Myanmar (Burma), Shan District, Inle Lake
08/12/04 Filed in: Travel
The bus station on the outskirts of Yangon is like a
village, streets with bus stalls run in all
directions. Mostly old, road weary buses, loaded to
the max with passengers and almost anything else
(from truck tires to fruits and vegetables).
It’ll be a long trip north to Inle Lake in the
Shan district. The first 10 hours are over
Myanmar’s distinctive ‘hand made’
roads, then just before dark, the road disappears
altogether and is replaced by a narrow (one lane)
dirt logging track. We creep along at a blazing 5
miles an hour as we constantly make room for logging
trucks and other buses coming from the other
direction. This ‘road’ twists and turns
through the mountains for hours and hours and hours.
From the new dirt and large boulders pushed about in
many places it seems that the track was just cleared
from avalanches. The darkness hides the depth of the
drop off at the edge of the track. There will be
little sleep on this night, 20 hours later the bus
pulls onto a paved road once again and we arrive at
Inle Lake, it’s 6 am.
Staying at the very friendly 4 Sisters Inn we get some rest, pancakes and arrange for a motorized long boat for the day. Inle Lake is a large shallow lake in the mountains; the water is maybe 10 feet deep. Here the fishermen stand on the back of their little boats using one foot on a paddle and throwing out fishing nets or baskets. There are also large areas of floating gardens (tomatoes, beans, flowers and almost anything else). Little Venice like primitive thatched villages dots the lakeshore. Here we visit little markets and silk weaving areas (also rare lotus thread weaving).
Our boatman takes us to the other side of the lake and well up a small river, past more little villages and farms. Finally we reach the Ba Daun village, the one I am told which has the nearly extinct ‘long neck women’. For generations these women have maintained their tradition of wearing many rings around their neck, adding more and more rings over time. Most of the women are very friendly and seem as interested in us as we are in them, asking if they can have copies of the photos taken with them. Only the young ones seem shy.
It’s a soft quiet place, a simple place from another time. We stay only a short while before heading back across the now glass smooth lake.
Please check out all the photos on my SE Asia Portfolio page available at NavaSwan.com
Staying at the very friendly 4 Sisters Inn we get some rest, pancakes and arrange for a motorized long boat for the day. Inle Lake is a large shallow lake in the mountains; the water is maybe 10 feet deep. Here the fishermen stand on the back of their little boats using one foot on a paddle and throwing out fishing nets or baskets. There are also large areas of floating gardens (tomatoes, beans, flowers and almost anything else). Little Venice like primitive thatched villages dots the lakeshore. Here we visit little markets and silk weaving areas (also rare lotus thread weaving).
Our boatman takes us to the other side of the lake and well up a small river, past more little villages and farms. Finally we reach the Ba Daun village, the one I am told which has the nearly extinct ‘long neck women’. For generations these women have maintained their tradition of wearing many rings around their neck, adding more and more rings over time. Most of the women are very friendly and seem as interested in us as we are in them, asking if they can have copies of the photos taken with them. Only the young ones seem shy.
It’s a soft quiet place, a simple place from another time. We stay only a short while before heading back across the now glass smooth lake.
Please check out all the photos on my SE Asia Portfolio page available at NavaSwan.com