Myanmar's Inlay Lake All Peace and JoyPrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
There is a place in Southeast Asia that is a total escape from the humdrum of daily life in this modern word in which we live. The place is Inlay Lake in northern Myanmar, or what was once Burma. To get there you have to fly to a small airport near the town of Heho, drive for a few hours to reach the lake, and then take a boat ride for an hour to reach your accommodation. If you sign up with Royal Orchid Holidays ROH18, Myanmar Discovery, all the arrangements will be made for you. So let me tell you something about Inlay (sometime spelled Inle Lake).
The Inlay Lake is one of the chief tourist attractions of Northern Myanmar. Inlay means small lake for it ‘s the second largest lake in country. Roughly speaking, it is about 13 km long and 5 km broad. It lies nearly 900 metres above sea level and is surrounded by mountains. The mountains with their low-lying clouds add to the lake’s beauty. Its beauty is unsurpassed. The saying is: tourists visit Bagan to study its ancient pagodas that constitute architectural and artistic wonders; but, they go to Inlay to enjoy peace and quiet, and of course, (god-given) natural beauty.
Life is leisurely there and time doesn't fly; it crawls! Travelling by boat across this vast, clear and calm expanse of water–among blue mountain ranges–is in itself a thrilling experience. Inlay Lake is noted for one sight that will capture anyone’s attention, and that is the one-leg boat rowers. It’s the most famous and unique feature of Inlay. Another unique sight is that of floating islands made up of compost and silt. The enterprising lake-dwellers, called Inthars use them as beds for vegetables and flowers.
All visitors to the region are also fascinated by its famous hand-loom industry and its beautiful products. Another unusual attraction of Inlay is its floating markets. One special attraction of the region for Buddhists is the Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda where five ancient images of the Buddha reside. The Inthars revere the images so much that they have gilded them over and over until they now appear to be balls of gold! Before this time of troubles, the lake saw most visitors when the festival of the Pagoda, held in October, features spectacular boat races. The pagoda is the most famous one in Northern Myanmar and Inlay is one of the regions where Buddhism flourishes to great heights. Consequently, you can find grand monasteries there with a large number of monks and novices studying and practicing Dharma Buddhism.
The best way for me to tell readers about Inlay Lake is for me to quote my journal that I kept on the trip, which follows.
The flight from Mandalay to Heho takes a half hour.
Breakfast at the hotel and checked out for departure flight to Heho. Left hotel at 0650 and at the airport at 0750.
Arrived Heho at 0930 and were met by staff provided by ROH. They were waiting with the van to take us to the village of Nyaung Shwe. The road, if we were to continue for 725 km, would reach Mae Sai in Thailand.
We stopped at the market a few kilometres beyond Heho. It has to be one of the most interesting markets I have seen in all Myanmar. The diverse ethnic groups, and there are dozens, come to sell their wares. Horses and carriages wait at the edge of the market for customers. Motorbikes riders have to wear helmets, which resemble German helmets of WWII. If they get arrested for not wearing a helmet it’s 1,000 kips, little more than one US dollar.
The ride to the lake through rural countryside is beautiful. When I saw farmers planting rice I asked the driver to stop, which he did. Suddenly a policeman appeared from some vehicles that were parked ahead, waving for me not to take pictures. How ridiculous. Pictures of farmers planting rice?
But when it was translated what he had said, fair enough. The planters were prisoners.
We can’t drive faster than 30 km an hour. Lots of bullock carts and cattle on the road. Vast herds of goats. The road is badly potholed but it’s interesting enough that the rough ride doesn’t matter.
At Nyaung Shwe we board our long boat, perhaps 15 metres in length. Seat with back rests. We are draped in ponchos with hoods as it is raining. It’s not a pleasant voyage with my laptop and camera on my lap under my poncho. In spite of the rain and the cramped position it’s beautiful, a mass of waterways and lakes. It’s amazing how these boatmen find their way through the maze.
We reached the Shiva Inn Tha hotel and were greeted in style with musicians and flowers. The hotel, a series of bungalows, came as a complete surprise. It was beautiful. It even has a swimming pool, the only hotel on the lake that does.
Just learned that Inlay Lake is not a deep lake, barely 1.5 metres in the dry and a maximum of 2.5 metres in the monsoon season. It’s a freshwater lake and drains through the Nam Pilu or Balu Chaung on its southern end. Although not a large lake, there are a number of endemic species of river life. Over twenty species of snails and nine species of fish are found nowhere else in the world.
The attraction is definitely its beauty, or call it mood, and that is due to the surrounding hills and low hanging clouds. Another attraction are the people of the lake, especially leg-rowing Intha people.
