After a happy time hiking, we traveled to Inle Lake. This is a very large lake where people still live and work as they have done for hundreds of years.
We arrived at the lake and we went into a long, narrow boat with a very noisy motor!
The boat I used when travelling around Inle Lake
It was a very exciting boat ride. The boat moved very fast across the watar and I had to hold onto Shane so I did not fly away! We passed many fishermen in rowing boats using nets shaped like cones and other flat nets to catch fish. They would stand and steer their boat by wrapping an oar around their leg, while using their hands on the nets.
Shane and I are moving very fast in a boat!
We stayed at huts owned by the local Pa-O people. It was very beautiful to watch the sunset, but some boats were so noisy that it was not quiet until night – but then it was very, very quiet. The only sound we could hear were fish splashing in the water.
Sitting on the balcony of our hut
We visited two villages. The first was called Ywama, it was built on the side of the lake. People could move around by either walking on land or rowing in a boat.
The village of Ywama on Inle Lake
There were many wooden walkways and bridges in Ywama, and I enjoyed hopping along, up and down them!
Polly on a bridge in Ywama
On the day we visited, it was market day. The people who live here do not visit shopping malls or supermarkets to buy food, instead they visit the outdoor market that is open on only one day per week.
The food market in Ywama
We left Ywama and saw an area called the floating gardens. Shane told me that these are very large artificial islands that have to been built on the lake to grow vegetables and flowers – I do not know how a person can make an artificial island? Shane did not know either!
The floating gardens of Inle Lake
To finish the day, we visited the most wonderful village I have ever seen. It was called Nampan Pokpa and Shane used the word “astonishing” to describe the place – that is a big word! The whole village is built over water, there is no land anywhere – instead of streets with footpaths and gardens there are streets of water!
Polly visits Nampan Pokpa on Inle Lake
I thought that a village built on water would be perfect for frogs and not humans! If a person had to visit a neighbour, they would have to get into a boat – it was not possible to walk anywhere. I saw children playing on the balcony of their houses by flying kites – they could not play in the street or in the garden – because there were none! Even the electricity poles were built over the water.
- A street scene in the village of Nampan Pokpa on Inle Lake
After watching a beautiful sunset on the lake, we returned to our hut to eat some tasty Pa-O food and sleep. Shane and I agree that Inle Lake is one of the most interesting places in the world – and we both want to return one day soon!
Tags: Polly 7
July 27th, 2012 at 10:56 am
What a wonderfully unique and interesting place to visit! I think I want to use your travel agent!
July 28th, 2012 at 12:07 am
Shane researches, plans and books all of our travel, he does not use a travel agent. He enjoys doing all of this work!
July 28th, 2012 at 6:49 am
Shane does a great job finding unique travel destinations. Each time I read a new post and see all of the wonderful places you travel, I have to add more and more to my bucket list of places to go. Keep the great posts coming, because there’s a huge world out there to explore, and I want to do it all!
July 28th, 2012 at 10:33 am
Great blog and we love Polly’s writing style….it reminds us of one of our friends.
July 29th, 2012 at 3:14 am
Those are amazing people and an amazing place to live in! Polly,are there several cases of children drowning in the lake and how do these people harvest their produce on these floating gardens?
July 31st, 2012 at 7:43 pm
I am not sure if children have drowned in the lake – I hope that they are taught to swim! We did not see any children swimming, maybe because it was winter and the water was cold. The local people do harvest what they produce on the floating gardens – vegetables and flowers they grow are sold in the markets and elsewhere.