Our next destination in Myanmar was Inle Lake, where we were based in Nyaung Shwe at the Aquarius Inn. The town is the oldest of the Intha settlements around the lake. With the recent revival of tourism the town has grown considerably and is a good base for exploring the lake from with a good selection of accommodation and restaurants. The Intha people were the defining and most lasting impression of this region for me with the fishermen that propel themselves across the lake with one leg wrapped around an oar.
We took a private guide and had a very full day exploring the lake with him. It was very cold and misty when we departed at 7.30 am and we were very grateful for the blankets that were provided in the boat to wrap ourselves in! Our transport was the yellow and green boat approaching the jetty. It was a very busy day with lots of stops visiting the villages on stilts around the lake to view locals at work on a whole range of artisan crafts, weaving, silver work, cigar and paper making. We also visited Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda and Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery.
By 10 am the early morning mist had cleared and it was a beautiful day, hot with clear blue skies. I had many opportunities for photography and it has, as always, been difficult to select just a few to share here with you, for more photos please visit my My Flickr Album, Inle Lake. I am also planning to feature these artisan crafts in more detail on my photo blog feature World at Work during 2015.
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| Stilt village of Inle Lake. |
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| Cigar Making |
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| Phaung Daw U Pagoda |
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| Silver Craft Work |
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| We had lunch here - Soe San Kaung Restaurant. |
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| Lunch |
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| Part of the paper making process at an umbrella workshop. |
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| Weaving by a lady from the Padaung tribe from Kayah State in Burma wearing a traditional coil to lower her collar bone. |
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| A floating vegetable garden which has been made by collecting weeds from the lakes surface and lashing them together, before fixing them to the lakes bed with bamboo poles. Crops are then grown regardless of water levels. |
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| Approaching Nga Hpe Kyaung Monastery |
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| Interior Nga Hpe Kyaung Monastery |
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| The final five photos show our journey back across the lake and the approach to Nyaungshwe. |
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Nyaungshwe
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If you are interested in reading my earlier posts about Our Myanmar Trip here are the links.
With thanks to the following sites for some of the background information included in my Myanmar posts. The links will take you directly to the official websites if you are interested in learning more about the country. I also used my Insight Guide to Myanmar for reference.
Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery Aquarius Inn
All photos are my own taken in December 2013 unless otherwise mentioned.
More photos can be found on Flickr in My Album entitled Inle Lake
