Beautiful Inle Lake

The beautiful Inle Lake is one of Myanmar's top tourist destinations. Rather than stay in the local town of Nyaungshwe, we decided to splash out a bit and stay on the edge of the lake itself, meaning that the easiest was for us to get around was by boat.

Having had quite an uncomfortable bus journey we decided our first day would be a chill-out day. Still, in the afternoon we took a 30-minute walk into the local village where we had a nice lunch and found a boat driver who we then used for the rest of our stay.

On the walk into the village...

Did I mention how friendly everyone is here?!

That night we took the boat into town for dinner: a 30 minute journey across the lake and up a canal! The town was busy and lively as there was a local festival on (more to follow on that). We found a tiny little Indian restaurant (delicious and very authentic food) and a little bar serving cocktails, and we were happy! 

On the boat back to the hotel I had one of my little moments: it was virtually pitch black on the water – we could only see the reeds either side of us and the occasional flicker of light from a boat or building on the horizon (our sophisticated navigation system consisted of a torch which the guy at the front shone through the water). There was no sound but the gentle hum of the motor and the lapping of water. The air was cool and I leaned back and looked up and the stars and felt blissfully content. I'm just so happy that I have finally been able to travel like this. Moments like these are exactly what I was looking for.

The following day we had a full day’s boat trip on the lake. In the morning light the lake was ethereal, the water shimmered as the sun rose over the surrounding mountains. 

Sunrise over Inle Lake

Fisherman on the lake at dawn

There were many fishing boats out on the water – the men have a unique style of rowing boats here – using one leg to guide the oar!

Leg-rowing in action!

We passed through villages where the houses were set on stilts over the water, and visited cottage industries including weaving, silversmith (where I may have made a couple of purchases) and cheroot-making (fragrant Burmese cigars). 

Lakeside villages

In our boat!

Our navigator

We also visited the lakeside village of Inthein, where thousands of pagodas cover the hillside, the “Jumping Cat Monastery” (where monks had trained cats to leap through hoops… sadly it’s no longer done though so it was a bit of a let-down!) and some floating allotments! We returned to town again for dinner that evening. 

Arriving into Inthein

Buddha hidden in a crumbled old pagoda

Inthein hilltop pagodas

At Inthein

With one day left on our hands we knew we wanted to experience some of the festival in the afternoon, but we still had a morning free. On our initial drive from the bus station to the hotel we’d passed a vineyard – Red Mountain (Burma’s wine industry is small but growing) - and decided that that would be a good place to while away a morning! 

I had thought it was within walking distance of the hotel, but it soon transpired that it was a 1.5-hour walk – not a good option in the searing heat and with limited time due to the festival. The recommended option was to cycle. Now this may come as a surprise to some, but I haven’t ridden a bike in 17 years and have never ridden on a main road. That, coupled with the heat, made me a little anxious about the idea. However I had a little practice in the grounds of the hotel and although on the first couple of attempts I couldn't get my second foot onto the pedal before over-balancing, I persisted and finally managed it. Although I was wobbling around like a loon I didn't want to give up without having a proper try, so I decided to go for it and cycle to the winery!

Look out world!

The hotel manager had told us it should take 20-25 minutes, but it ended up taking us almost an hour, partly as I was so slow and partly as I kept wobbling off the road whenever a car or truck came up behind me. There was a brief period when I enjoyed the experience – pride at actually being able to (sort of) do it combined with appreciation of the stunning scenery around us. However I soon became so exhausted and so hot that my hands were sliding off the handlebars and my legs were too tired to cycle and I got frustrated at myself for being so rubbish! So I was almost at the point of giving up when the winery came into sight!

Luckily if there’s one thing which can put a smile back on my face, it’s good wine. We had a tasting of Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé, Shiraz and Muscat for $2 total, and the wines were surprisingly nice! We also had lunch and a quick tour of the winery, however due to our late arrival we couldn't hang around too long as we had to make it back for the festival, so it was soon back to the bikes.

Exhausted - thank God for wine!

Red Mountain Vineyard

Vineyard selfie

I must confess I did give up quite quickly on the return journey and hopped on the back of a pick-up truck (with bike!) but that was partly because we were running so late and I didn't want to miss the festival, or worse, make Emm miss the festival due to my slowness! Being a much better cyclist, Emm carried on by bike and arrived in the village around the same time as me in the pick-up!

Overtaking Emm in the pick-up

The festival which was taking place was called the Phaung Daw Oo Paya festival, where four revered golden Buddha images are ferried around the lake in a gilded barge, visiting all of the pagodas in the area, over an 18-day period. On this particular day they were arriving in the monastery in the village right by our hotel. The river bank was packed and there was a real sense of anticipation. We arrived just in time to see the large, ornate boat pull into the jetty, accompanied by many other longboats rowed by leg-rowers and the Buddhas were carefully carried ashore as the locals threw confetti and flowers. 

Some of the local women brought flowers... on their heads

The accompanying boats arrive

The main boat, containing the Buddhas

The crowds surge forward for a glimpse of the Buddhas

After following the procession towards the monastery we picked up our bikes again and this time I did manage to cycle back to the hotel (only 20 minutes!). I was shattered by the time we got back but after a much-needed shower I could enjoy a nice cold beer whilst watching the sun set over the lake. 

 Sunset over Inle Lake (from the hotel deck!)