Inle lake

After the two days in Bangan we flew onto Inle Lake. The landscape is totally different, being about 1000 mtrs above sea level and quite lush. The climate and soil here is so good that they harvest four crops a year. The lake itself is about 20kms by 10kms but is very shallow, only about 12 ft at the deepest. One third of the lake is covered with floating gardens on which the farmers grow a variety of vegetables - tomatoes being the biggest crop. Transportation on the lake is via boats which are very long but thin like a long canoe. They are powered by one cylinder Chinese engines that make a huge racket. The tourists sit in wooden deck chairs one behind the other in the boat, but we suspect the locals just sit crossed legged in the bottom - the more passengers the water taxis can fit in, the more money they make. The boats travel at about 30mph so it’s quite a cool ride, especially early in the morning!

To get to our hotel, we had to take one of these boats, but first we went sightseeing for a few hours. We set off across the lake passing fishermen and workers harvesting the weed from the lake for fertiliser. We stopped for lunch at a place on the lake that was built on stilts. Brian was persuaded by our guide to rider the local fish dish - bad decision - afterwards he got yet another bad dose of Delhi Belly - will he ever learn? After lunch we visited a local a village where all the houses were on stilts in the water. We visited a weaving factory that was a family business, with everyone from cousins, to uncles to aunts working there. There were some outside workers - all women doing the weaving. Next we visited the boatyard, where they make all the canoes for the lake. Quite amazing! Everything is done by hand using hand tools - no power tools at all. They start with a huge piece from a teak tree and cut it into a square log - all by hand. Then cut the teak logs into planks, make and fit all the ribs, all done by eye. The boats vary from 15 ft for fishing and local transport to 50 ft for the tourist boats. Apparently a boat will last for four generations and takes about six men a month to complete.

On the way to the hotel we went through some of the floating gardens. The farmers take a patch from a floating island, made up from water hyacinths and weed, they then float it back to their lake plot and anchor it in place by driving bamboo stakes into the lake bed. They then build up silt and fertiliser on it until they have enough depth to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peas and beans, peppers, etc. The gardens are arranged in rows with water between as the farmers have to weed and harvest from their boats.

We finally arrived at our hotel ( by this time Brian was taking no interest in any of the proceedings) and checked in. The accommodation was in individual villas which featured low beds set in the middle of the floor with a mosquito net that hung from the roof 20ft above. There was also a bath tub set in the centre of the bathroom floor. All of course built on stilts beside the lake.

The next day Anne proceeded on the sightseeing on her own with Brian deciding to spend the day in quiet contemplation by the pool.

Today I went off with the guide to view 1,054 stupas on the mainland at the south end of the lake. To get there we took one of the rivers that flow into the lake - the water comes from the mountains on the west side and that is a lot of water. It was like doing a gentle white water rafting! Every now and then we come up to a barricade made from bamboo (to try and stop silt and garbage getting into the lake). When we came to one the boat an would rev up and almost fly over the barricade and then plop back down in the water - thank goodness Brian decided to stay back at the hotel! We finally got to the location where the stupas were - a lot were in disrepair and had vegetation growing out of them - one even had a tree! Most of them dated back to the 17th century and are gradually being renovated. Very interesting place to visit. We boated through the lake village again, stopping off to watch a silversmith at work, then off to the middle of the lake to view yet another temple. I declined to eat lunch at a lakeside restaurant and returned back to the hotel.

All in all we really enjoyed our time at Inle Lake. The hotel was superb, the staff couldn’t have been nicer and the accommodation was top notch. It’s a very tranquil place.Читать далее