Inle Lake Travel Guide

This was not in our "to do" list. But the boat 'driver' decided that was a must for us (I will write later about that driver). All in all, it was a nice experience, not as much as tourist trap as we expected. There you can see all the complex creation and production of the Lotus textiles, and some silk textiles too. Lotus textiles were so...

I was just cycling around and have decided to go as far as Maing Thauk, the tomato plantation village. When I arrived at this place, I took the wooden bridge that goes to the lake. At the end of this bridge, a local woman invited me for a canoe trip around the village. I have decided to accepted the offer. I liked very much the trip! At the end, I...

This was not in our "to do" list. But the boat 'driver' decided that was a must for us (I will write later about that driver). All in all, it was a nice experience, not as much as tourist trap as we expected. There you can see all the complex creation and production of the Lotus textiles, and some silk textiles too. Lotus textiles were so...

The liquor obtained from rice is very strong (way too strong for my taste) but the process to distillate it traditional way was quite interesting to see.

Sagar is a ruined royal capital with ancient monasteries and pagodas at the southern end of Inlay Lake. It was built in 1479 and the population is about 1300. Getting lost in the middle of a zillion ruined pagodas was... well... an experience! Then we wandered a bit around the actual village, and found a very nice place where to have a drink before...

This impressive image is just one km south of Nyaung Shwe, facing the east in Nanthe village which is inhabited by Intha people.

Located in the town of Tha Ley in front of the Paya, i visited this restaurant with my guide. Excellent local grilled fish, and the best of all the views.

Without question the cleanest place in town to eat. The owner trained with a European chef and actually understands about needing to keep foods refrigerated, not letting raw chicken mix with vegetables and other such basic concepts. Everything is over-the-top and value is not bad. Great place to enjoy sunset upstairs. Wine and beer are WAY...

On the main road look for CENTURY TRAVEL which is operated from a large house by local standards. "Misu" (Mee-Soo) is the owner/manager and speaks English fluently. This is primarily a travel agency but she closed her evening dinner restaurant last year when tourism slowed. Upon request she is happy to cook local dinners for you. The family will...

HEHOWhen travelling through Burma (Myanmar) I decided that I would fly between my destinations as this was the most practical. This gave me more time in my various destinations and it was fast and safe. Looking at the train system in Myanmar and timetables as this is the way I always prefer to travel the schedules that were implemented by the...

Air Bagan flies a number of routes in Myanmar, including around Yangon, Inle, Bagan and Mandalay. Flying into Inle Lake, you actually fly into Heho. You can then have a car take you from Heho to Inle Lake. The airport at Heho is tiny and appeared to be open just for our flight in. So, you will not have a lot of transportation options to Inle Lake....

This is the only way to go around the lake. I would suggest that you do your homework and organise what you want to see and then tell your boat driver. If it is raining or looks like raining they should provide you with an umbrella. (ours did!). Also, make sure you let him know what signals you will give him if you want to stop at a particular...

This shop sells a variety of cloth but mainly cotton, silk and lotus reed. It is unique in terms of selling "cloth" made from lotus reed.At the back of the shop you can see how the strands are extracted from the lotus reed, spun into thread and then the weaving of cloth. Lotus reed scarfSilk garments US$55

Take a good look at the picture. The old lady from the picture is doing some LOTUS spinning and NOT silk spinning. This is probably the most interesting thing I encountered from the Inle ride.

Most or all of the guides from Inle will bring you to visit these small cigar factory where you'll be served will a cup of hot tea. The burmese girls who work at the cigar factory will demostrate how to make the local cigar. I've tried two of those small factory and they gave me some FREE cigar( 5sticks).

I'm a little conflicted by taking pictures like these.At one level, it's a little like a human zoo. At another, a vaild sociological, historical documentation of a practice that I assume is going to go the way of foot binding.

They have never heard about MP3 when I was in Inle. Share with them and see how they react!!?? They will be grateful.

