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Inle Lake is a magical place! There are many villages around the lake where people live in houses on stilts and come and go by boat - small, dugout canoes as well as larger boats of over 30 feet, with ancient, hand-cranked to start engines that carry huge loads of both people and cargo. It's amazing what can be done on the water both from homes that are quite grand and those that are very humble. People raise chickens and have pigs on floating platforms around their homes. They also grow vegetables and flowers on extensive floating beds that they construct by taking matted weeds and anchoring them to the bottom of the lake with bamboo poles and then adding seaweed and soil. They have a major business going of selling vegetables all the way to Mandalay.
We started out crossing a wide part of the lake where there are many fishermen. They have an odd way of paddling their canoes with their legs which they twist around the paddles. It leaves their hands free to bring in lines or nets and seems to be very effective - but looks difficult to master, especailly on the small, tippy dugouts they use.
Our first stop was a morning market, one of the five that are held on different days around the lake. The local people come for fish, meat, and produce and also have wares to sell to tourists. From there our boat driver took us on a slow, scenic trip through a village where we were fascinated watching the local life. After visiting a blacksmith, silversmith, cheroot maker, boat builder, weavers and paper makers, our driver asked if we would like to ride in a small dugout canoe. After being quite astonished when we said yes, he paddled us around a village for over an hour. It was the best part of our day - quiet and away from the noisy large boats into a less travelled area where the locals were friendly and surprised to see us travelling that way. Altogether a magical day!
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