Inle Lake

On the weekend we visited Inle Lake and the famous Inthar tribe one footed paddler fishermen.  It was a terrific break and it was so nice to be cool!  The nightime temperatures were in the 40's F so we actually needed blankets!  The fishermen paddle their boats with one leg to keep their hands free to handle nets.  They also build their houses over the water on long stilts and tend floating gardens made of mats of vegetation which are built up and fertilized by muck they dig out of the shallow lake bottom.  We also saw cloth being woven from Lotus stem fibre (more expensive than silk) and cheroots (cigars) being made.  Then there were the Pao people in their red scarf headgear and the Padaung women with the rings on their necks to make them longer, the more to ressemble dragons.  And there was much much more!  this blog does best with 8 photos or so at a time so i will do a couple of batches!

Inthar tribe fishermen 

fisherman at work

Pao women having breakfast

they loved having their photos taken!

An archeaological site of stupas from the 18th and 19th centuries.  A monastery was nearby.  Taken mainly for the satellite dish and the monk hanging out his laundry!

The site was huge!

MoeMoe our guide for the day told us that the Boda tree leaf was used as a model for the stupas and pagodas.  The bottom part formed the base and the top was separated to become the hti or umbrella.  MoeMoe is from the Inthar tribe

Long necked Padaung women.  I remember a National Geographic article about them when I was 10 or 11.

The houses on stilts of the Inthar tribe.  They still have electricity!