Blogs from Inle Lake, Mandalay Region, Burma, Asia - page 11

The next day the dutch, carmen and braum and i got a canoe to take us on a little tour around the lake. it was super touristy - like you visit all these places where they show you how they are making traditional stuff by hand, blacksmiths, weaving, etc. etc. but that is what i had expected, so i was prepared. we did get to observe life on the lake though - there is no shoreline here, so the villages, the houses, even the monasteries and pagodas are built on stilts in the marshland, and people use canoes to get around, even just to visit a neighbor! i mostly just liked riding around in the boat, through floating gardens, watching ppl row with just one leg (it's strange here, hard to explain!). the dutch had also ... read more

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Today was my last full day in Burma and we spent it cruising around Inle Lake in a motorized canoe, from which we visited floating shops and nearby villages. It was the send off I hoped it would be. The first 10 miles of the lake seemed more like a river with parallel banks made-up of tall river grasses abd thatch-roofed stilt houses. We were amazed when the lake expanded and seemed uncontained, with water on every side as far as the eye could see. The backdrop was layers of hills and mountains topped with white mist and clouds. Fisherman speckled the lake, rowing with their right leg and casting net with their arms. Other boaters gathered sea weed and purple-blue water lilies. The large lake became over-grown with sea grasses and plant life which deceptively ... read more

Happy Birthday to my big brother Chris. I will have been celebrating your 36th birthday for 14-and-a-half hours in Burma before you are "officially" 36 in California. I'm bummed I wasn't able to speak with you, but only leave messages. The phone call was $6 per minute and not always available at choice times. Just know I thought about you and was sending birthday wishes in my time zone and in yours. ----------------- We left Bagan the morning of the 7th to fly north to rural parts of Burma. Our intentions were to see Inle Lake and some caves in Pindaya, but with only two days remaining were told the caves would be difficult to schedule. The flight to Heho (Heyyy!!! Hooo!!) airport was brief, but no one told us it made frequent stops...like a bus. ... read more

Hallo daheimgebliebene! Wir starten unsere Tour um 7:30 mit Tin Chi (weiblich) und Robert (Guide) und wir drei. (vorweggenommen: Qualen ...) Nach einer guten Stunde wussten wir, dass man mit 60 Jahren (Alter unseres ueberfiten Guides Robert) noch was erreichen kann, so rein koerperlich. Auf den Punkt gebracht, der weiss was Tempo ist. Zuerst gings flach dahin, nach ca. 1 Stunde wurde es dann immer steiler und - noch schlimmer - heisser. Marcus und der Guide gaben sich ein heftiges Wettrennen auf den Berg und Robert und Birgit keuchten hinterher. Nach ca. 4,5 Stunden erreichten wir unser 1. Dorf. Eine Menge Kinder kommen uns schon entgegen. In diesem Dorf bekommen wir auch unser Mittagsmahl. Wir sitzen in einer Holzhuette auf dem Boden und lassen uns leckerste Suppen mit frischem Gemuese sowie Nudeln schmecken. Das Essen hatten ... read more