En Myanmar son famosos los puros "cheroots" que se fabrican con hojas de un tabaco especial.En algunos sitios los hacen a manoCigars "cheroots" are famousin Myanmar that are manufactured with leaves of an spetial tobacco. On some places they are hand made

BURMA Anywhere here in the tropics the temperatures can be excessive especially here in Burma. The days are incredibly hot and humid and fluid loss is prevelant..I ALWAYS make sure that I have more than sufficient water for the day when I set out for a day "out and about". Coming from Australia and being used toreally hot temperatures I don't think...

IMPORTANT... When travelling in this part of the world make sure that you have enough insect repellant for your trip..Also make sure that it is what you need...Always in the evenings wear long sleeves and long pants and cover all exposed areas of skin with repellant to minimise the risk..and don't worry about the "fragrance" as everyone is wearing...

There are no ATM's in Burma. Estimate your budget and arrive with at least 30% more money than you expect to need IN US DOLLARS ONLY. Before departing for Burma go to your bank and have them order new, uncirculated US Bills for you. This takes up to a week in the US but all banks can do this, even overseas. In Europe or Asia it is not easy but...

MYANMAR When flying from destination to destination in Myanmar (Burma). I Always tried upon arrival at my destination to share a Taxi. The main reason being that the Military Junta that controls all airlines in Burma have placed the airports long distances from the cities. This is due to the fact that all airports are military airports. I learned...

Make sure that you always have enough US Dollars for your daily activities and also to buy local currency... MAKE SURE THAT YOUR DOLLARS ARE CRISP AND IN NEW CONDITION OTHERWISE THEY WILL NOT CASH THEM.Travellers cheques are not accepted ..local banks will only give you a minimul rate and ATM's are non existant..Exchange rates vary...

This isn't really a trap its just that I made this mistake and wish I had realised earlier what I should have done.As you travel along the lake you will see some wonderful photo opportunities-often very fleeting opportunities. If you have an action setting on your camera put it on this as you travel along the lake. I didn't and from the photo you...

I carry a small backpack to carry everyday necessaries...also ALWAYS carry plenty of fresh water as the there are few shops when out and about . I found the days to be extremely hot and I always had a hat, sunglasses and used a good sunscreen creamAlways wear a good pair of walking or hiking boots as walking surfaces arent good.. Make sure that...

You probably need to bring as much batteries as you can when you leave for the inle boat ride. Extra digicam memory card is a must.

Umbrella and torch- we travelled in July and it was very misty. Our longboat driver did have umbrellas for us. If you want to go walking by yourself however, you will need to have a jumper(it gets quite cool too!) and a torch as the villages have very little street lighting. See also footpaths

A quiet oasis and really off the beaten track since it is a 2hour boat trip from Nampan. You will be amazed and entertained with the passing scenery n needs loads of memory chips as you'll hardly put down your camera. I thought I could have a snooze going there but not likely ! You'll pass sugarcane plantations, Bamboo forests where you'll see the...

Pindaya is situated at 1164-m above sea level and is 40-km from Kalaw. It is noted for its extensive limestone caves and Shwe U Min Paya which is full of Buddha images and picturesque Boutaloke Lake. The town's symbol is a spider. According to the legend, seven princesses bathing in the lake took refuge in the cave during a storm where they were...

I can't recommend using public transport from Heho airport or Aungban or Kalaw cities to get to Pindaya. As mentioned in my LP guidebook it might be tiring and difficult to find good connections. I had prearranged the trip through my travel agency by private car and I can tell you even that takes long as the road is in a bad condition. For 50km it...

Inle,Inle ,Inle lake ,if I wrote some line that is complelely can not show what is Inle lake is just go there and get it there. Ummmm,I saw happiness of my guests with fully smile and that come to me and feel like a culture ambassador of Burma,all of the world have nature and their own scenes and lovely culture,There also one of place in the...

InLe entrance pass USD3, do not lost this pass if you intend to take another boat ride the next day.

Hope this map could give some hints when you're in Inle.Nyaung Shwe is where Inle Lake located. All the buses will end either in Heho or Shwe Nyaung. You need to take a local transport from Heho to Nyaung Shwe then.