Inle Lake - Floating Villages and Wine

 To get to Inle Lake (aka Inlay, Innlay, we saw it spelled many ways…) we drove for an hour from Kalaw to a small town, then to a busy jetty full of waiting boats. We transferred, with our luggage, to a small “longboat” with 4 seats down the middle and cruised down the canal to the lake.   As the canal opened up into the lake, we noticed a group of small boats waiting nearby.  When we got close, they started moving about using the famous “one-legged row” technique for which the lake fishers are famous. Many boats also had unusual looking fishing nets and some fishers were demonstrating their fishing skills. Our boat circled around them and I thought “how convenient and perfect is this” until one fisher came close to me and mouthed the word “money”. I found out later the government stages and pays for this demo for the tourists. That said, we did get some great photos, and of course we did get a ton more excellent photos in a more natural setting later.

One-legged fisher - posing - with his unusual net

 Before we checked into our hotel, our guide and boat driver took us to several “floating” villages in the middle of the lake—well, not really floating but houses are built on stilts over the water. The lake is pretty shallow and you can usually see the bottom. Each village has a focus for its livelihood—one we stopped at had a cheroot making factory (tobacco rolled in large leaves), another had a silk and lotus weaving plant. Everything here is traditionally done by hand but I wonder how much of the handiwork here actually leaves the area, (i.e., is this mainly for show to tourist) and how much of the same process is done by machine elsewhere. We had lunch on a “floating” restaurant and watched the long boats whiz by as we enjoyed an excellent meal. Later we stopped at the main pagoda, checked out a traditional barge, before we made our way to the hotel.  

The leaning tower of stupa

Day 2 at Inle Lake was a trip to Sankar, a small ancient village about 3 hours by boat. We had to stop and pick up a local Pa O guide (tribal Law) but then sat back and enjoyed a very scenic albeit long ride down the lake, then a river ,then another lake that was actually the result of a dam at the south end. The village was unique in that not many tourists get there due to the distance. There were a few ancient pagodas to see but the highlight of the day (and it ranks up there for the whole trip) was an invitation to visit a local family in their home. This family lived in a 2 room bamboo hut up on stilts (not over water but I guess built high due to flood potential). The father was a farmer and the mom looked after her youngest 2 children (age 3 and 10). We sat down on the floor in the middle of the main room and the woman offered us tea and bananas. There was no electricity and cooking was done on an open fire outside. Using the Pa O guide as a translator, I asked the family many questions about their life. Then the teacher came out in me – I asked the 10 yr old boy to count to 10 in English with me (they learn English in school) and asked him to teach me how to count to 10 in Burmese. My final question to them was why they had allowed us to come in to their home. Their answer? -- to expose their children to the outside world and to share with others their way of life. I felt honoured to meet these kind and welcoming people, share tea and cultures. 

Having tea with a Sagar family in their livingroom

We left the village with a better understanding and appreciation for their simple yet difficult lifestyle. The experience reminded me that no matter our geographical location, political situation and cultural beliefs, we are all the same inside.Our hotel was on the edge of the lake and is considered the most luxurious in the area. And it was definitely 5 star! Not sure how we got it but after some rather below average places it was a real treat. Everything was fancy-schmancy, our “suite” was HUGE and everyone seemed to dress up for dinner (except us of course). The food was good but relatively expensive, and of course you had to eat there as there were no other restaurants nearby. But we easily fell into the “privileged” mode of thinking, all the time justifying it by telling ourselves we were providing good employment opportunities to the local people. And there was certainly a ton of staff!!

Village on the lake - notice there is a floating garden complete with tomatoes!

We had a free day the next day, and as I was feeling a little under the weather the day before we were going to relax at this luxurious resort and make no plans. Funny, we have had no issues with the tummy and food until eating at this 5 star resort—go figure! Anyway after a few doses of Immodium, my energy returned and we decided to hire a boat ourselves to visit a 5 day market ( a market on a circuit of 5 villages) about an hour away. We ended up buying a number of great souvenirs there and enjoyed a walk up to a nice pagoda that had dozens of ancient stupas ( stone spires) surrounding it.

Len had expressed a desire to rent bikes and ride to a nearby winery, one of two wineries in the country. Red Mountain winery was about 40 minute ride from the hotel down a bumpy (but thankfully flat) road. It was the heat of the afternoon sun that curbed my enthusiasm for the activity, but I had to give Len a little power in determining our agenda (it’s mainly me who makes all the decisions). So after lunch I sucked it up and off we set on our one-gear poorly-maintained rented bikes. And I swallowed all my complaints about the heat and actually enjoyed the ride. There was not a lot of traffic and we passed through a few small villages, corn fields and forest. The winery tasting room and restaurant sit up on a hill, with commanding views of the lake. We were told it was a Frenchman who started the winery using plants imported from Europe. We paid the tasting fee and were actually quite impressed with the quality of both red and white wines. We decided to eat a small meal and drink a few more glasses and enjoy the late-afternoon view. A lovely way to end the day and our stay at Inle.