Sunday, February 12, 2012

Inle Lake, အင်းလေးကန်, Burma


Hi. Welcome to this blog on Inle Lake, Burma.
A fabulous expanse of water with wondrous
fishermen who row their boats with their feet.
Spending a day on the lake, going to the markets
is a relaxing and fascinating way to see this
beautiful, enchanting part of Burma
Our pilot for the day
It's early in the morning and pretty chilly. The sky is grey
But early is always good to catch fish

Not so sure this little one is so keen on early
There's only one way to travel in these parts
Long boat for a little chap
Cloud breaking and sun coming out. Good to warm the bones
Women going to a market perhaps
Important job, looking for dangerous rocks. 
Stop looking at the camera!
Just had breakfast. Ready for a day of mischief!



Classic Inle Lake fishing boat
The most abundant fish caught here is called Inle Carp
Not that I know anything about fishing but doesn't smacking the water scare the fish?
Leg rowing Intha


The lake is covered by reeds and floating plants
This made it difficult for the men to see
So the leg rowing style evolved







People on their way to the market. I'll show you the markets next time
The Water Hyacinth grows rapidly and fills up the channels
Some of the boats are festooned for a celebration
Perhaps for a wedding?
They are accompanied by a lot of noise!


All the houses are on stilts
You need a warm hat for the winter
We had lunch here. It is an Italian restaurant with home made pasta and pizza! We had fish from the lake
It's cold and damp. Must be hard for the Intha to keep warm
More rocks?
View from the restaurant
I love the telegraph poles. Each one is different
Local women
Shopping
My boat and the bridge in perfect harmony!



Stupa: from the new....
....to the old



Monks make a splash of red
The hills are beautiful
Two ends of the boat, couldn't be more different
This leg rowing business is a real balancing act
The water isn't actually smooth!
Sun's gone. Brollies up. Time to rush for home. Apologies for the somewhat erratic layout. Blogspot have changed their design system and I clearly haven' t mastered it