Inle Lake boat tour


I expected it to be very touristy, so I wasn't disappointed - the boat tour I took with a group of other visitors was actually quite nice. There is no other way around it: if you want to see Inle Lake, you have to take a boat, either as a group or charter one alone if you can afford it. Either case, it is pretty much the same thing: watching the fishermen, visiting the villages on the water, the workshops, markets, religious and historic sites, eating at overpriced restaurants. So if you do not expect something very authentic and unique, it is a nice day out on the water. There were some things which I didn't like though and left me with mixed feelings.

The boat, the passengers and the captain.




Leaving town.







Fishermen - some fish, some pose.


















Entering the villages.













Silversmith village and workshop.









Life on the water - including Post Office, school, shops, restaurants, temples.


















Market on the lake shore - one quarter sells souvenirs, the rest is real.



























Weaving workshop and showroom - major cards accepted.











Cigar workshop.



Religious sites - ATM at hand if you want to donate a bigger amount.

















Overpriced restaurant.



Kayan weaving workshop. The word pataung (padaung) is written on the sign instead of Kayan, which is derogatory. The old ladies seem to be OK to be photographed all day long, and I wanted to see it from their perspective. But when I sat next to one of the ladies and started making photos of the tourists making photos, all of a sudden they all put their cameras away. 








The "Jumping Cat Monastery" - but the cats don't jump! I understood a day later what they were supposed to do: in a small monastery a monk had a cat that was jumping through a metal ring which was rewarded with some snacks. But here, it seems, the cats as well as the monks got lazy.




The "floating gardens" - traditional hydroponics.











Heading back to town.










We meet the poseur fisherman again and give him some bakshish.











Back in town.














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