The people of Inle Lake (called Intha), some 70,000 of them, live in four cities bordering the lake, in numerous small villages along the lake's shores and on the lake itself. Most are devout Buddhists, and live in simple houses of wood and woven bamboo on stilts; they are largely self-sufficient farmers.
Most transportation on the lake is traditionally by small boats, or by somewhat larger boats fitted with outboard motors. I am attracted to watching the local fishermen, known for practicing a distinctive rowing style which involves standing at the stern on one leg and wrapping the other leg around the oar. The guide explained that this unique style evolved for the reason that reeds cover the lake and floating plants make it difficult to see above them while sitting. Standing provides the rower with a view beyond the reeds. However, the men only practice the leg rowing style. Women row in the customary style, using the oar with their hands, sitting cross-legged at the stern. I see them rowing kilometers from nowhere. They row so effortlessly.
I asked about the fish caught in the lake. The most abundant kind is called nga hpein, or Inlay Carp. They are a staple of the local diet and we had them on several occasions. They ware quite good tasting. In addition to fishing, locals grow vegetables and fruit in large gardens that float on the surface of the lake. The floating garden beds are formed by extensive manual labor. The farmers gather up lake-bottom weeds from the deeper parts of the lake, bring them back in boats and make them into floating beds in their garden areas, anchored by bamboo poles. These gardens rise and fall with changes in the water level, and so are resistant to flooding. The constant availability of nutrient-laden water results in these gardens being incredibly fertile. Rice cultivation is also significant.
We went to the local market. There are some hand-made goods for local use and trading is another source of commerce. A local market is held daily but the location rotates through five different sites around the lake area. Trading is conducted from small boats much like the Floating Market in Bangkok.
The lake has the same problem as the Chao Phraya River in Thailand. This is the water hyacinth, or Beida as they are called. The hyacinths clog up the smaller streams. They had been imported. In Thailand the story is the wife of King Rama V brought a few plants from Indonesia to place in her water garden and they jumped over the barrier. I wonder what excuse the Myanmar have.
I hear the surface area of the lake has shrunk within living memory. The surrounding hills have also been stripped bare of trees harvested for their firewood, bringing in increasing amount of silt and nutrients into the shallow lake. This silt fills up the lake and the nutrients encourage the growth of weeds and algae.
The lake is so peaceful. All I want to do is sit on the verandah chair and look out over the water and watch nightfall. It was all I could do this afternoon is to drag myself away from the chair and visit Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda. We also cruised though the vegetable farms. There is more to see than one can in one day. Ideal would be to spend a week here.
And so ended my journal.
On our final day we were up at 5 AM, had breakfast at the hotel and returned to the mainland. The ride back, in the pre-dawn light, was a beautiful ride. I managed to get many photos of the one-leg fishermen. The clouds gave the lake mood that was startling at times. It’s at times like this that one feels life to the very tips on one’s fingers, through every breath, through every pore in the body. It’s times like this that one wants to paint. I envy those who can paint,
Our boatman did slow down when we came to fishermen that made interesting shots, or at spectacular shots of the mountains with the reelections that cast a glaze over the lake. Photographs are great to have, but it is the memories that are ever lasing. And what memories the visitor to Inlay will have.
Next week I will tell readers something about the name changes that have taken place in Asia. It can be confusing. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSQ. Dear Mr. Stephens, I enjoyed very much your story on your visit to Myanmar, and I would like to visit the country, but how safe is it to travel there these days? Many countries have put out warnings to their citizens to stay away. Can you enlighten me? Thank you. —Karen Jameson, Los Angles, California.
A. Dear Ms. Jameson. Your question is one that I asked many people on my visit to Myanmar. From what I have been told, Myanmar is one of the safest counties in the world to travel in these days. The government keeps a close watch on crime. For example, I was curious why motorbikes where outlawed in Yangon and questioned my old friend Phyoe Wai Yar Zar, who runs his own travel office, about this. He claims the authorities feel that motorbikes make for easy escape for criminals. So they have been banned in the capital. I also asked about how safe, in his opinion, is it for foreigners in Myanmar from the head chef, Chee Kong, a Malaysian, at Traders Hotel in Yangon. He had been with Shangri-la group for 30 years. He acknowledges that tourism has dropped after the storm, but the media is not helping matters. He emphatically stressed that travel in Yangon and Myanmar is 100% safe and it’s a pity the press is making such a fuss about it. It’s not fair for the people of Myanmar. They are the ones suffering. That’s one man’s viewpoint but it reflects the sentiment of many I talked to. I will add that I certainly felt safe every place I traveled there.
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (booking@inet.co.th)
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited. | 
