After being dropped off at 5:00am near our hotel in Nyaung Shwe, a town situated on the north on Inle Lake in Myanmar’s Shan State, we checked in early and laid down to rest in our comfortable beds. After a long and bumpy bus ride we were tired. After a couple hours of rest, we headed towards the roof of our hotel. On the roof an excellent breakfast of Shan noodles, perfect fruits, and juices and tea and coffee was served. We filled up with as much food as we could. Determined to see the area, but not tire ourselves out too much, we borrowed bicycles from the hotel and set out. I had planned a loop that would take us down the west coast of the lake, across the center by boat, and then back up the east coast.
We set off and found the roads out of the small town we were staying in to be both quite beautiful and quiet. We rode down a tree-shaded lane with light traffic, and looked out at the marshland that the lake produced. There was a cool breeze, and the roads were all quite flat, making it an easy ride. We spent about 25 minutes heading down towards some small villages situated near the lake.
I had read online about a food tour starting at a place called the ‘Tofu Palace’. Bryden was hesitant, being a self defined carnivore, but I managed to convince him to give it a try, saying that if it was bad I would pay for his tour (which would be about $2.50). We found the Tofu Palace, which was more of a shack than any kind of royal residence, and were served huge plates of fried tofu with tofu-based sauce. This was excellent, and even Bryden managed to enjoy it.
After our tofu with tofu sauce and tea, we were brought out by a guide named Yam to see how they produce food nearby. We walked around this small village of 1200 residents for about 45 minutes. During this tour, we were shown how tofu, rice cakes, noodles, fried seeds and nuts, and other various snacks were produced. This production was extremely labor intensive and uncomfortable for the workers. It was amazing, however, to see how a small little building run by a couple women could produce so many snacks and foods that we have seen at many markets around the country.
After the tour, we took a boat across the lake with our bikes, and rode up the east coast of the lake. We found these roads to be much more quiet and relaxed. We eventually made it to a restaurant that had an absolutely stellar view, and after a great and inexpensive meal we continued on our bikes.
Our next stop was a winery situated on a hill looking over the lake. We found the winery just before the sun set, and after seeing that there were no available outdoor seats we decided to just stand outside and enjoy the view. After we heard a few people say that the wine was terrible, we decided to leave. We rode back to our hotel just after the sun set and camped out on the roof to get some work done and relax.
The next morning we woke up slowly, and after checking out of our room, we organized a boat tour of the lake.
We headed out, following an extremely friendly and charismatic guide, sat down on our boat, and then found that another man who was far less interesting (and spoke less English) would be showing us around. We enjoyed seeing the floating gardens, teak villages, monasteries, and craftsmen’s workshops on the lake. Spending the afternoon in a long wooden boat sightseeing was very relaxing as well. It was the perfect way to spend the day, given how busy we have been on this trip.
After eating at an Indian restaurant with delicious food and an Eminem-obsessed waiter who acted more like a rapper than most rappers, we waited for our bus. This next and final leg of our Myanmar trip would bring us twelve hours south, to the old capital of Yangon. We enjoyed our time around Inle Lake, but we weren’t as impressed with it as many others were. It was a great stopping point between the north and the south, however, and gave us the opportunity to relax.
The next post will be the last from Myanmar. We will spend two-and-a-half days in Yangon, before flying to Malaysia for a little bit and then on to Singapore before heading back to school.