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Life on the lake
Vipasai Niyamabha
Special to The Nation
Nyaung Shwe February 29, 2012 1:00 am
Life on the lake
Home to Intha leg rowers and floating farms, Inle Lake is still relatively unspoiled by the outside world
In a state of civil conflict and closed to much of the world for more than 60 years, Burma is still best described by Rudyard Kipling's famous quote: "quite unlike any land you know about". The itinerary of a first timer will include the chaotic charms Rangoon, the old capital of Mandalay and Bagan but a visit to remote Inle Lake in Shan State will offer the mellowest moments of all.
The slim teak boats on show at Rangoon's National Museum are very much part of everyday life in Nyaung Shwe. From the narrow canals to the vast lake, wooden boats of various sizes are everywhere.
Nyaung Shwe, a small yet pleasant township in Taunggyi district, is the base for those who want to explore the lake area. Tourists on package tours stay in more expensive hotels overlooking the placid water.
January and February are the best months to go weather-wise but Nyaung Shwe and Inle Lake are at their most exciting in October during the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival, when four Buddha Images are taken around the lake in a gilded barge pulled by hundreds of leg-rowers in long canoes in front. Rowing competitions are also held. Pilgrims from all over the country come to this festival, so guesthouses and hotels fill up quickly. Don't be too hesitant when you find one or you'll end up sleeping in a monastery.
The best way of getting around Nyaung Shwe is by bicycle and there are several bike rental shops on the both sides of the main thoroughfare. Local teashops dot the streets, offering plenty of sweet snacks as well as hot milky tea.
I avoid cycling into the crowded Mingalar Market during the day, as this trading place is very busy with buyers from the nearby ethnic villages. The market sells everything from tomatoes to thanaka powder, which local people rub on their faces to protect the skin from the sun. The night market is set up on the main street just before sunset with a handful of food stalls offering such delicacies as Shan noodles and barbecue fish with chilli dips.
To get a sense of this vast lake at the foot of the blue mountain ridges of Menetaung, you need to take a boat ride. You'll find passenger boats lined up near by the bridge to the west of town.
Inle lake has an estimated surface area of 116 square kilometres and is perched at an altitude of 880 metres, which means you need two blankets in winter. It's Burma's second largest freshwater lake - the largest one is Indawgyi Lake in Kachin State.
Because the lake is covered in reeds and floating plants, Intha fishermen are known for their unique leg rowing, which involves standing at the stern of the boat on one leg with the other wrapped around the oar.
The fishermen live and work in stilt houses built over the water. They also grow vegetables in floating gardens that rise and fall with the tides. The way of living gives the perception of floating villages, floating gardens, as well as floating markets in the authentic sense of the word.
The water is crystal clear in many parts, allowing sight of the lake floor up to three metres below, with villages, temples and gardens dotting the network of canals rather than the open lake. The Intha usually row out to the open lake to fish. Each small flat-bottomed boat carries a cone-shaped bamboo contraption lined with a mesh net and open at the top. When he arrives at a fishing spot, the fisherman presses the large side of the cone to the bottom of the shallow lake with his feet to trap the fish. He then uses the oar to hit the water surface, presumably to scare the fish, who then swim into the net.
Small waterway channels allow for a close-up view of the floating gardens, which are made by matting reeds that grow around the lake in long buoyant rows. The farmer gathers mud from the lake's floor to pile on top and mixes it with hyacinth weed for fertilisation. Green and red tomatoes grow in abundance alongside these small streams, making Inle Lake the largest producer of tomatoes in Shan state.
Most tourists take a day trip around the northern part of the lake stopping at a weaving village where lotus thread is still used to weave textile. A scarf made from natural dyed lotus thread scarf is impressively velvety to the touch but I wince when I see the price: it's more than my flight from Heho back to Rangoon.
A lot of small boat vendors try to sell their silver accessories just outside a silversmith workshop, paddling along the boat offering lovely ear rings or necklaces "at good prices".
The Intha are Buddhist and there are more than 100 Buddhist monasteries and shrines in and around the lake. Among the most popular is Nga Phe Kyaung near Ywama village. Visitors can stroll around the wooden monastery, pay respect to the old Buddha images and be entertained by cats that the monks have trained to jump through small hoops for donations.
If visiting the Phaung Daw Oo pagoda outside the festival, the golden barge designed as a hintha bird can be viewed in a boat garage next to the temple building. When the grand 18-day festival is held at the end of the Buddhist Lent known as the month of Thadingyut, four Buddha images covered thickly with gold leaves are borne on a royal barge and taken throughout the lake.
The accompanying fair, dances and races are surely sufficiently intriguing to make anyone want to plan ahead for the upcoming Phaung Daw Oo event. For visitors like us, the most exciting event will almost certainly be the leg-rowing boat races. Inle Lake is the only place on earth to witness such an extraordinary act.
