NUANG SHWE, MYANMAR- Thursday, Febrary 18, 2010:
Inle Lake is an area located almost directly in the center of Myanmar. Nuang Shwe is the closest town that caters to travelers. I get a room at the Teakwood Guest House, a friendly place with an interesting layout. It has several small gardens and a communal mediation area near the dining room.
To get anywhere of interest in Inle Lake one must hire out a motorboat. The motorboats are essentially long canoes with a propeller engine on the back. The driver hand cranks the engine and we slowly head out.
Despite having a thriving tourism industry (being one of the top five places to visit in Myanmar) the vast majority of people in Inle lake work as farmers or fishermen. The first stop we make is at is appropriately a farmers' market. The markets rotate to a different village every day throughout the week. This one is in Mine Thauk.
Jewelry and dried goods are also sold at this market. There are many fruits and vegetables that aren't familiar to me. I find that in Myanmar (and other Southeast Asian countries) vegetation from plants not typically used as food in West is eaten here.Sometimes this vegetation is also sold as offerings to Buddha at the local pagoda. But many types of vegetation- cucumber leaves, pea leaves and some types of morning glory- are used as a food source. Dried fish is a popular item as well. There are also curds, candies, desserts, curries and spices .
Out on the lake the Intha people use flat-bottomed canoes propelled by a single paddle. In a unique balancing act, they use one leg wrapped around the oar while the other remains standing on the stern of the boat. The oar dips, pulls and winds in a rhythmic fashion. These boatmen are fishermen who seem to spend their lives almost completely on the water. Before fishing they beat the water with the oar several times- presumably to scare the fish to the surface. They then take a large, conical bamboo basket and submerge it upside down on top of the aquatic weeds just below the surface. Next they use a long, trident-like skewer to retrieve the fish emerging from the weeds. Some of the fishermen used nets as well.
People also live in "floating" villages on the lake. Actually these are bamboo houses supported by stilt-like posts anchored to the lake bottom. The houses are arranged in blocks with canals serving as the "streets" much like a neighborhood on land.
Out on the lake there are also all kinds of local businesses. There are jewelers and silk-weavers where the handicrafts are made on-site. Restaurants and hotels with great views of the sunset are also on the lake. This may sound like a sort of commercial blight that is taking over the traditional people's culture. Actually all of these businesses(many run by people from local ethnic groups) fit in surprisingly well without the neon, bright lights or modern structures that often come with garish modernization.
In the afternoon we head to Inthein, a village in the southwestern part of the lake, Inthein is also one of the villages used for the farmers' markets. But the main reason to visit here is the ruined stupas from the 17th and 18th centuries- though they seem even older. There are several areas with pagoda ruins. The complex on a hill that I visit has a very otherworldly feel about it. I take photos of partially toppled stupas as the sun begins to set. There are intricate reliefs with divas and peacock motifs. Devas or chinthe (griffin-like creatures) guard the pahto (or shrine) entrance. All are in varying states of disrepair.
Back on the boat we patrol the floating gardens of Inle Lake as the sun sets. These gardens were devised by the ingenious Intha people. The garden beds rest on mats which float on the waters surface. Tomatoes, squash, onions, cucumbers and other vegetables are grown this way by the Intha. The gardens are accessed by canoes through narrow canals between the beds.
As we head back across the lake, fishermen on their boats are silhouetted against the sun which sinks into the mountains beyond the lake. The driver turns off his motor and we watch the orange disc disappear. The lake chills off quickly when the sun goes down here. I put on my hoodie and we speed back to Nuang Shwe.
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