A Day on Inle Lake

Inle Lake is one of the biggest draws for tourists in Myanmar.  It’s a massive freshwater lake set in the hills of Shan State in Eastern Myanmar.  Shallow (no more than 12 feet deep in the dry season) and with refreshingly clear water, it was a welcome change from the filthy rivers and irrigation ditches I’d seen so far.  There are a lot of local tribes around the lake, the most notable being the Intha tribe with their easily recognizable leg rowing technique.

I planned on spending a few days here, but it was so difficult to find lodging that I only stayed one night.  That didn’t stop me from chartering a small boat and a guide and exploring the lake for a day.

Being brought up next to a lake, I have a deep appreciation for all things ‘lakey’.  Anything from trailing a hand in the spray to watching people land gleaming, wriggling fish is enough to put me in a happy place.  Conveniently, there were ample opportunities for hand trailing and watching fish meet a grisly fate.  All the ingredients for a perfect day.

Dinner!My guide took me to several villages around the lake where we visited a number of workshops.  Some were very interesting, especially when the craftspeople there took the time to demonstrate how things were made.  Some were little more than souvenir shops trying to sucker people out of money for some tacky knick-knacks.  I went to weaving, cheroot making, silversmith, umbrella-making, and blacksmith shops.  My favorites by far were the weaving and cheroot making shops.  The processes for each were very interesting and the people weren’t pushy at all there.  By the end, however, I was pretty much tired of shops of all kinds and wanted nothing more than to get back to trailing my hand in the water.

Making cheroots
Working the loom

Many of the villages were separated by narrow, winding waterways which multi-tasked as transportation between buildings/villages and irrigation for the many fields which have been built up from the lake.  Meandering through these and seeing all the buildings perched precariously on stilts in the shallow water really impressed on me just how hard the people must have worked to mold the landscape into something livable.  It’s quite impressive what people can do when they set their minds to it!

On the way back, my guide got one of the fishermen to come over so I could take some nice photos of him.  Watching the dude balance on the back of his boat with one leg and work the oar with the other was pretty impressive.  I had no doubt that if I attempted it I would end up taking a nice little plunge.  Like many things, I’m sure there is a great deal of practice involved.

An Intha fisherman with his fish trapInle Lake is a nice mishmash of natural and cultural beauty with more than a little taint of catering to tourism.  Despite the inevitable sales pitches you’ll endure, it’s something that’s worth seeing and experiencing first hand.