Inle Lake at Shan State

Inle Lake is charming and picturesque, an enjoyable spot for visitors.

The lake is located in the middle of the Shan State,30 kilometers from Taungyi, the capital. It is 875 meters above sea level, 22.4 kilometers long, Intha or lake dwellers live in wooden houses built on stilts in the calm, shallow waters, tending their floating vegetable gardens and do fishing.

They also work with gold and other metals, weaving traditional cotton Shan bags, weaving silk products and making apparel, producing vegetable oil and making cheroots.

Yaunghwe or Nyaungshwe on the northern tip of Inlay lake is 35 kilometers from the nearest airport at Heho. There are flights from both

Yangon and Mandalay. Yangon is 660 kilometers by road, Mandalay 330 kilometers. Travelers can also take the railway to Heho. The small town of Yaunghwe is the main settlement in the area and the starting  point for lake excursions. We hire a boat to take us through a straight, narrow portion of the Nankand Canal with cultivated land on both banks bordered by bamboo poles and wooden railing. A few houses on stilts, small banana groves, some ducks, swine, and a water buffalo or two can be seen. Gulls perch on the whitewashed railings The waterway widens as it enters Inle Lake proper about 20 minutes after we leave the dock.

Inle Lake Monastery

The air is crisp and cool and the misty blue hills surrounding the lake are visible in the distance through the haze. White pagodas occupy some of the hill tops. A few tiny patches of water hyacinths float among the long, narrow boats and dug-outs typical of those used on the lake. The operator skillfully and speedily pushes the boat by working the oar with one foot and balancing on the other. Most of the boats have a tall conical trap with netting stretched over the framework. By keeping his hands free the fisherman can drop his traps over the fish he sees in the clear blue waters.

Some boats carry goods such as fresh vegetables, flowers or firewood and are rowed either by leg or in the conventional hand-paddled manner. Some boats are engaged in bringing up silt, mud, weed and other decaying vegetation from the lake bottom, scooping them up in a coarse basket attached to the end of a pole. These are matted or woven together and anchored to the lake bed with bamboo poles forming floating gardens on which tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, peas, beans, fruits and flowers are grown.

Progress along the lake is indicated by the white mileposts sited at regular intervals. They are circular red discs with the distance covered marked on the approach side and the mileage from the opposite destination shown on the reverse side. Boats carrying locals, visitors or tourists overtake our boat or speed past from the south creating tiny swells and spraying water on the people in our boat. Gulls follow tourist boats to chase food tossed in the air. Water fowl are prevalent as Inlay is one of three fresh water lakes in Myanmar classified as wildlife sanctuaries.

Surrounded by dark-blue mountains, this is are romantic scenes. Everyone moves with on a boat — a roaring powerboat or a leg rower gliding through the calm water. Beside of being a top tourism destination in the country the place has some unique features. First are the leg rowers and second it's the aquaculture. The people live in villages on stilts planted into the lake plus a unique aquaculture with 3 times harvesting per year. This is one of the most interesting places in Asia, unfortunately or fortunately -it depends how you look at- almost no one knows this.

Moving through the channel

towards the lake the gulls fly overhead, many are sitting on the whitewashed railings. The waterway widens into open water as it enters the lake proper about 20 minutes later. Progress along the lake is indicated by the white mileposts sited at regular intervals, protruding out of the Inle Lake carrying circular red discs with the distance covered marked in miles on the approach

side and the mileage from the opposite direction shown on the reverse side of the disc. Boats carrying people, locals, visitors or tourists speed past, coming from the south, creating tiny swells in their wake and causing sprays of water to hit the people in your boat at Lake Inle. The Gulls follow tourist boats tossing up food into the air it's a great scenery which everyone enjoys, luckily in Myanmar there are none of this Islamist and other sectarian madness which brought similar travel on lakes in Kashmir to a halt.

Other water fowl can be seen as this one of the three fresh water lakes in Myanmar serving as wildlife sanctuaries for breeding of water birds and resting places for migratory water fowl, in addition to forming the basis for fisheries. Inle Lake is reachable from Yangon and Mandalay by flying to Heho then by road a distance of 35 km to Naungshwe on the northern tip of Inle Lake (if you are on your own you will always find a taxi at the airport) and when they try to play hard ball with you. Just take your stuff and walk out to the main road you get a lift within minutes for a few dollars. This is not very comfortable but it is ok for the purpose. Paddling through Inle lake aquaculture in the morning When traveling in the country in general never take more than 2 bags or rucksack with you which you an carry on your body. By road from Yangon to Inle Lake it is a distance of some 660 km (400 ml) and from Mandalay it is about 330 km (200 ml). Economics are tourism and aquaculture for harvesting 3 times per year, the people are very knowledgeable also they have only very limited access to communication.

The Phe Chaung monastery in the Inle lake,

(it is really in the lake) is about 170 years old. Coincidently one of the monks had a good idea some years ago. Since there was nothing to do for the monks they started to train the monastery's cats to jump through hoops, since then it got a real attraction and every day dozens of people come in on their Inle tour to have a look, if the cat jumps a small donation is expected, sometimes the cats wont jump but the visitors still donate. The cats have names such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe and other celebrities. This is also

a interesting destination by itself, there is the usual lacquer ware, Buddha statues some covered with gold leafs and some
antiques, the place is a excellent day trip destination on the lake.
The monastery also offer accommodation, it’s possible to stay there for a few days and “enjoy” the spartanic life of the resident
monks. Since the buildings are on a island in the lake its not easy to move around. Inle Lake is a water world in Shan State not
far away from the Thailand Myanmar border, this area is also known as Shan State and one of the top attraction in the country.
The leg rowers are legend and their high time is during the pagoda festival which is celebrated once per year including a regatta
to find the fastest leg rower team.

Kayan or Padaung people

with the famous "long neck women" and their brass rings. Most Kayan or Padaung women wear brass rings around their necks, arms and legs, legend tells to remind them to their ancestors the mythical naga snakes.

A group from one of their villages in Shan State near Inle fled to the Thai town of Mae Hong Son because of the continuous fighting between the Myanmar army and the Karen rebels, this kind of civil war vanished a few years ago. But when they group wanted to leave Mae Hong Son to settle in New Zealand the Thai authorities made all kind of tricks and problems to not let them go away.

The reason? The Kayan people, especially the women and girls grow to a big tourist attraction in the area and lots of Thai people make money with them because of the large amount of money they make with them. Actually they keep them like in a zoo make money with them and give them a little. It amazing how awkward this people are thinking from time to time.

A bit further down the southern outflow of the Lake is the mysterious and almost forgotten old pagoda world of Sagar often in black and very colorful, especially at the 5 day markets around Inle Lake.

The almost forgotten villages of Sagar at the banks of the Beluo Chaung river which drain the water from the lake is a unique settlement. Old pagodas and Nat shrines, most in bad conditions overgrown by the jungle are a great visual experience.

This is the ideal day trip when spending a few days at the lake, another short trk could be in the hilly terrain around the water where the Pa-O tribe is living, they are the real natives of this area.

They still live in high houses with the fire place in the middle of the room for cooking and warming up the place during the cold period, since it's over 1000m height here.