Blogs from Inle Lake, Mandalay Region, Burma, Asia - page 15

Lake Inle is definitely a site of great natural beauty, anyway in its vicinity there are also several interesting cultural attractions to see. When we came from Mandalay, the taxi stopped in Pindaya, a place famous for its Buddhist caves. We did it like this because it was practical, requiring only a small detour, but most people visit Pindaya in a day trip from Lake Inle, as it is situated only at a 2hrs ride from there. Another day we chartered a taxi with Huguette and Jean-Marc that took us to the archaeological site of Kakku which turned out to be so fantastic that it consumed a whole day. When we made our extensive walk in the lake’s surroundings, we passed by the Shwe Yan Pyay monastery 2km from Nyaungshwe in direction of Heho (location of ... read more

Again we were on the road for a full day to get from Mandalay to Lake Inle, but the taxi was pretty comfortable, the roads not too bad and the scenery really beautiful. We soon left the main road linking Mandalay with the capital Yangon, and after passing a checkpoint we kept driving uphill for a considerable time. The resulting cooler climate was a welcome change after the heat and dust of Mandalay. Jean-Marc had an altimeter with him and entertained us with the announcement of the changing altitude. Especially our taxi driver was fascinated and kept asking for new information. He was a nice guy speaking excellent English and told us that he had studied economics but was barred from studying after participating in student protests, which had rendered him very frustrated and filled with ... read more