Inle Lake

After three days of exhausting, but rewarding trekking, we finally reached Inle Lake. We said goodbye to Alex and Como-Say and hired a boat for the next day.

Austin, Alex and Como-Say on the boat to Inle.

Austin lines up a shot.

The Intha people live in stilt homes on the lake. They also grow their vegetables on the water. Lake-bottom weeds are gathered and piled in rows, anchored by bamboo shoots, providing a suitable garden for growing all sorts of produce. The gardens are also resistant to flooding because whenever the water level rises, so do the gardens.

Longboat fishermen.

The Intha fishermen use these cone-shaped nets to trap fish. At its deepest point, the lake is only twelve feet. Unique to Inle is the rowing style in which the fisherman wraps his leg around the pole and paddles with his leg. This gives them a better vantage point to see the fish.

Burmese VCDs for sale, along with what looks like medication.

At the market.

At lunch our driver took us to his friend's place for a traditional Intha meal. (Intha being the people living on the lake.) Apart from the French Fries, I think it was more or less authentic. In any case, it was delicious and that's all that matters.

Our host's kitty, whom we nicknamed Loopy, was indeed a bit loopy. The way she ate was very strange. When feeding her dried noodles she would bite it like a fish would, in one lightning-fast motion. We chalk it up to her being cooped up in a stilt house on the water, with very little space to run around. Perhaps she spends more time with fish than she does with cats.

The somewhat touristy lakeside market at Inle.

Nuns walk the city gathering alms.

At the Jumping Cat Monastery, the monks have trained their cats to leap through hoops set at least a meter high. As these cats know, it's best to have a hearty breakfast before the jumping begins.

Performing for tourists can really take it out of you.

This kitten is quite content to just play with this broom.

The skies were incredible in front of this pagoda.

On the way home we were treated to a beautiful sunset complete with rainbow. At the time it was raining so we would take turns holding the umbrella while the other frantically took shots and wiped off his lens. Right in the middle of all these incredible photo opportunities, Austin's camera battery suddenly died. Shortly after that, I found that I had no space on my card, so I desperately deleted photos from the beginning of the day while Austin took out his battery, shook it, and replaced it, hoping to get a few more shots. Eventually, both camera's battery's died, so we just sat back and enjoyed the show.

-- Will