Lake Inle

Inle lake is undoubtedly the most popular tourist destination in Myanmar. It is still low-profile enough to be a pleasant somewhat sleepy destination, but given the current rate of development it is ought to become a full-on tourist resort very soon. Seeing this development got me thinking of the lake people, who have been doing hard work of fishing and farming for hundreds of years, until about 20 years ago, when the tourist boom kicked in. Suddenly rich white people began pouring in and paying silly money just to see what is granted for the local population. The perspective of selling products and services to tourists instead of farming the land seven days a week is too lucrative to pass, especially when the pay is much better. It must be strange times for the local population.
Anyhow the setting of the lake is feng shui like: water and mountains. Nyangshwe, a town next to the lake, is laid back and pleasant enough to warrant spending a couple of days there. Add floating green islands found on the lake and tribe villages around the lake and you got a winner combination. The ugly side of this mix is rapid commercialisation of the area. We took a boat ride that was supposed to introduce us to the highlights of the lake, but in reality it was hopping from one shop to another. The best part about the trip was an early morning ride to the lake, being chased by gulls and watching posing fishermen, but it went quickly downhill after that. It is not all doom and gloom though. If you avoid the boat ride or negotiate a better deal skipping the shops, it is bound to be an amazing experience.

Boats waiting for customers in the wee hours of the chilly morning in Nyangshwe.

Boats waiting for customers in the wee hours of a chill morning in Nyangshwe.

Boats are the major form of transportation around Inle.

And tourism quickly becomes the main form of making income. Fortunately there are no big white ships full of packaged tour groups yet.

A typical village on the lake. Everything is built on the water, channels act like roads and boats replace cars.

Cool as a cucumber fisherman in the tranquil morning light.

The lake is home to numerous floating islands, pieces of vegetation growing on the water that create an illusion of a hard land.

Not everybody can afford a diesel motor, so manual rowing (whether using hand or foot technique) is still a norm.

Fishermen were more than happy to pose for an iconic Inle Lake shot.

Unlike in the previous shot, foot rowing is an actual rowing technique used in practice and only for showing off

One of the most memorable things about Inle was gulls chasing boats either in hope to get some food or just for sheer fun.

I took this picture without second thoughts and only later realised that the woman was most likely taking a bath. Taking pictures of people showering / taking a bath is considered very rude in Myanmar. Oops.

One of the surprising things about Nyangshwe was this pagoda just outside the town. Whether it was the beautiful evening light or the tranquil state of mind, it was easily the most awesome pagoda I have encountered in Myanmar.

The floating market of Nyang Win. Everybody naturally arrives by boat.

A popular day trip is to cycle to Mine Thauk village, take a boat across the lake to Khaung Dine and continue by bicycle back to Nyangshwe.

A popular day trip is to cycle to Mine Thauk village, take a boat across the lake to Khaung Daing and continue by bicycle back to Nyangshwe.

Children playing volleyball in Khaung Daing

There is a winery, Red Mountain Estate, in the Inle area. We went around 11 in the morning and it was full of smiling and laughing white people. Winery, a socially acceptable way for middle-aged white people to get drunk anytime during the day.

A long-neck woman from Kanyin state demonstrating her weaving skills in one of the shops. The state is closed to visitors, so this was one of the rare chances to see a long neck woman.

A silversmith at work (most likely for entertainment purposes)

A woman working a silk loom. I have had mixed feelings about all these demonstrations. On one hand, they are pure tourist entertainment. On the other hand these demonstrations actually provide a good overview of how things are produced.

Kalaw to Inle in three days

Kalaw is a former British hill station in the Shan state of Myanmar. It is at an elevation of 1350m and 50km from the Inle lake, which makes it a popular hiking route. Initially we planned to do a trek on our own, but everywhere we asked they told us it was no possible citing the reasons like wild animals and military presence. After some research we opted for a three day hike with Sam’s Family Trekking, which is reputed to the best in the area (Jungle King is definitely to be avoided by the stories we heard). Even though it is possible to hike on one’s own, it is a very hard to do for a number of reasons. First of all, there are no maps. Google Maps, for one, is not aware of any villages or roads we walked. The best bet is to download one of the GPS tracks recorded by fellow hikers that can be found on the Internet. Second, there is no tourist infrastructure on the way. No hotels, very little restaurants and shops. In some villages they didn’t even sell bottled water and other villages had unmarked shops that were hidden inside people’s homes. Sleeping in monasteries is definitely an option, but the lack of restaurants and shops on the way is challenging. Thirdly no trekking company will forward your baggage to Inle. We asked at several places and the answer was no. Finally we got so much more out of the trek with a guide and it turned out one of the highlights in Myanmar. Definitely money well spent.

Kalaw area is hilly and dry. Also known for hiking

Kalaw area is hilly and dry. Dust is naturally everywhere.

Hiking is popular among tourists. As elsewhere in South East Asia locals are not very fond of walking, especially long distances.

The area can be described in terms of desolated landscapes and hill tribe villages

Farming is the main source of income for local people.

Among cultivated crops are oranges…

…bananas

…rice

…chilis

… and potatoes

Farming is hard work in this climate. Everything is done by hand, no machinery used.

