Trek pt 2 & Inle Lake and Mandalay

...Day two:

I'm awoken from slumber by bashing pots and pans, surprisingly slept well despite the potential for hazarddess spiders and the like. After breakfast we continue the trek across the fields pausing so often to admire the views. We walk down a railway track and I feel like I'm in the film 'Stand by me' - children pass us, holding hands and delicately balancing on the track beams - looks like something out of the 1930s. We reach our second village and have a bucket shower which has a ludicrously low wall - it may as well not be there as leaves little to the imagination.

The following day we set off for the final walk to Inle Lake, it comes into view as we're walking across rich and thick red soil with farmers toiling in the fields. We say goodbye to our crazy tour guide. He gives us his cursory mad laugh and rides off. The rest of the day is spent on a boat tour around Inle Lake. It's a town on water - instead of walking or driving, children paddle in boats to school, old women sit in wooden rafts and motorised boats ferry folk to their respective destinations. The entire place is filled with buildings on large stilts with canals everywhere - bizarre but really cool at the same time. 🚣

We stop off at various highlights including the silk factory where they weave intricate patterned material in what looks like the most painstaking process - very talented but pretty laborious. We also watch the fisherman in the middle of the lake. They cleverly paddle their boats with one foot while simultaneously managing to fish in the water with a large net. It's an awesome site against the surrounding scenery.

The following day a few of us hire a bicycle and explore the surroundings. We go for a tofu tour, which sounds boring but was genuinely really interesting. The guy took us around a local village and we learned how it's made, turns out there are like 40 different varieties, who'd of thought?! He gives us some tofu at the end and it's absolutely delicious - I need to figure out how to make it properly as it's alway pretty tasteless at home. He also gives us a pure sugar candy ring. More than one or two and you'd be bouncing off the walls like a hyper kid on e-numbers.

In the evening we head to Inle winery for a few tasters of Burmese wine (not the best) and a great view. It's really windy and the sample promptly falls over. The lady brings over another chucking and we head inside for a few of the preferred glasses. The place is supposed to shut at 6.00 PM, we finally head back at around 7.30 PM in bike convoy as it's now pitch black.

I'm off on the road to Mandalay, pretty sure that's a film or a book... anyway I arrive at around 5.00 AM and immediately we decide to go to Ubein Bridge to try and catch the sunrise. Clouds once again have other ideas but it's a nice spot nevertheless - apparently it's the longest wooden bridge in the world. We pass lots of monks on it and a few people exercising in the morning light. We potter through a couple of very local markets and the sellers look like they have seen a load of ghosts. We catch a boat across the river and wander around some temples and a few other interesting bits before heading back.

My final day in Mandalay starts off fine. A few of us hire bicycles and cycle around the city. We go to a gold leaf making shop which unfortunately is quite underwhelming - it's just people hitting the gold to make it flat. After that we head towards the jade market. On the way my bike breaks and we spend the next 20 mins trying to fix it. I set off again and literally within ten minutes someone else's bike breaks! Hmm pattern emerging here...? Again we fiddle around and some locals come and help us. They fix the bike and it breaks again within five minutes. A couple of our group have to leave so we say goodbye and send them off with the two knackered bikes and three of us continue on to the jade market.

Interesting fact, Myanmar is apparently responsible for producing around 90% of the world's jade. Pretty awesome, the market is mad with people buzzing about selling and bartering for jade. We watch it being, cut, cleaned and poished. It's a hive of activity. We then set off towards Mandalay hill for a sprawling view of the city. A bike breaks yet again on the way but we manage to get to to the top with a lift in a truck. The view is fantastic. We stay a while then aim to ride back down the hill. Surprise, surprise... a bike breaks! 😲 you couldn't make it up! The pedal is bent and the breaks are shot. We make it to the bottom alive and toss the bikes in the van, we give them back to the guy and tell him they're all crap, he pretends not to understand - classic get out technique. We leave it but mention the place to the hostel.Read more