Saturday and # 12 - A boat trip on Inle Lake from Nyaungshewe

Saturday at Jojoba:  
We did enjoy the movie Rocketman yesterday afternoon. One of the perks of being retired is going to afternoon matinee shows.  Less expensive and we can drive home before dark.

Coach improvements for the day = installing new windshield wipers, and checking tire air pressures.  Life is tough!

Next segment of the South East Asia:  # 12 - A boat trip on Inle Lake from Nyaungshewe. Warning, this is a long one!

Our son, Gil MacKenna, AKA Joko

When we arrived in Nyaungshewe, we celebrated our safe arrival, by having drinks at the rooftop bar of our hotel. 

From there we had a wonderful view of the lake and surrounding area in the fading sunset light.

Every day of this trip brought new experiences. Our boat trip, the next day, was no exception.

Joko had arranged for a Inle Lake boat tour through the front desk of our hotel. The boat driver met us, after our breakfast, at the hotel, and walked with us to the dock just a few blocks away.

There were many long boats lined up. Ours was the one on the lower right, with only three seats that each had a chair cushion, lap blanket, and umbrella. Some of the other boats had more seats, for larger groups. 

This type of boat is used for many purposes in addition to lake tours. The people in the boat above were locals, either men going to work or boys going to school. We also saw some transporting cargo.

From the dock at Nyaungshewe, we went up the river, past a residential area, and into Inle lake.  

Our boat was propelled but a puttering motor that sounded like it might die at any moment, and was steered by our driver perched precariously on the back. 

The air was cool, but the sky was clear and it promised to be a glorious day.

Once out on the lake, we watched fishermen balancing on the tip of their boats with large fish traps. We decided the two in the lower picture were visiting during their morning break.

From the lake we went up another river. There seemed to be many people living along it. I hope this was only a foot bridge across, but from some of the things we have seen it could have been used for vehicles as well!

I felt a bit voyeuristic as we passed these local women doing their laundry and washing in the river at the same time. Again I noticed their carry-all buckets and baskets contained personal products.


We docked at a pier below the Phaugn Daw Oo pagoda. 

This boatload of women, passing the dock area, were from a local clan that wear a distinctive head covering. They were among the vendors selling mostly woven goods at the complex.

When we got off our little boat, I asked Joko when we would have to be back for our return trip. He explained we had the boat for the day, and our boat man would watch for us and pick us up when we were ready.

Unlike the large urban pagodas of Yangon and Mandalay, with their fancy retaining walls and enclosed elevators, the hill below this pagoda was a rough area filled with hundreds of ancient vine covered stupas.

As we wanderd among them, we met this herd of Brahman cattle being moved by a single boy.  They are said to be very gentle, calm animals.

Some of the stupas were in very good condition. Some even seemed relatively new, or at least restored.

And some, like this one with an old dead tree on its top, were very old.

Coming back down, we went through a long covered walkway. 

It was very well maintained and provided welcome shade since the day was getting a lot warmer.

As we got closer to the dock area, the sides of the walkway were occupied by vendors selling many interesting locally made crafts.

This man had no arms and only one foot. and yet he painted intricate designs on a variety of bowls, cups and boxes.

These cups were made from the cut off bottoms of water bottles. If nothing else, Kudos for recycling!

The only things I usually bring home from a trip are pictures. Even before we moved into an RV, I was never fond of knick-knacks or souvenirs. But I did buy the two little cups in the image above. If you look closely you can see they were marked 5000 Kyat. That's a little more than $3. Joko wanted to bargain, but I wanted to pay full price, just because of the skill and determination that must have been needed to overcome such a disability. 

We had a nice little lunch at the cafe by the dock and then flagged down our boat.  One of the places we motored through on our way back were "floating gardens".  

In this area of the lake, farmers have created extensive artificial islands that are planted with  tomatoes, cucumbers and other crops. The islands are created by anchoring large bunches of water hyacinth from deeper areas of the lake with long bamboo poles. I guess it is sort of like reverse irrigation. Instead of bring water to the crops, they bring the crops to the water.

An entire community lives out on the lake in homes built on stilts. One thing I noticed about many of the structures in Myanmar was that they do not have glass windows. Instead they have shutters that close either side to side or from the top down.  

We also stopped at a little dock to visit a shop displaying weaving done by Kayan Lahwi women. It almost seemed like a human diorama for the sake of tourists, but this is how these women make a living, and I'm sure they help support their families by being looked at. In part their culture is part of their product.

The women of the Kayan Lahwi clan wear brass neck rings from the time they are about five years old. The rings do not really stretch their necks, rather they put pressure on the collar bone and rib cage to make their necks look longer. 

In this picture you can also see a whitish makeup on their cheeks. This is called thanaka, and is a paste made by grinding a special bark on a slate slab. It has been used for over 2000 years and is said to protect the skin from sunburn and keep it smooth and acne free. We saw its use throughout Myanmar.

I think we had a total Stupa overload. We motored back passing the Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung Monastery without any desire to stop. 

As darkness fell, the sunset was reflected in the water below

At the end of another fine day, we relaxed again at the very plesant roof top salon. The roof and overhang were designed to give ample shade and protection from rain, and the walls were only waist-high.

On the wall ledges there were pieces of fresh ginger root about every three or four feet. I asked the bartender why they were there, expecting to hear they were an insect repellent. No, in fact, they were for good luck and keeping evil spirits away! 



Maybe I should keep a piece on the Alfa dashboard. 

We need all the good luck we can get.

One last picture:

We saw this contraption on the street when we went out for dinner. 

We guessed it was a "Honey Wagon".  I have to admire the creative constructions one can see around the world.