Inle Lake

This morning, it was hubby with an uncomfortable tummy, but he took it well.  We think it's the eggs – they have to be cooked really well.  We took our time in the morning and by the time we were picked up at 12.30, we were in good condition.  The guide drove us to the train station to catch the 13.30 to Inle ('Inlay') Lake, but the monsoon downpour of the previous night apparently felled a tree and it fell on the tracks, so that 14.30 came and went and still no promise of the train.  The guide made some phone calls and before we knew it, we were whisked away to a waiting car with our luggage and driven for 1.5 hours directly to Ngaung Shwe, which is situated next to the canal leading to the lake itself.  It appears that the boats that bring vacationers to the hotels in the lake prefer to operate in the daytime, and the reason became apparent after about 2 minutes – the water plants drifting like mangrove forests on the water can be difficult to see in the dark and could cause propeller problems.

En route to our lake hotel, we saw how the villagers live on the water.  Their houses are built on stilts and/or poles standing in the water.  They grow tomatoes and other vegetables on the water.  Naturally, there's a lot of fishing going on, too.  They have a unique style of fishing and you'll see the fisherman doing a funny pose in the extra.  He did catch his fish, though, and, as you can see, so did I.