Almost one year ago exactly, I was traveling all around Myanmar with my mommy. It was so wonderful to explore the rest of the country outside of the capital city where I live. Mama Britton and I previously explored Bangkok, Yangon, the temples of Bagan and Mount Popa, and the royal city of Mandalay before traveling to our final destination, Inle Lake (pronounced like "in" + "lay").
I had never been to Inle Lake and I had also done the least amount of research for this part of our trip. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. As it turns out, we were absolutely blown away by our experience in this amazing land of floating village!
Wanderlust is definitely in my blood.
After two epic days of exploring Mandalay, we arrived to Heho Airport late morning on Friday. Going from the shiny, new, modern international airport in Mandalay to Heho Airport was like stepping back in time again. It is now used for commercial domestic flights, but it was previously used as an airbase by both the Allies and the Japanese during World War II. It doesn't appear to have been updated much since then, and the roads and parking areas outside are all dirt roads. Granted, they are packed dirt and don't have big gaping holes like some places that I have seen, but there isn't much pavement in these parts.
After we got off our tiny prop plane, we walked to the airport terminal (no buses this time!) and waited for the men to carry our baggage to us (nope, no fancy carts to drive loads around here, either). As we left the airport, our hotel transport met us outside and we made our way to the beautiful Novotel Inle Lake.
Stickers mark which flight we are supposed to board
Goodbye, Mandalay!
Hello, Shan State. I love the patchwork landscape here.
The parade-like walk to the airport terminal
Our driver carried our bags for us, despite our offer to do it ourselves.
We stopped only one time during the drive to pay the entrance fee for foreigners to visit Inle Lake. It is a protected area, just like Bagan, and we were happy to pay the fee of 12,000 kyats each (about $9USD) so that we could enjoy the area. It took about 45 minutes to drive from Heho Airport to Nyaung Shwe, the biggest town at the top of Inle Lake. That is where most tourists stay, but our hotel was a little further away from the hustle and bustle. It took another 20 minutes beyond Nyaung Shwe to get to our hotel. A friend had recommended the hotel for that very reason, and we were not disappointed! The peace and quiet was quite nice. As we drove through town, though, I decided that I would like to go back and visit Nyaung Shwe at some point (I have been able to do that since then... more about that in a future post!).
Novotel was a bit of a splurge for us, but hotel prices in this part of the world allow such luxuries. We were thrilled that we made the decision to splurge here. As it turns out, the hotel is actually in Inle Lake (don't worry - they "give back" to the lake and the community to try to offset the fact that they are there). We had booked the cheapest room in the fancy four-star hotel, which was probably going to be a great experience anyway. When we arrived, we were blown away by the grandeur of the lobby. It was absolutely stunning, and we felt like a couple of princesses as they brought us Welcome Drinks and told us all about our stay at their beautiful property. And then the best part happened: "We hope that it is okay with you... we upgraded you from a junior suite to a villa." Just check out the video of this place, and you'll understand how epic that little upgrade was!
Street signs and a street dog on the road to Nyang Shwe
The stunning lobby at Novotel
"Welcome to Inle Lake!"
Map of the area: Inle Lake is pretty large. The surface area is about 116 square kilometers (almost 45 square miles).
We chatted with the employees and decided to book a long boat tour for the next day. There are several different options available, as boats are the best way to explore the area, and the boats leave straight from the dock at our hotel. We settled on a full-day excursion, because why not??
Then they drove us in a golf cart to our (free upgrade!) fancy hotel room. This is one reason why I like traveling during rainy season - there are virtually no other tourists. We spent about 20 minutes running around the place, squealing over the size of our villa and our luck over the upgrade (okay, so mostly that was me, while Mama Britton cooly unpacked and settled in... #bosslady).
Our chariot awaits
Our "thing" on this trip was to pose in front of our hotel room doors :)
"Dear MISTER Britton..."
