A bungalow on the lake sounds romantic. But depending on how long you plan to stay at Inle and, most importantly, depending on where on the lake you stay, getting into Nyaungshwe to immerse yourself in a variety of Shan culture can mean anywhere from a 15-50 minute boat ride away. In addition, looking out across a placid lake to very distant hills can be a bit boring. Then consider, farmers get up early to carry produce to market, meaning outboards going past your window at 5:30 am. In my book, that means trouble.
If you absolutely must have upscale, and you're at Inle just to do a 1-2 day jaunt around the lake, you can do no better than the luxurious Inle Lake View Resort & Spa in Kaung Daing. It beats all the other lakefront abodes hands down. And, most important, it is situated behind landscaped gardens fronting the lake, so you'll not be awaken by pesky farmers trying to make a living while you sleep soundly on.
On the other hand, if Pai in Thailand is getting a little too upmarket for you, you'll love the small town of Nyaungshwe. Cows roaming mostly dirt-packed streets, betel nut spittle everywhere, a gritty trucker town carrying 65% of Myanmar's tomatoes to the cities, and a real hunt to find that perfectly frothed cappuccino (I never did) - you'll have no problem finding a guesthouse at your price point. Nyaungshwe is like a soi dog - not pretty, but could be endearing over time. It's a bicycle kind of place with some lovely quiet lanes, lined with vibrant green-leaved, yellow-flowered acacia trees, weaving between all the stuff described above.
If you want to both stay in town and have more upscale lodgings, there are a couple of options. The Hotel Amazing Nyaungshwe has stylish boutique accommodations at very reasonable rates. Also, the Teakwood Hotel, normally a mid-range place, has a couple of beautiful large rooms with windows all around at the same price as the Hotel Amazing (US$30/night). Admittedly, my description of Nyaungshwe doesn't sounds too appealing for the upscale traveller. So, why are we here? Because this is your launch point for the wonders of Inle Lake. I stayed 10 days here and loved (almost) every laid-back, cow patty minute of it. Here's why.
In addition to finding the best pancake place, the next most important thing is to locate an internet. At Inleblooms you can access Yahoo! and Hotmail plus get to hear the Eagles sing 'Hotel California' over and over and over?.There's a fine line between time warp and classic when it comes to music and, on this one, I'm coming down firmly on the classic side. They have an Eagles get-back-together DVD from 1994 that will have you logging more internet time than you intended just to hear the instrumentals. Forgot (or never knew) just how good the Eagles were? Refresh your memory.
Before dinner, get a traditional Burmese massage. Compared with the Thai version: same same, but different. Burmese is more vigorous and not as precise with respect to pressure points as Thai. Here, they walk on your back holding onto a rafter in the ceiling. Unique, gets the circulation moving in no uncertain terms, if they don't slip one of your discs first. The Win Nyunt family, originally from Bagan, has been passing their expertise down for more than several generations. They're good. After the massage, if you let the masseuse rub a 'special' herbal concoction on you, you won't be aromatically fit for polite company over dinner at? The Golden Kite Restaurant just down the road. How is it that the Shans have us Westerners pegged, pasta and pancakes? Lonely Planet's not lying, best in Nyaungshwe. Now if the Nyaungshwe-ians could just get one other thing figured out: there's no need for every vehicle to honk at every intersection. Whenever I'm faced with vexing issues, I always chalk it up to culture. Of course, Western culture comes out ahead this time.
You'll want to visit a floating market, but not the most tourist-overrun ones. Inle is a haven for the package tour crowd, so you'll want (if it's indeed your want) to avoid this scene. There are five villages that rotate markets around the lake, and your guide should be able to tell you which one is least crowded with souvenir peddlers. Once you find it, you'll see colourfully dressed Pa-O hill tribes smoking their beloved cheroots mingling with Intha fisherfolk exchanging fish, vegetables, and handwoven textiles.
If you're fascinated by the architecture of Bagan and want more, then while you're in the lake area, you've got four sites populated with scores of miniature stupas, each containing (or once contained) a diversity of Buddha images. Your choices? Indein, Kekku, Thaung Tho, and Sagar. If you have time to visit just one, make it Sagar. Why? Because Indein is a short hop off the main lake route and, thus, overrun with tourists and souvenir stalls. Kekku is restored beyond its once romantic atmosphere to a Disneyland look-alike.
Sagar, on the other hand, is magic. Open to tourists for only two years, it's an all-day, six-hour roundtrip boat ride from Nyaungshwe (including a stopover at Thaung Tho). The trip to the site is an enchantment unto itself: pristine water, clean air, water lilies and hyacinths, and old Shan monasteries on the banks of the Belu Chaung river. You'll pass upfront and personal through a number of Intha villages with their houses over the lake and their vegetable gardens floating atop the water staked by long bamboo poles.
When you arrive at Sagar, you'll probably have the place all to yourself. Have your guide take you up via the original entranceway, through the two giant chinthes, instead of the covered walkway. Now, just marvel at the uniqueness of each every tiny structure. With almost no restoration to mar its authenticity, see it now before it's too late.
Just as you approach the Yangon airport on your return home, a large archway across the road declares, 'Towards a New Modern Developed Nation'. Yes, this one's for you, it's in English. Hold that thought, and think about the term 'floating world'. It originally described ukiyo-e, Japanese prints of the 18th and 19th centuries representing entertainment districts of Edo, now modern Tokyo - worlds ephemeral and impermanent. Things always change, the Buddha himself said so.
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