May 6-7, 2012
We left in the morning towards Inle Lake, enjoying the scenes along the way…
We stopped by a cattle market…
And encountered this motorcycle, with every inch covered by chickens being taken to market…
Then we stopped by the morning market, with all of its colorful sights…
Then we headed to our boat launch for our first encounter with the lake…
With the houses all built on stilts right in the lake….
And the only way to get around is by boat…
I wondered aloud as to the purpose of all of the bamboo sticks everywhere and learned that they are holding the “floating islands” in place. These are pieces of land floating in the lake, on which they plant their flower and vegetable gardens. They hold them in place, to keep them from floating around the lake, which could block the waterways from passage.
We drifted past the Pruang Daw Oo Pagoda, famous for its pagoda festival on the lake that takes place every fall…
Then we ventured into some of the lake villages…
To see some of the villagers at work…here making cheroot…
And we stumbled upon these children learning English…
And were invited for tea…
Some of the most magical moments on the lake were watching the sole fishermen at work with their nets…
Inle Lake was quite magical. It’s really hard to capture the feeling in photos. So, the next time, come explore with me!!