Myanmar - Inle Lake

Lake Inle is a ballet of motorized canoes, entire villages on stilts, floating fields...

The second part of our trip to Myanmar (the former and current name of Burma), takes us to Inle Lake where all travel is done aboard motorized canoes - very noisy. Fortunately, there are still inhabitants who row with… one leg.

This is where the Intha live, an ethnic group that has developed a flourishing way of life on the lake.

Houses, restaurants, hotels, swimming pools, workshop stalls, electric poles…

Even the monasteries are erected on stilts. In floating gardens, the inhabitants cultivate vegetables and many workshops house quality crafts: bladed weapons, the famous Burmese "cigars", parchment umbrellas, silver jewellery, fabrics made of silk threads and of lotus but also in cotton.

It is in the workshops of the lake that are made the lotus robes intended to drape around the statues of Buddha.
Admittedly, visiting the workshops is part of the “tourist circuit”, but no one is pushing to buy and the know-how of the craftsmen is interesting to observe. Or have you ever seen how fibers are extracted from lotus stems?

But the boat tours also pass through the "streets" of the villages and you have plenty of time to observe the life of the inhabitants, their often colorful houses, the children who move around in small boats.

In September, the Hpaung Daw U pagoda festival attracts crowds.

On the royal boat, Buddha statues - made unrecognizable by multiple layers of gold leaf - travel from village to village, teams compete in canoe races. This is an opportunity to admire the beautiful traditional outfits of the different ethnic groups of Myanmar.

But the ecosystem of the lake suffers from the increase in its population, the influx of tourists, the supply of nutrients by agriculture on its banks.

Algae proliferate and - pretty - water hyacinths invade large areas. As the lake is recognized as a biosphere by UNESCO, measures to safeguard its quality have been launched. On time ?
It is to be hoped...

The Lost World of Inthein

An old abandoned monastery, a forest of more than a thousand “stupas”…. A strange serenity reigns within the grounds of the Shwe Intein Pagoda as life pulsates by the river.

Arriving by canoes at the pier of Inthein, teeming with life, nothing prepares for the spectacle that awaits the traveler a little further. It is one of the most important markets in the region and even the fences are transformed into shopping areas. Women rinse the dishes in the water of the river, young monks refresh themselves there...

But travelers have a date with the past. During a covered climb to the Shwe Inthein pagoda, they find it difficult to resist the merchants and craftsmen who offer their treasures!

They linger with the villagers who have come to bring sacks of rice to the monks and who are preparing to eat.

It is only when the first remains of the old Nyaung Ohak monastery appear, that they have eyes only for these ancient stupas overgrown with vegetation, stripped by looters.

Small decapitated Buddhas lie in their alcoves.

Flowers, shrubs and trees flourish on and in the buildings, creating a setting worthy of an Indiana Jones film. Those who have had the chance to visit the temples of Angkor in Cambodia, rediscover this very special atmosphere, when nature takes back its rights over the work of man.

Climbing through the lush vegetation, a veritable forest of stupas looms against the sky.

Many are still abandoned, but many others are being restored: bricks are replaced, white paint brings a semblance of "new".
High up in the grounds of the Shwe Inthein Pagoda is a riot of gold. The contrast with the remains a few hundred meters below is striking.

Dozens of stupas have been restored thanks to the generosity of donors around the world. In the silence, the tinkling of the bells that line the hti, these umbrellas that top the stupas, becomes magical… Their crystalline sounds would recall the teaching of Buddha. Here, everything is shiny, even the floor is sparkling!
It is almost with regret that we plunge back into the bustling world of activities, finally yielding but with a good heart, to the temptation of the merchants...

Local life - Colorful places

The markets surprise with their diversity of fruits and vegetables of the country, dozens of varieties of rice, spices, tools, practical clothes, utensils.

Armfuls of flowers are proposed as an offering to Buddha, we are ecstatic in front of the orchids and the lotus flowers.

But there are also fish, live chickens waiting to be killed and plucked on the spot. Nothing is lost, everything is collected, from feathers to fish skin! We take full eyes - but also the nose!

It is also on the local markets, far from the temples and their merchants who run after the tourists, that we will taste one or the other culinary specialty (of course fried).

The "5-day market" of Inle Lake is one of the must-see markets. Organized every day in another village, it attracts all the inhabitants of the region and is therefore a great opportunity to meet ethnic minorities. But we will avoid the floating market, unless we want to buy some more souvenirs.