Yawnghwe village

Idyllic scenes on the Inle Lake

Mingalabar Burma

“Mingalarbar” is a word of greeting in Burma which the nearest in English means “How are you?” or “How do you do” to which one replies in like manner without the necessity of going into a long story of one’s state of health.

We keep staying in Burma and I continue with an album from the journey in May 2012.

The second step of our tour was going to the famous Inle Lake in Shan…  (read more)
Yawnghwe village

Yawnghwe village

19 May 2012 1 1 607
Yawnghwe is the starting point for the tour on the Inle lake. Most visitors overnight in this village and start the tour with a boats hire for the trip
Intha residents on the Inle lake

Intha residents on the Inle lake

19 May 2012 1 585
They are unique because of their villages built on stilts over the water and their hydroponic farming based on floating gardens. Their traditional method of leg rowing, and fishing with conical nets has drawn attention and they are well known among the ethnic groups of Burma.
Leg rowing fishers

Leg rowing fishers

19 May 2012 1 643
The Inle lake is known for its leg rowers and floating gardens and villages. The lives of these people is focused entirely on the lake.
Life on the Inle lake

Life on the Inle lake

19 May 2012 1 521
Leg rowing, floating gardens, and villages on stilts over the water are the unique features that have turned this area into a tourist destination. When we came to Burma the first time in 1981 we were told to visit the lake very soon. "It will be bogged down in less than 10 years" people said. Now, at the present, the lake still is as big as 30 years ago.
Intha fisher

Intha fisher

19 May 2012 548
Fish caught from the lake - the most abundant kind is called nag hpein a sort from the carp.
Fishing carp with a conical net on Inle lake

Fishing carp with a conical net on Inle lake

19 May 2012 531
The Inle carp is a cultural symbol of the local people and is an important food for them; unfortunately, its population has been declining in recent years.
Skipper on the tiller bar

Skipper on the tiller bar

19 May 2012 593
The way from Paung Pane to the resort Shwe Inn Tha the takes about 45 minutes. The first impressions about the daily life on the lake is marvelous. About 70,000 people from the ethic minority Intha are living on and beside the lake which is as big as 112 qkm. Most transportation on the lake is traditionally by small boats, or by somewhat larger boats fitted with single cylinder inboard diesel engines.
Setting a fish trap

Setting a fish trap

19 May 2012 542
While the fisher is rowing the boat with his leg his hands are free to set the fish trap catching the carps.
Open air celebration in Thar Lay

Open air celebration in Thar Lay

19 May 2012 673
That Lay is a floating village on the way to our resort. We passed a meeting of hundreds residents celebrating a buddhist event.
Shwe Inn Tha Resort

Shwe Inn Tha Resort

19 May 2012 1 588
The hotel resort is built on pales only. There are only five resorts on the lake, most visitors live in guesthouses nearby the lake and come for touring by hiring a long tail boat.
Shwe Inn Tha resort

Shwe Inn Tha resort

19 May 2012 580
The gate into the floating resort and our long tail boat for all tours on the lake.
Shwe Inn Tha resort receptionst

Shwe Inn Tha resort receptionst

21 May 2012 538
A cuddly dog welcomed us first when we stepped up the stairs to check in to our hut.
Housing on the Inle Lake

Housing on the Inle Lake

20 May 2012 578
The shallow waters of Inle Lake are home to the Intha people, who actually live on the lake, building their houses on stilts and travelling across the lake by rowing a small boat.
Market women arrive Heyan Yawama

Market women arrive Heyan Yawama

20 May 2012 1 1 810
The only transportation is the boat. Two women bring their fresh vegetable to the morning market near Heyan Yawama village.
Long tail boats on the dam

Long tail boats on the dam

20 May 2012 602
Reach the market by a diesel engine long tail boat. The noise from the cheaper poorly muffled diesel engines driving the stern drive propellers is significant, and can be a distraction to the otherwise tranquil lake.
Shopping on the market

Shopping on the market

20 May 2012 608
First stall on the market offers hand made souvenirs from the Intha and Pa'O people. My wife is buying opium weights (one Tika - 15,4g).
Intha market women offer their pottery products

Intha market women offer their pottery products

20 May 2012 561
All kinds of potteries is offered to market visitors. Pottery is one of the common handicraft products from Intha people.
Scene in an open coffee bar

Scene in an open coffee bar

20 May 2012 738
A simple restaurant offers tea, coffee and Shan State food; the place where we liked to have a lunch break and eat good (and clean) food. There is a saying in Burma: The same kind of dish that is cooked by the house down the road and a house up the road do not taste the same. Evidently, the cuisine of different cultural backgrounds would be very diversified where there are so many different kinds of ethnic groups of people, and Burma there is a very good example of that.
122 items in total