Seriously, this place is bigger than any apartment I've ever lived in
By the time we unpacked and settled a bit, it was about lunchtime. We decided to grab some food at the hotel restaurant. We enjoyed lovely views of the lake and drank in the pleasantly cooler temperatures. (This area of Myanmar is at a much higher elevation, so there was a noticeable change in the temperatures here.)
Mama Britton and I had been going at full speed all week, so we decided the slower pace here would be good for us. We booked a massage and a mani-pedi spa session. Unfortunately the spa was under construction and they had to use one of the hotel rooms, which meant that they could only do one service at a time. It took a good chunk of the day for us both to get all of our services that we requested, but we didn't exactly have anywhere else to be. The service was not as fantastic as other places in Myanmar and Thailand, but I'm never sad about a day at the spa! The downtime rejuvenated us, and we were happy to recharge for our final big adventure the following day.
The walk to the restaurant was beautiful... notice the Lake below!
Restaurant with a view
Brr... It's like winter here!
Spa time!
Dinner, drinks, and a sunset 💛
Walking back to our room and the spa
Pictures don't do it justice... the lighting was so charming.
Mama Britton and I got up early the next day for our long boat adventure. After a quick breakfast on the beautiful lake, we grabbed our daypacks and headed to the dock. We had an entire long boat all to ourselves. I was absolutely terrified of tipping (I have a slight fear of open water), but Mama Britton had absolutely no fear - told you she's a boss lady!
I think the long boat could also be called a loud boat. Check out just how loud it was by clicking on this video here - but also check out the cool views that came along with it! As we left the hotel, we passed the iconic fishermen of Inle Lake. They paddle with only one foot as they cast their huge nets over the water. Sometimes you will also see them smacking the water with the other paddle to try to attract some fish to the surface.
Next we cruised through a floating garden, where workers were tending and weeding the tomato plants and humungous cucumbers growing on top of the lake.
Adventure time!
The iconic fishermen
After leaving the floating gardens, we drove through a floating village. Everything is on stilts here, as people live on the water. Literally. It's kind of like the Venice of the East, except it's not a city packed with buildings and people; rather, it's a rural village of quiet, hard working people making a living on the water.
Then, our guides took us to a silver shop. This is a big industry in the area. We learned how they craft the silver into jewelry and we even got to watch some of the artists at work. They do such intricate things with the silver. Both of us bought some really pretty things to take home.
Next we headed to a different shop run by the Kayan tribe. The goods in the shop were rather ordinary, but I loved learning about the Kayan tribe and some of their traditions. There are more than 100 different tribes identified in Myanmar, and this particular group is known for its beautiful women. It is a custom for these women to stretch their necks using golden necklaces that they start wearing from a young age. Some people call it a "weird" tradition, but I find it fascinating to learn about other cultures and their definition of beauty. No, this is not something that I would want to do to my own body, but I found the woman that we met at this shop to be absolutely stunning.
Views from the shop balcony
The girls/women graduate to different sizes of necklaces over time. They are actually quite heavy!
Beautiful.
We continued our tour through another floating village and then encountered some rather dangerous-looking bamboo. This is a sort of "road block" to keep traffic out. I suppose it makes sense that you can't really use orange cones around here... they would just float away!
Next we went to a place called a five-day market. Local people from the various villages around Inle Lake bring their goods to rotating markets. There is no set "day" of the week where you will find this market on a regular basis because they follow a lunar calendar. The locals seem to know the rotation very well, and our boatmen brought us to this particular place so we could see the market. We wandered around and bartered for a few things that I had not seen in other markets around Myanmar. Then we walked over to the pagoda next to the market. The stupas were unlike anything I have ever seen, but overall it was rather underwhelming compared to most of the other temples and pagodas we had seen thus far in our adventures. There were also a LOT of street dogs (temple dogs?), to the point where it bordered on being uncomfortable for us to be there. Once we finished a lap of the pagoda, we headed back to the boat.
