24th January, 2017

As ever, I am playing catch-up, so I am going to make this as quick as I can and, as ever, let the photos do some of the talking (being worth a thousand words each after all!).

A lovely morning greeted us with a mist hanging over the lake as the sun came up from behind the mountains. There was even a balloon and some wildfowl to snap. A good breakfast, a quick pose with some of the staff in some very spectacular costumes and it was off in our trusty boat for a very full day of visits around the lake. It was a bit chilly as the lake is over 3000 feet up and it is, technically winter here as in the rest of the northern hemisphere. Val was feeling the cold, but rugs are provided on the boat, so all was well, not least as I was in the forward seat and could act as a windbreak.

Before we reached our first appointment, we were treated to some beautiful birds and the famous Inle Lake fisherman who operate their boats by paddling using one leg and a foot, which leaves their hands free to organise the net. Very photogenic and scenic and really rather unique. I would have fallen in very quickly.

First port of call (literally) was the local market, which at Inle is not as simple as it may seem as the markets move around the lake on a five day cycle. The scene that greeted us was astounding. First of all you have to find a spot to park the boat, politely refusing the offers of goods from enterprising sellers who row out to meet you. It was then time to walk round the actual market that sells everything from souvenirs for the tourists to fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, cooked food and large bits of bamboo that are used to ensure your floating garden doesn’t float away. Very local as can be seen by the headdresses and other costumes and also in the look of the people themselves. First our arrival and general market scenes.

However, as you may have gathered from my previous posts, it is the people who are the main attractions for me and they certainly didn’t disappoint. I could easily have stayed there all day. I have really, really tried to limit the number below. You should have seen the ones that got away.

And then there are a few pictures that simply didn’t fit into any other categories.

Ok market done. We set off again, this time for a number of local industries, starting with weaving using silk, cotton and lotus stems. Beautiful (and sadly expensive) work using some wonderfully old machinery as well as a new use for bicycles.

Next it was the cheroot making factory, yes, cheroot making. A bit of a surprise, but a popular smoke in these parts. Each person making the cheroots adds their own unique flavour to the ones they roll, but I was not sure how, exactly. We passed a few interesting buildings on stilts too.

No time to waste though as there was the boat-building yards, complete with the massive barge that is used for transporting some very special Buddha images each year at festival time round the lake. We got to see these statues in a local temple, but it was no longer easy to see how they were images of Buddha due to the astonishing amount of gold leaf applied over the years, so that they now look like golden cob loaves. We also dropped in on a silversmiths too.

We were still not finished and there was another interesting temple to visit that had quite a number of ruined stupa, many of which were being restored. The temple itself is reached via an 800 metre arcade, usually lined with souvenir stalls, though many had closed for the day by the time we arrived. There was a positive forrest of stupas at the top.

And, of course there were some local characters who hove into camera shot, both on land and back on the water…

Two last stops before the dash back to the hotel. First a visit to a group of long-necked tribes women who had settled near the lake. I have to confess I felt uncomfortable seeing them and photographing them, even though they were quite happy for us to do so. It did smack rather of a freak show of old. Sadly I really don’t have time to explain what they were all about, but they were very cheery and thought their situation was perfectly normal.

And finally, Thwin took us to view the floating gardens (of the market variety), which cover a vast part of the lake and where are grown large crops of tomatoes, beans and other crops as well as flowers. As far as I could gather, they are floating on water hyacinths held in place by bamboo poles. Thwin kindly demonstrated how bouncy they are. Oddly I was not allowed to set foot on them!

And that was very nearly that as the sun sank while we made our noisy way across the lake to our hotel. Val ended the day as she started, under a blanket. I was just happy to be able to capture another sunset!

It did look a little as if our hotel was on fire, but it was just some burning going on to acquire ash for mixing with something I have completely forgotten. A fabulous day at a fabulous place.