Shwe Inn Tha Floating Resort Inle Lake

... that had both lotus and silk threads. The looms look very difficult to operate and have 4 pedals to operate, plus they constantly have to change the thread to create patterns. Chan Chan's mother-in-law is one of the women who works on a loom. There are not set hours, women are paid by the meter. So, the faster you work, the more you get paid. I would not make very much money at all. In order to create a pattern like the traditional Sun of the Lake, the silk is dyed ...

My day starts early and I get on the bus to Nyaungshwe. This only takes 1hr 30mins to arrive at Shwenaung and then into a pick up for the last half an hour. The town of Nyaungshwe is 3.5kms north of Lake Inle and is the place where all backpackers end up before touring the lake. There are plenty of temples to see and small town life to take in. I rent a bike for the day and cycle around for most of the afternoon, stopping at tea shops and temples. Many of the locals sit with me ...

... We found some temples that were 400 years old. There was a gentleman who seemed to be paying for the renovations of some of the temples. He came out and generously talked to us showing us around and telling us more about the temples. Then we walked across the street to a monastery. The monk boys came running to their windows to look and one showed us a around. It was entertaining though because we would turn around and there would be a bunch of monks. Then ...

... The trek was gradual up and downs, but nothing too strenuous. We'd go past places where there were children. They'd always run up and yell "buh- bye" over and over and over again. It was adorable. We saw people working in the fields, walking water buffalo, and riding on their carts pulled by two oxen. It was very surreal and I felt like I was in a time warp. We started out trek at 3pm and arrived at the monastery we were spending the night at at 7:30. We walked the last ...

Kalaw We arrived in the mountain town of Kalaw around 2:30 in the morning. Luckily, there were many guest houses within walking distance so we crashed into the cheapest one we could find to sleep. It was a real dismal room with no furniture other than the two beds to sleep on. Surprisingly, the hotel manager was surprised when we up and left, but promised to book a trek through them, they were more shocked when we did just ...

... but unfortunately I got a bad case of the ***** and couldn't eat much for 2 days. The weather was good all the way. We covered an easy 15km on day one followed by 20 km and finally another 15 km on the last day. It was reassuring to catch glimpses of Inle lake on the last day and we were glad to rest. This was by far the best experience of our trip. It is not so commercial and it is done in away that does not adversly affect the hill tribes way of life. Highly recommended!

"This is Burma and it will be quite unlike any land you know about..." - Rudyard Kipling Wow - Myanmar. What a country. It's the type of place in which the associated Lonely Planet is peppered with phrases like "travel in this region is permitted but actively discouraged due to continuing hill tribe insurgencies" or "two intrepid travelers report that they explored this region by motorbike and were impressed by its beauty" or "this region is one of the least visited on ...

... of questions I have about the country and its - shall we say - "difficult" politics. In the morning I begin the three day hike to Inle Lake through the local hill tribes. It's just me and my guide, Paye; a search through the town for company the afternoon before reveals - like much of the rest of the country - I am the pretty much only traveller about. The next few days are spent walking up and down hills, passing through farm fields ...

... showed me round their house/shop was the sister of one of the long necked girls living there, and she did explain to me that the girls do have a choice about wearing the rings. She herself had never worn the rings but her sister did and the rings can be removed later in life if the girl chooses. After Ywama we took the boat to the village of Indein. To get to Indein we had to penetrate further through the maze of waterways until we'd more or less reached dryland, and ...

... fields and topping them with earth. The area is renowned for fine tomatoes. We saw several boats harvesting water plants from the bottom and, laden to the gunwales with vegetation, heading for the fields with the compost material. The fisherman will casually demonstrate their unique traditional method of "leg-rowing" for passing tourists. Perched on the tiny flat platform at the end of their shallow dugouts, they free both hands for ...