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We woke up in our huge room after an amazing night sleep on a very comfy bed. Amazing how you do miss these little comforts after a while. We had an early breakfast of omelet, scrambled eggs, toast and fruits. We both tucked in as we had a long day of sight seeing on the lake today. We were going to head out to Inle Lake today which is one of Burma's prime tourist destinations. As the government have shut off a large proportion of the country to tourism, people tend to congregate at the same places although so far it had been quite calm. Inle is a large lake with dimensions of 13.7 miles long and 7.5 wide. Areas of this are marshland so it can be difficult to tell where the lake actually ends.
We got ready and headed down to meet Kristin and Arnauld at their hostel, we were slight late but knew Kristin was always late. On arriving, Arnauld was speaking to the boat driver they arranged and of course, Kristin was not yet ready. Eventually she appeared looking half asleep and the driver lead us down to the boat jetty. This town of Nyuangshwe sits 3.5 miles north of the lake on one of the rivers which feeds on to the lake itself so is a major point of docking for tourists and locals. Arriving at the dock there was vast expanse of long tail boats which were very thin with raised, pointy ends. There must of been 60 or 70 all crammed in side by side at the mooring points. We stood on the jetty, which felt like it was going to collapse under our feet and waited for the driver to get our boat out. He had arranged little deck chairs on the boat equipped with life jackets and an umbrella ( to keep the sun off). We precariously climbed on and relaxed... however when the engine fired up it made a real racket and actually you can't really hear what other people are saying on the boat, would defiantly give you tinnitus after a while I imagine.
We were moving quickly down the river passing rickety houses on stilts and watching families getting on with their daily chores. Boats would pass us going the other way crammed with locals and the top of their boats were literally like an inch above the water line. Some boats were full of produce such as colourful fruit of all varieties which had obviously been bought from the market. We were going at quite a pace and I don't think the idea of avoiding bank erosion applies here. Every time another boat did pass we would be rocked quite considerably by their bow waves. The river narrowed and the view was blocked by tall, green lush reeves down both sides. The driver accelerated and the cool spray was welcome against the ever increasing heat. Suddenly the reeves parted and we were faced with this massive expanse of water in all directions. The sun was well up by now and the reflection made your eyes squint.
On both sides you could make out this hazy outline of mountains with small pagodas and monasteries dotted randomly at various heights. The boat passed various small boats with the local fisherman getting on with today's catch. The Burmese fisherman have a unique method of rowing by using their leg wrapped around the oar moving it in a circular motion. This keeps their hands free to cast their net to eventually catch the fish. The silhouetted figures of the men working gave amazing photo opportunities against this amazing back drop. We motored on southwards down the lake eventually entering a village on the lake. All the house were issued high on stilts, some leaning over quite heavily giving the impression they would topple into the water at any minute. Young kids would run down the steps, wave at us and jump into boats and go to another house. It is clear that the kids will never fear water and the parents don't mind them taking boats out on their own. You started to see the frets of tourism by various restaurants and shops springing up with the locals obviously trying to cash in. I guess it will bring in more money than fishing.
We then past the quite famous floating gardens which Laura particularly wanted to see. It is a two/three acre area of floating mounds lined up in long rows where crops and be grown. The prime crop here was tomatoes as the climate was perfect for them. The farmers would paddle up and down the rows checking the crops in small boats and it was amazing to witness this very unique style of farming. We sat for a while watching the farmers while Laura was busy taking pictures of two dragonflies mating. We couldn't quite make out was she was doing till she showed us the photos later... Pretty impressive!
In all trips likes this you expect to be dropped off in shops which obviously pay commission to the boat driver. Our first stop was a silk and fabric factory where we were quickly whisked around the ladies making fabric to form items of clothing such as clothes and longyis. It was pretty interesting as they were weaving thread made by lotus stalks! It wasn't long before we were herded into the shop where everything was predictably overpriced. We were keen to hit the market on the river and the driver agreed to take us over. The entrance point to the market was absolutely crammed with boats and obviously it was a mixture of local people and tourists. We eventually managed to dock and we headed down the small walkway being called over by hawkers from all angles. It was hot and the small ceilings of the market have it a quite claustrophobic feel.
