Floating villages, beautiful pagodas and golden sunsets delight travelers to Myanmar’s Inle Lake. Thai A visits.
I had heard great things about Inle Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Myanmar. This massive lake is 22km long and 11km wide at its widest point.
At the main tourist wharf I found close to 100 boats waiting for visitors. With an affordable cost, travelers can hire a boat for as long as they like to discover Inle lake. This open-ended schedule is very Burmese, as these devoutly Buddhist people are very generous and eager to help travelers. Even the taxi and tuk tuk drivers I met were not greedy.
Located 875m above sea level, Inle Lake serves as the fishing ground for 130,000 people. People who live here belong to the Intha, Shan, Padaung and Pa-O ethnic groups. There are 17 villages nestled amongst wonderful scenery.
Inle Lake is associated with an image of men rowing their boats using one leg. The lake is most beautiful at sunrise and sunset, when the sun gilds the lake’s surface with gold.
From a small main town full of low houses, it took me an hour by boat to reach the first village, which lay in the midst of water ferns and water hyacinths. The houses looked strange and very frail. They were accessible via narrow canals cut through the vegetation. Small, narrow boats are the main mode of transport on the lake, although there are also motor boats which create strong waves. Even when these waves hit, the lake’s residents appeared as peaceful as Buddhas.
Travelers love this country, which remains quite isolated from the outside world. It is so isolated that the capital Yangon still has 70-year-old cars; very beautiful crumbling colonial houses; and narrow, crowded streets where people do business, eat and drink outdoors. Despite the hustle and bustle, Yangon feels like a big village.
Back to Inle lake, where travelers’ first stop is often a big pagoda with a sparkling gold roof, surrounded by dozens of white towers that rise up to the blue sky. While Myanmar has many amazing pagodas, the sight of Kyaukh-pyugyi Paya Pagoda reflected on Inle Lake filled me with amazement.
Built 700 years ago it is younger than other! Buddhist shrines found in Bagan, Mandalay and Yangon. What impressed me were the pagoda’s harmonious and solemn towers, walls and wooden floors. Out front, ethnic Karen (Padaung) wearing tall shining bronze collars sold souvenirs to travelers. Vendors gathered in boats to sell locally-made handicrafts like stone necklaces, brocade and skillfully carved wooden statues. The vendors were very patient.
Leaving Intha village, I visited many other corners of the lake and saw people growing species of of marine algae. I also visited a floating resort where guests used boats to travel between their rooms, the restaurant and the lobby. I enjoyed seeing Ywama village, where the “streets” are canals and the “sidewalks” are wooden rafts.
Here, the houses float on the water atop of foundations made of bamboo.
Old people and children used boats as easily as if they were walking. Villagers have lived this way for many generations. On the wooden platforms I saw a mother bathing her baby, a man rubbing soap all over his body, and young men fishing.
People here build such beautiful houses with simple natural materials and no machines. Several families invited me to visit a local cigar factory. Hand-rolled cigars or cheroots are very popular in Myanmar. I watched as young girls rolled these cigars very quickly and skillfully.
As the sun began to sink, the light was beautiful. I will never forget the scene of fishermen leisurely dragging nets and gently moving their feet to row on the golden surface of Inle Lake. With its golden-roofed pagodas and shimmering sunsets, this country deserves the title of “Golden Land”.
Source: Heritage – Vietnam Airlines Inflight Magazine
