November Hotel Inle Lake

... the piece. It looks like hard, very hot work. They make tools like: scissors, a tool for peeling coconut, and a slicer that makes really thin cuts of peanuts. We had lunch nearby at Nice Restaurant. The restaurant is also home to a tabby cat and a black and white cat that greeted us. They were very loud! We shared grilled fish and tomato salad (I love that stuff). We found out that Chan Chan has 1 sister in school, 1 sister who is a teacher and 1 sister who works ...

There is nothing to do in Kalaw, unless you want to trek to Nyaungshwe which takes three days! I decide the best option is the bus.<br><br>My day is spent looking at temples and and reading my book in tea shops. I end up playing snooker with a couple of locals in what appears to be one of their garages. Being Asian, they beat me pretty easily, but at least I got to chat to some locals.<br><br>I book my ticket for travel to Nyaungshwe for the next day and settle in for an early night (9:30pm)

... one of our own. Another was clearing last years rice plants to get ready for next seasons harvest. Another village was fishing and another was pounding bamboo, which they used for their houses and their roofs. After the canoe ride, our guide took us to his home. He had Chinese tea and popcorn for us. He showed us pictures of his family and past tourists. We all signed his book saying thank you for the tour. After our canoe ride Jessica and I went for a ...

... garlic and onion, French fries, white rice, and tons of grilled vegetables. It was a delicious way to end the day. At the monastery, there were two adult monks and ten junior monks. The ten boys were there because their families couldn't afford for them to go to school- which everyone has to pay for, even public school. After they get their education from the monastery, they can decide if they want to continue on to be adult monks or go back to their families and work. We ...

... They had a guide and a cook just for the two of them so the tour company was eager to add Ana and I to their group. Our new friends were an interesting pair, one young guy from Chile, Ben, and an older gentleman from England, Richard. Richard was a journalist who worked for Thomson Reuters, though they bought out his contract recently so he had some time to travel and had been doing some freelance work in Bangkok ...

... a thousand years of successful military conquests and a center of the universe mentality, mixed with the humble, modest, and moral teachings of the Buddha, and tempered by brief British rule and the last forty years of subservience to an uncaring and capricious military dictatorship. The good news is this adds up to the most genuine, friendly, and unspoiled people we have met on our trip. No where have we found the people so universally glad to interact with you and ...

... hyvaa jo Halong Bay:ssa (Vietnam) joten paatimme viettaa Burmassa olo aikamme loppu taalla jarvenrannalla. Toinen mahdollinen vaihtoehto olisi ollut Baganin temppelikaupunki mutta koska Inle:n (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inle_Lake ) alue on mittakaavassaan niin valtaisa (ja tarjoaa Burman parhaat harrastusmahdollisuudet) niin paadyttiin tanne veden aarelle. Bussi jatti meidat johonkin tienvarteen klo 5:30 aamuyosta jonka jalkeen ...

... deck that see-saws along the deep worn grooves of the dusty roads. My evenings are spent at local monasteries, the teak solid-wood floors being hard to sleep on, but for no extra charge include being awoken at 6am to the chanting of the young monks just metres away on the other side of the room. Surely, there is no better alarm clock. The final afternoon, I arrive exhausted at Indein, a town near the shore of Lake Inle. Here, further ...

... all worthwhile. Though some have been restored and a few more are still undergoing restoration by craftsmen, its the vast field of unrestored ones outside the pagoda that really capture the imagination. Wandering amongst them was an eerie experience, the only sound was the tinkling of bells hanging from the tops of many of them, this combined with the melancholic feeling arising from seeing so many once venerated buildings almost sent a shiver down my spine. The next ...

... same story too: each one claimed to have studied under an Italian chef visiting the area some years ago. Everyone in town must have been in the same class! We tried the pizza once and it was recognizable, but all the Italian offerings seemed pricey compared to the usual fare. Perhaps the ingredient cost. Bright and early Monday morning we headed off for our two-day adventure in the hills east of Inle Lake. A German couple in their ...