I spotted a stall which sold the longyis (the popular male skirt looking things) and I got a good, haggled priced and decided I had to get it. I liked the navy colour one with square patterning and the man was trying to show me how to wrap it but i was not really getting it. I guess a little practice would be all it takes and I wondered if I could pull this look off and I guess only time would tell. Laura bought some fruit and and cheap ear rings with fish on (to remind her of the lake) and we felt pleased with our purchases. On our way out just before we reached a boat, a group of monks signalled to us asking for photos. This seemed quite forward for monks usually and we didn't know to react... Especially as they don't have pictures with women normally. Suddenly one of them put his arm around me and Laura!! Monks are not supposed to touch women and we guessed he was not a real monk or wouldn't be shortly. He seemed happy taking a chilled photo with his camera but when our turn came he became much more controlled and monk like. We guessed this was a rogue monk not playing by the rules. After this episode we escaped the frantic market and jumped on our boat ready for the next destination.
This turned out to be a tobacconist who had young girls making home made cigarettes and cigars using traditional Burma tobacco which had a very aniseed like smell. Obviously me and Laura being non smokers were not really interested but Kristin got puffing away and eventually we both tried it. We were then given free tea which was a nice little bonus that we would get at various shops were visited. Next was a silver merchants and I was getting a little fed up with these shops by now and it was taking away the magic of the lake. It was turning into classic taxi drivers 'take me around the sights and shops tour' which frustrated me. The silverware was hand made but it was obvious we were not really interested and it came awkward trying to pretend to be. Also you can tell this place is very touristy because they quote you prices in US dollars, not their local currency.
The boat driver then took us into a near by town just off the lake which seemed littered with restaurants. In the centre was a bright, golden pagoda called Phaung Daw Oo Paya which was our next stop. It was similar to other religious pagodas we had encountered just with more tourists, touts and stalls. There were some very nice murals inside but they charged to take photographs annoyingly. The monastery was quaint with beautiful shrines but I was already annoyed at them massively trying to overcharge me for drinking water. We did manage to find a kind lady who gave the us the proper price so we had no hesitation doing business with her. On exiting the monastery we were taken through the middle of the floating gardens we mentioned earlier. The little water ways were lined with numerous stick with green tomato vines steadily creeping their way towards the sky. It was quiet and peaceful for a change with the motor turned off and we just enjoyed watching the Burmese gardeners go about their daily work. Not soon after we back on the open water, full steam ahead making our way back towards Nyuangshwe. The skies had turned darker by the point with a slight drop of rain in the air which combined with the wind in your face made it quite chilly. The boat took about 45 minutes to reach the town where we were all feeling quite peckish.
After saying goodbye to the boat driver we walked through town and stumbled across a little restaurant with plastic chairs and a few westerners eating there. The menu seemed reasonable and we ordered fried rice and Shan noodles ( a thick noodle like dish with broth). Laura wanted a fried egg on top of her rice but she got noodles instead, luckily they were tasty. It was weird seeing this little place with plastic chairs but having a LCD TV of at least 37 inches in the corner. After eating it was time to say goodbye to Kristin and Arnauld who were heading back to Yangon overnight tonight. We told them to stay in touch and no doubt we would see them again. After departing we were both tired and Laura had her heart set on the hot bath again so homeward bound we were.... She was on her third in two days.
We enjoyed the bath and shower combined with resting whilst watching the TV with a shocking reception. The next thing remember I was waking up, dark outside and the light being on. I was a bit disorientated and switched off the light doing my zombie impression and must of feel back to sleep. The next thing I knew Laura was shaking me saying it was only 20:30! We had both fell asleep in the afternoon and dozed for nearly 4 hours. Unfortunately by now most of the restaurants would have closed so I had to make do with bananas. At least we would get a good breakfast in the morning, roll on 7am!!
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