A Day on Inle Lake

We had an early wake-up call for our sunrise trip out onto Inle Lake. It was quite chilly on the lake, so we had been told to layer up to keep the chill to a minimum.  We went down a very long canal to get to the main body of lake.  The lake is not huge but every inch of it is used.  It's extremely shallow which is why the fishermen use an interesting technique to paddle, wrapping it around one leg to push along the bottom. Water plants float on top of the water reminding you of the lack of depth.

Our first stop was a photo shoot with a group of three fishermen that have traded their fishing nets for the historic baskets to pose for tourists.  It really made for some great shooting.  It took on a circus like atmosphere with some of the poises they assumed.  After about 30 minutes they were paid their $10 and went off in search of the next group.

A market is held in a different village each day, rotating around the lake, where the locals buy their produce, fish and chicken.  There’s also a few vendors there selling jewelry and scarves to the tourists that come to see the market.  There was a large variety of foods available and it all looked as good if not better than what we would find in our grocery stores.  The lake is known for their tomatoes and this was in evidence here.  There were peppers of several varieties, cauliflower, many types of eggplants, oranges, tea, small bananas, the list goes on and on.  Freshly caught fish were arranged in front of the vendors who would hold up strings of still moving fish.  Chicken, both whole and in pieces, were available throughout the market.  There was a knife vendor heating the blades then polishing them on the spot.  It was obviously the place to be on this sunny morning.

Back on the long boats we headed out towards the southern part of the lake.  Along the way could see the modified hydroponic farming activities with plants lining the edges of the lake in rows with canals in between which allowed harvesting and planting.  The nutrient rich water and lake bottom makes for prime farming. 

We stopped in a lakeside village that is known for its textiles.  A weaving demonstration explained the various steps taken to first produce the thread, dye the thread and weave the fabric.  We watched them extract long threads from the lotus plant which produces a highly prized fabric that is both soft and durable.  Lotus thread is also mixed with silk threads to produce beautiful scarves, shirts, ties and longyes.  We were given the opportunity to buy and many of us took advantage of it.

We traveled back across the lake, much warmer with the mid-day sun.  We had a short break for lunch before our 3rd critique session.  Ira showed us a series of shots he had taken during our stay to show us how he works a scene looking for good light and a pleasing set-up.  It doesn’t always happen but you have to be constantly looking for opportunities.

We headed into the foothills by the village to a local winery that is producing wine using French methods.  This is primarily for tourists since it is too expensive for the locals.  The setting was beautiful and you could tell they were making a real effort to produce a nice wine.  They’re having various levels of success but we did find a red we found drinkable.  It was a beautiful sunset and you could see the field fires in the distance. 

A large group of us stopped at One Owl Grill for dinner.  Primarily Middle Eastern fare, it was wonderful and cheap and fast with cold beer which was exactly what we needed at the end of a long day.

Tomorrow: The City of Pagodas