Inle Lake is a 20 Km long fresh water lake in central Myanmar. It has become one of the most sought after tourist destinations in the region due to the vast canals, farming, and infrastructure built on top of the lake. From aisles of tomato plants, to skilled fisherman rowing their canoes with one leg, Inle is a unique site to behold.
We had arrived on an outer canal at the end of our trek and boarded a long tail to traverse the entire lake. We had booked a hotel in the neighboring Nyaung Shwe village at the north end of the lake. Our ride took about an hour and was a fantastic tour of the lake. As we headed down the long entry canal, we passed by different sections of vegetables on long vines growing deep into the water. Many fisherman were perched, sitting on the end of tiny canoes hauling in their nets. Once on the open lake, there were vast platforms of bamboo buildings, including guesthouses, monasteries, and many more shops and buildings for locals.
As we streamed down the lake the cool breeze felt incredible after our long hot day of trekking. It was lovely to finally arrive. Fleets of other longtails were on the water offering curious tourists day tours of the many sites. We were quite fatigued however, and once we docked near our hotel, we made our way to some luxurious AC and a proper shower. We had just one full day to spend in Inle, but for the rest of this day, some decompressing would be needed.
That evening our ambitions were low after the trek, so we found some nice Thai food near our hotel. Nyaung Shwe was a bit more touristy than I expected, and had a selection of the usual backpacker needs. Many bars, hotels and restaurants offering all sorts of western foods. If you’ve been to SE Asia, you can imagine what I’m talking about. It was not overdone however, and still had some local charms.
The next morning, we agreed to hang around the town, and not venture out on the water. We had gotten a nice view of most things on the lake the previous day, and mostly just wanted to chill and catch up on some other things. You have these days sometimes, despite being in a hard to reach, wonderful location, you just feel like sitting on your butt and doing nothing. Given that it is our vacation, we get to do what we want so we sat on our butts at a little coffee shop and let the day pass on.
A few beverages later and many hours of getting things like the blog up to date, and we were ready to move on to a massage. We went for the 60 minute oil, and it was the best option for our weary bodies. That evening we did venture out to find one last Burmese meal before leaving. Tina researched a less busy location a bit off the hustle and bustle. Unfortunately, there was a local at home next door who must have been dying of lung cancer, as I’ve never heard anybody hack and spit so much horrible hell in my life. Just after we thought he must be done, we’d try to dig in to our food, only to be greeted with another minute of hawking. Poor fella…
Our time in Myanmar had been lovely, but as it goes with all things in this life, it did come to an end. The morning saw us hop a taxi and enjoy one last drive through the villages on our way to Heho airport. We would fly a short hop to Yangon and then make our way to Khao Lak in Thailand that night. I had planned some beaching and diving excursions that I knew would be a hit.
Signing off from Inle Lake.