip on the boat is quite cold and we were glad we had rugged up and even happier the boatman had given us a small blanket each. There was just the OH, the boatman and I until we collected one of the boatman’s young sons from his village on the main canal leading into the lake. We didn’t have to wait long to see the fisherman and their unique rowing style. In fact some now sit at pretty much the entrance to the lake to pose for the tourists. Of course they expect payment for their trouble. Sort of reminds you of the children in Cambodia….one picture, one dollar…except the fisherman are a bit more blunt….I want money, one dollar or sometimes 1000 kyat. There were also boats traveling with their local passengers throwing some sort of grain to the waiting seagulls so that the birds would follow the boat. It made for a great photo.

Our first stop was at the village of Inthein to see the traveling market. This was very popular with tourists and locals alike and the number of small boats tied up in the river was quite a spectacle. There was a local volleyball competition for the children and many of the locals were captivated watching. It made for some great entertainment. Much of the market consisted of everyday items for the locals but there was of course souvenirs etc. specifically for the tourists. One stall they didn’t sell souvenirs was a pharmacy stall. It was laid out on the ground and sold medication that included stuff we would normally get only on prescription in Australia. It even had a supply of the contraceptive pill. The local ladies sported bright coloured scarves on their heads and had shoulder bags made out of matching material. There were many heads bobbing in the crowd with bright orange or pink or red head scarves. The whole spectacular was very interesting, including the local volleyball game and we spent a good hour and a half here. There were also some stupas and pagodas reminiscent of Bagan but we didn’t venture in that direction as we had run out of time.

Part of the lake tour also consists of visits to many of the small workshops of the lake residents. Before lunch we visited a silversmith and then an umbrella making workshop. It was interesting to see how things were made without any fancy equipment or computers. The skill of the workman and women are pretty incredible. Each piece can take not only hours or days but months to finish. At the umbrella making workshop there were a few of the long-necked paudang (sp) women I had heard about. I was not keen to take their photo or have a picture taken with them so the OH organised that for himself. Lunch was consumed across at a restaurant across from Phaung Daw Oo Paya. The restaurant specifically catered for tourists so the food was fairly average and quite expensive. We were lucky to see part of the ordination rites for a couple of the young boys who were going to become monks. They are dressed up quite spectacularly, or rather pretty, and go by boat with an entourage from one pagoda on the lake to another finally ending up at this one. We also saw the five ancient Buddha images and the large barge that carries them in the annual festival. It is hard to tell they are Buddha images. They are quite small and covered in so much gold leaf they really just look like 5 blobs of gold.

After lunch we visited a silk weaving factory. I looked forward to this as I heard about the special lotus silk they make and weave into very expensive items of clothing. The process was fascinating and very labourious for the workers. The thread is made from a special lotus plant and processed by hand. The dyes used to colour it can be either made from natural colours or chemical colours. The natural look was by far the most beautiful in my opinion. The prices were very expensive and my poor little budget only stretched to a small scarf made from lotus silk and silk mix. A scarf of just lotus silk was priced from $300, beautiful but too expensive.

We also saw a cigar making factory. This was very labour intensive too but the young girls rolling the cigars were very quick. This was very popular factory with many of the Europeans who bought what seemed like souvenirs for those at home in pretty lacquer ware containers and also stocked up on their own supplies to puff away on in the many restaurants and teahouses back in town.

Next stop was the famous jumping cat monastery. The cats have been retired by the current senior monk at the monastery. They are still however in residence to lap up the attention of the tourists who are happy to pat them and just take their photo as they sleep. The monastery itself is very interesting and is made of teak and has many beautiful statues and paintings inside. It is a peaceful place even though it was full of tourists and locals alike.

On the way back to Nyaung Shwe we boated through the village of Nampan, a village built on stilts in the middle of the lake, well not really the middle but entirely on the water. There were some great photo opportunities of mirror images. The final destination was the floating gardens. These gardens are built in many places of the lake and are small manmade islands that grow tomatoes and other vegetables year round. They are stacked to the bottom of the lake with bamboo. The lake is actually not very deep. The gardens are causing some environmental problems as once they are no longer fertile they remain in the lake as small islands. These islands are reducing the volume of the lake. We arrived back in Nyaung Shwe in time for dinner. Tired and hungry, we had a great day. We tried a new place for dinner and were again taken back by the kindness of the local people. We ordered our dinner and when it arrived the ladies in the restaurant also presented us with a beautiful tomato salad and two large mandarins as “presents”. It was Christmas Day and the wonderful ladies were giving us a Christmas present to celebrate. The people of Myanmar are just amazing. Again unfortunately there was no hot water in the hotel so it was a cold sponge bath as it was way too cold for a very cold shower.

---