By this time, we were pretty famished. We traveled a little ways to have lunch at a hut floating on the water. I was super proud of Mama Britton for being so adventurous with our meals (again!), as this wasn't exactly an Olive Garden. The local food was really tasty, and we enjoyed having most of the place to ourselves. Every so often, we could feel the place sway if a long boat passed by too closely or was driving too fast. It wasn't a huge shift, but a feeling similar to being on a cruise ship - except that when we looked down at the floorboards, we could see and hear the lake splashing below!
How cool is this place??
So. Yummy.
After lunch, we went to a weaving shop. On the way, we saw some boys playing in the water. It was very charming to watch. We also passed through a couple more floating villages and even a floating monastery.
"Road" signs
This weaving shop was very interesting. The women use lotus flowers to make thread and then weave it into beautiful textiles. They demonstrated the process of stripping down the lotus fibers strand by strand. It takes hours just to create enough thread to weave something. The lotus is quite strong and is easy to come by in this part of the country because they grow in the lake. We also got to watch some of the ladies in action as they weaved the textiles. The clicking of the pedals and the machines was very rhythmic.
There was a shop in the back of the work area. That's where they sell fabrics made of cotton, lotus, silk, and combinations of the different materials. The lotus and silk textiles were very expensive, but I understand why. Each piece takes hours and hours of patient work, and the material is quite special. I ended up buying a new (cotton) longyi, which is a traditional skirt that women wear here in Myanmar. My new longyi is hot pink and orange. I haven't been able to wear it yet because I need to have a blouse made to wear with it. (That's at the top of my list of things to do at the beginning of next school year so that I can finally wear my beautiful new textile.)
Breaking down the fibers
Spinning wheels
Views from the shop
After the lotus weaving shop, we went to a shop where ladies make cigars. Neither Mama Britton nor I smoke, but it was fascinating to watch these ladies work.
Next we went to visit another pagoda and a monastery. We floated up to the dock, and it was actually quite busy. A lot of people stared because we were the only foreigners there, but that is a pretty common occurrence for us. We watched a video that explained why women aren't allowed in certain areas, and we wandered around the parts where we were allowed to go. Again, it wasn't as impressive as other pagodas in the area, though it was nice. We spent a short amount of time at each place before heading back to the boat.
We got really lucky with the weather during our excursion on Inle Lake. Considering it was rainy season, the weather was pretty good all day. It was very overcast, and it did rain for a brief time in the late afternoon, but nothing too crazy. I was so grateful for our luck!
It was quite windy, and probably the funniest thing that happened was when Mama Britton's hat flew off her head... and smacked square into my face. I guess it's a good thing that my face stopped it because the hat would have been gone otherwise, but it was definitely a startling surprise (for me!).
Go Gators! 💙🐊
After our very long and exciting outing, we decided to stay at the hotel for dinner. We enjoyed another stunning sunset on the water and happily chatted about the adventures of the day.
I still can't believe that a place this beautiful actually exists in real life. We were so lucky to travel here. It ended up being our favorite stop on the trip. (Side note: If you ever make your way to this side of the planet, you definitely need to make a stop at Inle Lake... you won't regret it!)
The next morning, we enjoyed one more breakfast on Inle Lake before making the long trek to the airport and then back to Yangon. Although this hotel is quite far from Heho Airport, I am so glad that we stayed there! Our experience was magical, to say the least.
Our final prop plane adventure!
We spent a few hours in my new apartment in Yangon before heading back to the States. We repacked our suitcases, and I prepared for a quick trip home (I was home only nine days before heading out on my next adventure!).
As we sat at the gate waiting for our 2 a.m. flight to the States, I pulled out my passport. Looking at the tickets that I had stuffed into the pocket of my passport holder, it occurred to me just how much adventure we packed into such a short visit. I had so much fun exploring this country with my favorite travel buddy, and I can't wait for future Adventures with Mama Britton!
Like I said... wanderlust is in my blood!
