Taking it Easy at Inle Lake

Our memorable trek concluded at Myanmar’s beautiful Inle Lake (pronounced “Inlay”). The relatively shallow lake covers 44.9 square miles and is located in central Myanmar. We learned later that it contains over twenty species of snails and nine species of fish that are found nowhere else in the world! A common stop along Myanmar’s typical tourist route, Inle Lake houses many brightly-painted shops, small factories, dwellings, and hotels that are supported by wooden stilts high above the water. Residents, tourists, and workers traverse the lake aboard long, wooden boats that almost look like canoes but have loud motors in the back. Our trek package included a one-hour boat tour across the lake and our hiking group opted to spend about $1.25 more per person to add a few hours to the boat tour to visit a variety of the lake’s tourist stops.

Boat tour of Inle Lake! I sat in the front for long stretches of the trip.

Houses and shops on stilts on Inle Lake.

Reminiscent of to that of Colonial Williamsburg, Inle Lake’s tourism industry relies on showcasing a variety of local, cultural trades and crafts. We stopped to visit the silversmith, a lotus and silk textile factory, a boat-making shop, a papermaking shop, and a cigar shop. At each site, we would disembark one-by-one from our long boat, an English-speaking guide would greet us, and then the guide would proceed to explain the history and process of making silver jewelry, textiles, etc. Of course each visit ended at a conveniently-located souvenir shop to purchase the traditional wares. Since almost our entire group was comprised of long-term backpackers (with little space for souvenirs), few people made purchases. I could appreciate how Inle Lake’s tourist offerings can be charming, but after a three-day trek and boating between locations in the scorching sun, I was a bit tired and unenthusiastic about the feel of the place. In particular, Matt and I were put off by the stop designated to see the “long neck women.” This visit included three seated women wearing the traditional long neck collars and accepting money in exchange for photo opportunities. A quick Google search revealed that the long neck tradition is mired in controversy because often these women are exploited as a means to bring in tourist dollars. We didn’t feel great about contributing to that sort of system, but the itinerary was a bit out of our control.

Woman working at a textile factory on Inle Lake.

Matt and I were tired from our trek! He's mid-yawn here, as we took our boat ride around Inle Lake.

Regardless, the final stop at a modest Buddhist monastery as well as an hour-long, breezy boat ride to our last destination were very enjoyable. As we passed through a larger section of the lake with open waters, our boat circled around numerous fishermen using traditional nets and paddles to make their daily catch. Large green and brown mountain ranges surrounded the lake, offering stunning views beyond the bright blue water which was partially covered in green hyacinth. It was quite pleasant and we further understood why so many visitors to Myanmar add Inle Lake to their itineraries.

Circling one of the fishermen on Inle Lake.

Footage from our boat ride. You can see the folds of the mountain range beyond the lake.

Our wooden boat came to a stop at the end of a long, narrow jetty to let us off in the town of Nyaungshwe. Most visitors to Inle Lake stay in Nyaungshwe rather than on the lake itself because of its affordable accommodations, restaurants, cooking class offerings, and massage parlors. Matt and I bade farewell to our trek comrades and headed to our unexpectedly upscale hotel. Neither Matt nor I had bathed in a few days and our bodies were caked in dirt and sweat from the hike. We took long, hot showers, heaped our dirty clothes into a smelly pile, and rested for a while before grabbing dinner.

Our comfortable and stylish hotel room in Nyaungshwe.

Since we hadn’t expected our trek to include an Inle Lake boat tour, Matt and I had budgeted an extra day in region than we needed. It ended up being the perfect place to re-coop from our 35-mile journey on foot, however, as we treated ourselves to full-body massages ($4.50/hour), swam at our hotel pool, and indulged in quite a few Burmese meals at local restaurants. Without the pollution or traffic like our other destinations, Nyaungshwe offered me the opportunity to go on my first outdoor run since we started our trip, which was a real treat! I carefully avoided stray dogs and herds of cattle along my route, but it felt great to be able to exercise in a similar manner as I had back home. Matt and I also used our spare time to read, apply for a few jobs, and book the majority of our Thailand trip—the next country we will visit. After a final meal of vegetable curry and noodle soup in Nyaungshwe, we boarded another overnight bus, this time headed north to Mandalay!