Day 15 - Inle Lake

We are in Nyaungshwe, which is a city of 200,000 people that sits at the north end of Inle Lake.



The lake is oblong, north/south, 32 by 11ks, and looks to be set between two mountain ranges. It really is more of a wetland, being 9 feet deep at its deepest point in the rainy season (maybe no more than three feet in most parts) and filled with plant life that rises above the surface in many areas, which the occupant Intha people have made marvelous use of (more on that later).

Our day began with a huge breakfast buffet (mostly Chinese food, it's a Chinese hotel) that we share with Chinese and other tour groups. We opted for the omelet bar and talked about changing hotels, since ours has lousy wifi.
Our delightful guide, San San, arrived on time, and we asked her about it. She's with a local agency that has contracted with SST. Said she'd have her office check into it, and we walked to one of the canals to pick up our longboat, with San San giving us a briefing on the lake, including a demonstration of the net used for fishing.



we boarded...



and soon were roaring down the canal and into the lake, where we immediately encountered fishermen using the paddle/straddle technique unique to the area (it's so cool I had to include three vids).







There were a number of guys working in little groups.




There still was a chill in the air, and we were moving pretty fast, so we used the provided blankets and enjoyed the ride, all the way to the Paung Daw Oo Paya Temple....




which was jammed with tourist longboats that local guys deftly maneuvered for unloading and loading.




The temple is famous for five Buddha images that are now completely obscured due to the application of gold leaf.










San San suggested that we check out the market adjacent to the temple and we did that. Turned out to be a very good idea. It's a large market, with an amazing variety of foods and other goods, and Pa-o women merchants.














For the guys, there's an open air barbershop.




Just after I told San San that we never buy anything while traveling, Dana bought a pair of earrings...



and then, after I told San San that the only exception is for Dana buying earrings, she bought a scarf.




Not to be outdone, I bought a jacket, since my sweater had proven to be too small for comfort.

At first glance, I thought this was another huge duck...




but it definitely looks more like a rooster - one that swims, apparently.

We next went to a series of craft shops, first a unique lotus (yes, that lotus) weaving operation...







then a blacksmith shop...



cheroot making...



and a family silversmith outfit...



Then a slow ride through some of the neighborhoods...



and on through the famous (and ingenious) Inle Lake floating gardens, formed by adding compost to patches of water hyacinth.







As we were making our leisurely way through the gardens I had the feeling that international travel doesn't get any better than this, and expressed that to Dana. She agreed.

Our last stop was the "jumping cat monastery" Nga Khe Pyaung, so named for cats that the monks trained to jump through hoops. No cats jumping, tho - San San said they quit jumping when an old monk died. It still is an impressive place, with great teak pillars...



ancient Buddha figures in a number of styles, the one with the black crown is Chan, the other is generic Myanmar.



and some actual cats.



When we got back, we learned that we could change hotels for a 100% cancellation fee. Not tempted by that, we resolved to stay put and do our internet stuff elsewhere.

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