INLE LAKE, MYANMAR

Inle Lake... Thinking about it takes me to a very peaceful place.

To get there, we flew from Yangon to Heho on Air Mandalay. Once we arrived in Heho, we collected our bags and met our driver who we had arranged through the hotel. We drove for about an hour to a wonderful village called Nyuangshwe.

Thankfully, we didn't have to catch a ride with these guys

We stopped by an old monastery along our drive to the lake

From Nyuangshwe, we caught a boat that would take us to our hotel, an hour away.

The lake is truly a magical place complete with pagodas, stilted villages, floating gardens and Intha fisherman who are known for their distinctive style of rowing with their legs.

We stayed at the Shwe Inn Tha resort which features stilted bungalows over the water. The location was perfect. Our favorite thing to do at the resort was watch the sun set and rise each evening and morning on our deck overlooking the lake.

The food at the hotel was the not the best food we had during our trip to Myanmar and the people at the front desk weren't as helpful as we have come to expect, so we would think twice before booking a stay at this location again. But, the location on the lake was impeccable.

The best way to see all of the sights Inle Lake has to offer is by boat. Below is a photo journal of many of the places we visited and people we saw.

An Intha fisherman

Our morning commute to Inthein

An Art Gallery in Inthein - This picture is for our mom

Inthein, a lakeside village

Ruined stupas in Inthein

Shwe Inn Thein Paya in Inthein

We met a friendly monk at Nga Hpe Kyaung, the "jumping cat" monastery. Unfortunately, the cats were sleeping during our visit.

The floating gardens

Eggplants from the floating gardens

Phaung Daw Oo Paya - famous for the 5 Buddha images that have been transformed into blobs by the amount of gold leaf applied by devotees. You can see some men applying gold leaf to the images in this photo.

Our ride back to the hotel after an eventful day.

Our visit to the floating market in Ywama

The market

A lady at the market

We visited the Long Neck Ladies at a local weaving shop.

An Intha fisherman

Our walk to the Yadana Man Aung Paya in Nyaungshwe.

Nyaungshwe

Nyaungshwe

The location of our amazing lunch - located at a restaurant in a garage in Nyaungshwe.

Our Burmese feast

If we thought being in Yangon was like stepping back in time, we had no idea what we were in for. Inle Lake is place that has truly been cut off from the modern world. For two days, it offered a sense of quiet that I have not felt in many years.