Inle Lake

We arrived to Inle Lake via a very scary bus ride from Bagan. The standard of the roads, vehicles and driving was familiar from our time in Nepal and India, although Myanmar might take the award for the narrowest roads. Luckily, we were mostly distracted from our imminent deaths by a hilariously bad Burmese film. We’ll let this photo speak for itself:

The first day at the lake we went on a full day boat ride with another couple we met at the guesthouse. We were out on the lake before sunrise, meaning we got to the first stop, the market, before any other tourists had arrived. The market was really lively and it was surprisingly authentic (there are no “I love Inle Lake” t-shirts here yet).

For the rest of the day our boat driver navigated the winding maze of canals, houses and marshes on the lake. The boat ride was great value – we ended up spending over 12 hours on the lake and saw an amazing variety of sites. Inle Lake has undoubtedly been the highlight of our time in Myanmar so far.

The next day we hired bikes and explored until Sally’s tire went flat! A scenic bike ride turned into a scenic push-the-bike-home. The people of Myanmar are known for being really friendly. Along the way we were greeted by children and adults alike, and were even invited in by the staff of a sugar factory to take a look around.

Next we’re heading north into Shan state to a small town called Hsipaw. The bus times here are not always the most convenient - we’re leaving town at 2pm and arriving into Hsipaw at 3am… Maybe we’ll be treated to another excellent Burmese film!

Written by Craig Drayton and Sally Robertson