Despite hosting a large number of tourists, Inle Lake, whose rural charms remain authentic and alluring, is an iconic destination – and for good reason in Myanmar/Burma’s Shan State. Intha fisherman use both hands to fish while sailing flat-ended canoes with one leg; tomatoes, beans and other produce blossom in floating gardens; and oxcarts overloaded with freshly harvested goods creating the only traffic jam you can find here. All makes it a peaceful area. So, once coming to Shan State, do not forget to spend a few days exploring the appeal of the Inle Lake. Tours Indochina Myanmar
Inle Lake – source: sweetmemorytravel.com
Boat trip
In the main tourist town of Inle Lake such as Nyuang Shwe, you can see touts continually encircle tourists with the phrase ‘Hello, boat trip?’ on the bridge. And take the boat trip is not a bad idea. It costs you from 15,000 to 18,000 kyat (about US$17 to $20) for a day trip on the lake.
Fishermen on Inle Lake – source: davidlazarphoto.com
It is possible to tailor your day by yourself by saying yes or no to meeting the Karen long-neck women and viewing the busy touristy floating market, and by slightly negotiating the rate. Although it will cost you much more to hire a private guide and boat for the day, you can easily make a decision on your departure time and starting point as well as skip the touristy locations that you have ever known.
No matter what boat tours you join, you will have time on the lake to see and take many nice photos of the Inle fishermen together with discover the rotating five-day market. They can also make several stops to know more about cottage industries, including cheroot-making, boat-building, lotus silk weaving and silver smiths at villages. Tours in Myanmar
Cycling
After having taken in the inner delights of Inle Lake, you can take time to explore the perimeter on bicycle. Hot springs and more cottage industries some of many stunning sights clustered around the borders of the lake.
Visit the floating village – source: sunplanet.ru
You can start your bicycle tour in Nyuang Shwe, where you will pay around 1500 kyat to hire a six-gear bike within 24 hours. Then, you will ride your bike to west along a rough, unpaved road through farmland. After turning left at the T-junction, you will head south by following the mountains. You will reach hot springs, where the water is held in many different swimming pools, after riding for about five miles.
If resuming pedaling south, you will reach an Intha village named Kaung Daing, which is famous for producing Shan state’s best tofu. They use split yellow lentil flour to make Shan tofu. First, they will boil water and the flour, stir energetically and then pour them into a mould to set. And then, they dry them by setting out the thin tofu wafers and you can pay a few hundred kyat for a tofu thoke (tofu salad).
Tofu village – source: justgola.com
After exploring the tofu village, you can grab one of the many touts you have certainly passed, and hire a boat to go across the lake with your bike. It costs you around 6000 kyat to hire a boat, which will deposit you on the east side of the water, where you can resume pedaling north through sugar cane plantations and peaceful but beautiful villages.
Despite hosting a large number of tourists, Inle Lake, whose rural charms remain authentic and alluring, is an iconic destination – and for good reason in Myanmar/Burma’s Shan State. Intha fisherman use both hands to fish while sailing flat-ended canoes with one leg; tomatoes, beans and other produce blossom in floating gardens; and oxcarts overloaded with freshly harvested goods creating the only traffic jam you can find here. All makes it a peaceful area. So, once coming to Shan State, do not forget to spend a few days exploring the appeal of the Inle Lake.
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