Even though I have been in Asia for six months, its still funny the assumptions that my brain makes. If they say "paved road" I still think about smooth asphalt not a flat road that was maybe paved at some point. Or a gravel road. If they say restaurant, I still automatically look for something western-looking even though I know I really should be looking for the little red plastic chairs they use so much here. When I'm told that Inle Lake has avocado salad, I can't help but picture a bed of greens and cubes of avocado. Myanmar does salads a little differently. They seem to say salad when they mean "vegetable side dishes." So the avocado salad was actually guacamole which was just as delicious as an avocado salad in the traditional sense. And I think when that's the biggest gripe I have about a location, it's doing ok.
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| There's nothing to see here. Move along. |
We'd heard so many great things about Inle Lake and saw so many great photos of the fishermen. I can say that when I first got there, I was a bit underwhelmed. The first day we rented bicycles to ride to one of the markets along the lake. We got underway a bit before 9, and as we were pulling into the town with the market, this Myanmar man pulls over to try to convince us to take a boat ride on the lake with him.
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| Houses on the lake. |
Unfortunately his tactic of telling us the market was in the incorrect location (oh look but here's the boat dock!) and already finished didn't really convince us to spend any time with him. When we finally made it to the proper market we found lots of veggies and dry goods for sale along with some souvenirs. We could see some vendors packing their stuff back into boats along a small canal that ran back to the lake.
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| That spice. |
Because it was the dry season and rice-field-burning season, the air wasn't very clear and we hadn't actually seen the lake. After a nap during the hottest part of the day (it's a great strategy!), we biked up to a winery for sunset. It's french-owned, and we were both really looking forward to some decent wine. A tasting of four wines as $2, so that was awesome. We each had a tasting and tried the other reds on the menu. The best was the Cabernet Sauvignon. We could see the lake in the distance, and enjoyed a colorful dusty sunset.
The next day we were up with a lady we met in Mrauk U and the three of us took a day boat tour of the lake starting with sunrise. It was amazing watching the sky turn pink and get brighter and brighter. I had heard that the fishermen are a cool site, but it didn't prepare me for how graceful they are. They paddle pushing the oar with one leg. We spent a lot of the day watching and taking pictures of them. Later in the day, we saw some of them smacking the top of the water with the oars. Our driver explained that they would putt their nets down and then scare the fish in the direction of the nets. Slightly less graceful, but effective apparently.
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| SMACK |
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| Traditional fishing nets. |
We motored over to a market after the sun rose. It was bustling and full of produce, dry goods, and freshly caught fish flopping around at the various stalls. Cheyenne and I hadn't eaten breakfast, so we were thrilled to find a stand selling freshly made donut sticks and tea. Truly healthy breakfast.
After exploring that market, we boated down to a second lake that's much less busy. The boat ride down there was one of the most beautiful rides I have been on. And most of the people we passed would wave and yell hello to us.
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| Hello! |
When we arrived at a village on the second lake, we went in search of their market. On the way, we were invited in to eat at a family's house. They were having a novice initiation celebration for their son that was joining the monastery. We got fed a bunch of random and delicious foods including a tofu salad. After leaving the celebration, we caught the last bit of the market. And we took a ton of pictures. Myanmar is one of the most photogenic places I have been. Hands down.
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| They all wore such colorful head-cloths. |
The drive back to the bigger lake involved just as many "hellos" as the previous drive. After a stop for lunch we drove around in the villages on the lake and got to see the floating gardens. The gardens are massive fields of vegetables that are grown on the lake. It's still dirt, but the rows are full of water, and the gardeners tend their plants in boats. SO COOL.
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| Gourds. |
We ended the day with a nice meal of some chicken and potato curry. Tracy gave us quite a start when she ate a spicy pepper thinking it was just a green bean from her salad. Fun fact, a spoon full of sugar really does cure a mouth that's on fire when no milk is around. She's a tough lady!
