Blogs from Inle Lake, Mandalay Region, Burma, Asia - page 2

Off to Inle Lake today with T2. 1 1/2hr drive through beautiful lush country side, cows, bullocks, horse and carts, people tilling fields with a bullock and stick as Mick put it. 13500 Kyat per foreigner to get into Inle Valley through Rice paddies, which grow in summer and breed ducks for their eggs in winter. Arrived at the Emperial Inle Hotel, very nice and traditional walking distance from the river where most transport occurs. Picked up 1/2 hr later and left by boat on the Lake for the Inle Heritage Restaurant, T2 took us to the east of Inle Lake and tomorrow we are going west, Huge lake surrounded by mountains just incredible scenery. Lunch at Inle Heritage just magnificent and all proceeds go back to the community. Lotus stem 4000 for a scarf, the ... read more

Wherever I go in the world, it seems that long distance buses never seem to stop for food at sensible times. 11am is a really awkward time to eat because you've only just had breakfast and it's a tad too early for lunch; likewise, 4pm is a bit too late for lunch but far too early for dinner. They never stop for long enough either, meaning you have to inhale your food if you do decide to go for any of the usual, unappetising options available. Speaking of food options, arriving in the town of Nyaungshwe, the tourist enclave for nearby Inle Lake, I had now arrived in Myanmar's Shan State and the food here is supposedly a little different, with much more of a Chinese slant to it. I therefore hunted down some local food ... read more

Ok so part 2 of our boat trip Whilst tootling we saw people washing and bathing in the river/lake, monks going to their monasteries and most exciting we saw (and heard) a procession taking place for a young boy who was going to join the monastery, everything involved boats and water. Our next stop was at the Hpaung Daw U Pagoda, this was fun, there was a big market under and around the pagoda, the most disgusting loos yet and in the pagoda itself on a raised platform - no ladies allowed, lots of men were sticking gold leaf onto what looked like golden blobs, apparently there are Buddhas under it all! You could even watch them doing it close up on TV monitors. Back outside again we discovered a big procession taking place (no idea ... read more

David here... We were picked up from our guesthouse at 08:30 as expected. I expected to be picked up by mini-van, so was a little shocked as he had arrived by bike. They never mentioned this at A1 Tour services when we booked. Anyway, we were to leave our bags to be picked up later to be taken to the start on the back of motorbikes. I've never been any good on the back of a bike, never knowing when to lean, how to hold on properly so I was a little apprehensive. Anyway, all was going well until we were going up a hill and the gears broke on the bike I was on. No issue, the second bike with Suzanne on it would come back for me. I like to think it was not ... read more

After the amazing adventure in Bagan, wandering around all the beautiful temples and experiencing the local and ancient culture I was keen to see more of Myanmar. Having looked online at travel blogs it seemed the common trek to do was from Kalaw to Inle Lake, but wanting to get off the beaten track and see “real” Myanmar, I followed the advice of heading a little further north to Hsipaw (pronounced see po). The travel blogs and the guide book both said that it's easy to get off the beaten path there, see a rural village and see traditional clothing etc. We got the “12 hour” bus from Bagan which actually took 14 hours! Believe me, sitting on one of those buses for 14 hours wasn't a pleasant experience. There's literally no way to get comfortable. ... read more