Myanmar Treasure Inle Lake

... elastics. Once dried, the elastic is removed and the thread with have coloured and white areas. (the picture will better explain) I purchased a silk headband and a lovely scarf for $13. I wanted to buy more for gifts, but we will see more in other countries. We stopped at the blacksmith shop. One older guy was in the bellows and was moving two sticks to flame the fire. One guy was holding the piece that they were working on and three others had sledge hammers to ...

... chat about all sorts, but mainly whether Manchester United can beat Tottenham in the FA Cup. We decide they can. The town is quiet and there are not many tourists around. Most seem to be package holiday tours from France. Just like everywhere in Asia, I run into three dutch girls I originally met in Vang Vien. They have been here since the 7th and we swap stories of where we have been and recommendations for places to stay. We part ways and I organise my boat trip for the next day.

... of a sudden, they would flee as if they weren't supposed to be there. After the monastery, we went for lunch and then back to the guesthouse. We decided to do a canoe ride for the afternoon. We thought we were going to end up on the lake, but really we just went around the canals and into the different villages. It was interesting to see the villages. It appeared each village had their own trade. One made cigarettes, which we got to see being made and helped ...

... and a half or so in the dark with flashlights. We ended up walking a total of 16 km on day one. The highlight of the entire week was the time at the monastery. The monastery was in the valley of the mountains and the temperature dropped quite drastically. It was a lot colder than we were expecting it to be and a lot cooler that during the day. We arrived and shortly had dinner made (a cook traveled with us along with a guide). Our cook made lentil bean soup, cold tomato salad ...

... We woke up and quickly upgraded to a much better place to spend the night. Kalaw is the jumping off point for treks to Inle Lake, a major tourist destination in Burma. We wanted to do the 3 day trek, but didn't have the time so we settled for the 2 day trek to Inle. They put you in a taxi the first day in order to shorten the trip so you can do it in only 2 days. We met up with two other people who had started the day ...

... It is inhabited by a pygmy tribe that has no words to describe emotions". Incredibly diverse in terms of its population (over fifty different ethnic groups), fauna/flora (there are fifty varieties of poisonous snakes and a deer that is only one foot tall and was discovered in the nineties), and geography (7000 meter pristine peaks, 600 island archipelagos, and everything in between all connected by the mighty Irrawaddy river). It's national psyche a mixed bag of pride ...

20.5 - 25.5.2008 Nyaungshwe (Inle Lake). Burma. Nargisin tuhojen laajuuden paljastuttua sotilasjuntta vaikeutti viisumiensaanti kriteereita ulkomaalaisille huomattavasti joten lansimainen turisti oli melko harvinainen naky Burman vaelluksemme aikana. Itseasiassa koko 16 paivan vierailuumme taisi mahtua maksimissa vain n. 20 valkonaamaa. Autenttista menoa natiivien parissa siis... Kaupungin sykkeesta luonnonrauhaan. Tasta paikasta oltiin kuultu ...

... villages of the Karen people and their tribes, eating locally cooked breakfasts, lunches and dinners and supping on copious amounts of green tea. This part of the world is truly medieval - there's no running water or electricity in the thatched two-storey houses that make up each village, and the only transportation used to get around is the ox-cart; drivers and family are a regular sight coming the other way, perched precariously on a ...

... proceeded up a creek past the occasional bathing water buffalo until we reached the village. Indein's chief claim to fame is its stupas. To get to them you have to walk about half a kilometre, through endless souveneir stalls selling cack. If this was a typical day you had to feel sorry for them as there were hardly any tourists around apart from yours truly, and you end up buying things you don't want merely bacause you feel sorry for the vendor. The stupas though made ...

... their bell-shaped nets by hooking their leg around an oar and fine tuning the boat's position. Long-tail motor boats are increasingly used, but no large craft were evident. The town of Nyaungshwe is linked to the lake by what seems to be a canal about three kilometres long. It is the tourist hub for the area with many guest houses and restaurants. Oddly, they all seemed to feature Italian food, pizza in particular. They all told ...