Momo, our guide

Our team. Julie, Nicky, Amber, Kim, Anu and myself

Walking was a hard work, especially the bulk of the walk done during the midday under the blazing sun

Hiking was not a walk in the park, especially as the bulk of the walk done during the midday under the blazing sun.

Sunrise over rice fields on the first day of the hike.

There are very little signs of tourismization.

No hotels, no taxis and no hawkers.

There are not many restaurants on the way. Another reason why doing hike solo is difficult. This restaurant is one of the bigger villages and is very basic.

There are not many restaurants on the way. Another reason why doing hike solo is difficult. This restaurant is in one of the bigger villages and is very basic.

Children are used to tourists and expect presents. We did not have any.

Children gazing visitors in one of the highlands villages

Older children were more shy and only gazed at us

Children playing on monastery grounds

And trying to avoid the camera.

The journey also led us to a railway. We walked during a gap between trains, although dodging slow-moving local train would not have been a problem.

The journey also led us to a railway. We managed to walk just during a gap between trains, although dodging slow-moving local train would not have been a problem.

Two women enjoying tea in a tea shop on a train station

A misty morning on the third day of the hike.

Cows in the mist.

Bagan â€“ The Angkor Wat of Myanmar

Back in the day Bagan used to be the capital of the Pagan Empire, the first ever attempt to unify what the modern Myanmar is. The city has been abandoned since 1287 and nowadays it is a massive complex of thousands of temples set in the desolated landscape. It is dry, full of dust and feels like a ghost town. Sunrises and sunsets are fantastical, plus there are thousands of temples to choose from as your view point. There are little signs of any tourist development, which is reflected in poor accommodation options (the universal problem in Myanmar) and incostinency in selling tickets. Dust is inescapable and rental bicycles are one step away from falling apart. Electric bikes, on the other hand, despite making you look like a senior and feel like a teenager proved to be an excellent way to explore the area. As a random man from France put it: “You will spend four days here. Four beautiful days”. Well we spent three, but they were beautiful indeed.

There are over 2200 temples, pagodas and stupas in the Bagan area.

The number of temples keeps growing, as new temples keep appearing and old ones restored in an “unhistorical fashion”

Temples are built by ministers, generals and various organisations. The main motivation is to acquire good karma.

It is all good though. The scenery is stunning.

There are temples and stupas of various size, shape and condition.

Some are popular among visitors.

When others are deserted and forgotten by time.

Some temples are rather huge.

When others are illuminated in the dark time.

Some temples are illuminated in the dark time.

Sunrise is the most popular time to gaze temples

Sunrise is the most popular time to watch the scenery

Along the sunset

Monks enjoy a beautiful sunrise just like anybody else.

As well as taking touristic shots.

We took pictures of monks and they took pictures of us. Fair enough.

Most of the visitors are from Myanmar. Western tourists are somewhat a minority.

Cows do not care about temples and just mind their own businesses.

As if the time stopped in Bagan several centuries ago.

Horse-cart is one of the modes of transportation in Bagan.

$15 for a two kilometre ride to see the sunrise and then to find a hotel. Haggling not possible.

Some temples are open for visiting

Shoes must be left outside the temple area.

And the interiors of certain temples are rather bling.

And of course Buddhas in all kind of shapes and forms are found in each one and every temple.

In search of a perfect sunset temple, we stumbled across a watermelon field. The watermelon turned out to half raw.

Myanmar or Burma?

Myanmar has been the official name of the country since 1989, but still a great deal of people are unaware of the change. Some even go into the lengths and insist that Burma is the right name. In the press the country is sometimes referred as Myanmar (Burma) to avoid the confusion. So what is going on here? Why is there still confusion after 25 years?
The controversy only concerns the English language and mostly due political reasons. In Burmese the country name is Myanma and Bama is used in colloquial speak. The original name of the country is Myanma and the oldest use of the word goes back to 11th century. Myanmar is the “englishified” spelling adopted in 1989. The name Burma as the official name of the country was adopted in 1930 during the British colonial rule. Burma derives from Barma, which is the major ethnic group in Myanmar with roughly 68% of the country population. To make things more confusing, Barma or Bama itself derives from Myanmar using a funky word substitution (Myanmar â†’ Myanma â†’ Myama â†’ Mama â†’ Bama). So what is the big deal about restoring the original name of the country?
The decision was made by the ruling junta, which made it unpopular among the opposition on the grounds that the junta had no authority to change the name. National League for Democracy, the main opposition force in Myanmar, favored Burma over Myanmar in 90s, but changed their tune since then. Some opposition parties, while still favor using Burma in English, use Myanma in Burmese. No opposition party insists on using Bama as the official name in Burmese.
I have asked local people about which name they preferred and everybody went for Myanmar. A guy from the Shan state told me that they found the name Burma offensive because of the British background. So there you have it. The original name is Myanma(r) , vocal opposition voices insist on Burma. Locals use Myanma(r) , the rest of the world knows only Burma. British use Myanma when talking to local population and Burma among each other. So yes, a total mess with a politically charged element, but it seems the trend is moving towards Myanmar.
Another matter is what will happen to Burmese cat? As a politically correct version I suggest renaming it to Meownmar cat.

My ego traps

a journey into the centre of the heart

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Tag Archives: Myanmar

Lake Inle

Kalaw to Inle in three days

Bagan â€“ The Angkor Wat of Myanmar

Myanmar or Burma?