inle lake, myanmar

During the rainy season- the water rises about 9 feet. This is the post office!!

These photos were taken at a cigar making shop.

We visited this place on our boat tour around the lake. It was mesmerizing! A bunch of different looms with 2-6 foot pedals on each machine. Each worker had their own pattern to make (they made the pattern by moving their feet on different pedals) and the foot pedals changed the threads. The people moved around the shuttles. The sounds were rhythmic, the colors extraordinary. The people sat on skinny hard wooden benches and worked tirelessly. They made longhis (which look like long skirts for men- but are not feminine at all.) They also made saris for women- and purses, shirts, etc.

Two things we do a lot of:
1. We walk a lot and talk about life.
2. We come across lots of stray dogs that I want to take care of! (Emme does not pet dogs anymore. She did not like her rabies’ shots AT ALL!)

Tamarind is a pod like fruit. If you look closely in the tree picture you can see a guy who climbed up high to shake all the tamarind to the ground. A woman with a basket collected all the pods after they rained down.They use it to make green curry, candy – all different kinds of things. Maddux was brave and tried it. He liked it!

So hard to post pictures of this place. It is so picturesque- it is unreal. Inle Lake is loaded with floating gardens, stilted villages and incredibly old temples. We stayed at a place called Remember Inn. The people were genuinely wonderful.
The fishermen are fun to watch. They use one leg to paddle while using their hands to work the nets to catch fish. From far away- they look like ballerinas.
We went on an all day boat ride around the lake. A father and his 14 year old son were our crew!

This was a weird adventure. We had to find a bike that Lennon could sit on. We also needed bikes that wouldn’t be too tall for Maddux and me! Mission accomplished- we were on our way. The road to the hot springs was crazy rocky, dusty and busy. It was pretty much one lane where cars and motorbikes had to pull over to the side and bikes and pedestrians were kind of pushed off the road. 33 minutes into the hour ride and Jesse’s tire pops. We walk to a main road and the kids and I keep riding while Jesse jogs along with the bike and Lennon. It is hot, people are thirsty- this doesn’t work for long. Jesse sees a guy hauling big oil barrels on a tuk tuk and asks if he can get a ride. They can not but they find a guy who can. Jesse, Lennon and the bike go ahead of us. We don’t know where we’re going but follow. After Maddux, Em and I arrive at the hot springs- we wait for J and L. They should be there already. Eventually, they walk in! Yay! We didn’t lose them. Jesse goes to get the bike from some kids who repaired it- they want the equivalent of a dollar but Jesse is so happy to have the tire fixed, he gives them much more and they are happy!
We are all set to go into the hot springs. They give us a tour. There is a place for foreigners. There are three decrepit looking hot tubs with green water in them. Em says, ” no, thanks.” I’ll do whatever. Boys want to do it- Jesse thinks we should head back on the bikes. Maddux and Lennon go in and last about 20 minutes, then we all decide to go. Two minutes into our trek back and Jesse’s tire pops- again! We laugh! I laugh longer than necessary, as usual. I find a guy who will take us across the lake on a boat to the town where our hotel is located. We have to go to a village to go on the guy’s friend’s boat. The village is beautiful. Everyone is waving at us. People are happy, the sun is setting- we were meant to be there at that moment. Everything DOES happen for a reason. We had a most amazing boat ride back!

The picture of the local boys are the guys who fixed the tire and the other picture is the guys who gave Jesse and Lennon a ride to the hot springs. Hitch hiking in Burma! Woo hoo!