Inle Lake

Another early morning flight made for another full day of touristing. The whole getting up early thing isn't so bad! Maybe I can try to keep it up when I get home. Imagine all the things I could get done if real life was as exciting as vacation. I wake up here everyday with a list of things that I want to do that is longer than feasibly possible, but seem to be doing a pretty good job of ticking the best ones off. On the agenda for day one: (1) rent a bike, (2) book a hiking trip for tomorrow, (3) visit the Mingala Market, (4) bike out to the countryside to Bamboo Hut for lunch, (5) go wine tasting at Red Mountain Winery. 

It's a bit cooler here than it was in Bagan, but it's still really hot. My guide yesterday told me that Myanmar people don't go outside from about 11-4. I should really take a page from their book. The lunch spot I picked, Bamboo Hut, is about a 5 mile ride from Nyaung Shwe off the highway. Following a tip from another traveler, I decided to make the journey part of my day followed by wine tasting. Myanmar isn't known for their wine (surprise, surprise) but I figure wine falls into the category of "local cuisine" so if I didn't give it a try, I couldn't truly say I had tried all that the Myanmar kitchen has to offer, right?

In a not so unfortunate turn of events, it started raining about ten minutes before I reached the winery. While it soaked me to the core by the time I arrived, the rain also gave me an excuse to drink more than the meager tastes in my $2 flight. Though the wine wasn't extraordinary,  it was certainly better than riding my bike the five miles back to my un-air conditioned hotel room. Of the four wines in the tasting, the Sauvignon blanc was the most drinkable, so I ordered another glass to pass the time. 

Day two was even better than the first. I went on a hike with a local guide whose name I forgot five minutes after he told me it. Something like Dooooh, but I'm probably way off. We hiked out into the hill country and visited a cave where a lonely monk was meditating. I thought I was done with caves after that creepy, crawly experience in Thailand or the weird Disney-cave in Kuala Lumpur, but this one was kinda cool. I totally understand how a dark, quiet cave at the top of a hill outside a tiny town near a lake would be a good place to meditate. We hiked on through a Pa-ho village where loud music drew us toward what turned out to be a wedding party. Doooooh exclaimed, "we are lucky!" I didn't understand why we were so lucky, since neither of us knew the bride and groom, until I realized that we were being invited to the party. The betel-chewing grandfather of the bride gave us a tour of the wedding party, asked us to take pictures with him, asked us to take pictures with the bride and groom, and then even asked me to take a picture of him and the newlyweds on my camera. I'm not sure why he wanted me to have his picture, but I've learned the best policy here is not to ask questions. 

After strapping my hiking shoes back on, we heard back to the hills to continue our hike. By noon, we were tired and ready for lunch, just as we reached a Daung Yu village. Myanmar has 142 different ethnic groups which all have different cultures and speak different languages. My guide could understand most of what these two groups said, but apparently they didn't understand the language he spoke very well. No matter! He was able to ask the woman who ran the bamboo hut we came across to make some delicious Shan noodle soup (which he kept calling salad for some reason). Two local guys sitting next to us kept motioning for me to try their rice wine which I declined twice. Doooooh had a different idea, and encouraged me to give it a try. There was some awkward hand gestures exchanged between the four of us, lots of smiling, and then shots were poured. After a few more, we bid our new friends adieu and continued on our hike. Doooooh was in a chatty mood for the rest of the day and shared stories with me about his two girlfriends, the military government and the poor education system in Myanmar. I imparted that I had been teaching English in Thailand for the last three weeks which encouraged him to take me to the school where he used to take English classes. Despite my requests that he not interrupt the class, he walked right into a class session and told the teacher I was an English teacher (eek!). I had a short chat with the teacher and some of the students while trying to get out of taking over the class for the day. Finally, I got my way and we returned to our trek. I had no idea trekking would be such a cultural experience! Myanmar continues to amaze me every day. 

On my third day in Inle Lake, I took a boat tour with the same boat driver who had taken me out to my luxurious lakeside resort, Inle Resort, last night. We began the day at 7:30 so we could make it to the five-day market. The five-day market is a market that rotates around the lake to five different locations every day. On the way there, we passed by a number of fisherman paddling their boats with one leg attached to an oar while handling their nets. The market was near Shwe Inn Tain Pagodas where over 1000 stupas have been dedicated to various people. Without receiving any explanation from signage or otherwise, my best guess is that it was a sort of beautiful cemetery. 

It wouldn't be a tour without a few compulsory workshop visits, so our next stop was a gold and silversmith where I got suckered into buying some silver earrings in the traditional Shan style. They are really pretty and unique looking - and I got her down 3000 kyats with my skillful bargaining powers. Next up was a umbrella and paper-making workshop. The local artisan showed me how paper is made while her adorable two-year-old daughter pretended she was pounding bark to make the paste that ultimately become paper. I was interested in buying a parasol here, but haven't figured out how I plan on getting that home. They are so pretty though. I might look again in Yangon where I can ship things more easily. 

Our next stop was Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, a fairly unexciting pagoda where women weren't allowed to go up inside. I didn't stay long there for obvious reasons. We then visited a lotus, silk and cotton workshop. I never knew that you could spin lotus fiber, but I guess that's the point of visiting these places. You learn something new every day! The lady showing me around said the lotus scarves were 8 times more expensive than the pure silk ones. When she was showing me their shop at the end of the visit, I inquired how much one of these knobby brown scarves ran. The small one I picked up was $160 - and it wasn't even soft or pretty. I opted for a cheaper, prettier blue silk scarf for $15 that I will actually wear. I'm glad I brought a lot of cash today, because this $15 tour quickly turned into much more than that! 

I got Trey a gift at our next destination, a cheroot cigar factory. Cheroot is similar to tobacco and is grown locally in the area surrounding Inle Lake. As I walked in, one of the young girls rolling cigars handed me a basket full of little cheroot cigarettes and a lighter. Though I don't smoke, I gave it a try. After about three puffs, I already had a buzz and bought a pack for my brother and went on my way. Not for me, but I'm sure Trey will enjoy the souvenir (as long as it makes it through customs). 

The floating gardens were the next destination on our journey around the lake. The name is a bit of a undersell, as they are really floating farms. Acres and acres of loofah, tomatoes, lotus and other vegetables I couldn't really see grow in rows like any other farm, only everything is floating. The farmers all tend their crops from boats, paddling along with their one-legged oar. Finally, the tour came to an end at Nga Phe Chaung Monastery which, to be quite honest, was a bit of a disappointment. Lonely Planet described the place as home to jumping cats that had been trained by the monks in residence. For probably the tenth time while in Myanmar, Lonely Planet failed me. The cats used to jump three years ago when that guidebook was written. Now, they are sleepy cats who no longer jump. 

Lonely Planet needs to get someone out to Myanmar and do a rewrite of their guide. It was written in 2013 after the country had just opened up for tourism. A lot has changed in those three years and I've continually be let down by the dated, incorrect or lacking information in the book. The good thing about this country, however is that it's easy to play things by ear and figure out your path along the way. This has been a bit of a challenge for the planner deep inside me, but has also been exciting. I never know what to expect from my day and am constantly pleasantly surprised.