Early start
and off to Inle lake we flew. The company: Air Mandalay! Two jumps 30 minutes
each with a stop in Mandalay. The catering company supplied the Chicken tuna
sandwich – a classic number two! NO CHICKEN SANDWITCH! FAKK! I preferred that. We
landed on time in Thadwe. +27C! FREZING COLD compared to Bagans +43. Local
people were wearing jackets and jeans!!! Talk about global warming! (The only effect
of the global warming so far is that it´s actually that it´s colder. In Sweden
at least. Eat that you ECO maniacs.)
The drive
from the airport took approx. an hour. We were driving slowly because of all
the water festival stations along the road. Crazy stuff. It was a bit different
in a car with all the windows closed. Not the same as ride on a bicycle J. It´s really nice to see that
everyone is celebrating and having fun. Well, we saw one elegant lady that went
crazy after some kids poured one bucket of water on her head. Women...
hahhahaa.
The architecture and the buildings were so much different here up in the mountains
where the climate was cold, compared to the bamboo mat houses on the Bagan
plain. The houses here were real houses and I guess that winters here could get
real chilly. The road gradually got narrower and in the end hardly two cars
could pass side by side. We finally arrived at Inle. A hectic little town
serving as a hub for all tourists visiting Inle Lake. Looked like a hill
station town, since the houses were adapted to the colder climate. First
impression was that is was a town that you arrive to and then leave as soon as
possible after you sorted out you ride to the Lake. Busy, crowded, and
generally not especially inviting. Then....it was also colourful and full of
life. I guess it depends on what you expected to see. Then we had the pleasure
to arrive during the water festival. The water being poured on everybody from
any possible containers. We drove through the city to the long boat harbour
close to the bridge over the exit canal. Little Venezia! Really! Excpet that he
gondolas in Venezia don´t have a noisy two stroke engine. We got an advice from
the guy owning the boats to stock up on sodas and beer since the hotel stuff was
expensive.
We were informed that the ride to the hotel, theGolden Cottages II in Thale U,
would take additional 45 minutes by boat. That was a surprise. I guess a
pleasant one? Seems like the Lake was much longer and bigger than I thought.
Mental note: when riding a boat across a lake at midday during dry season, put
on some sun screen. My nose could compete in the “Rudolf´s nose” competition at
X-mas in the evening!
We arrived at our hotel after a pleasant ride across the lake. Just the two of us in the long boat. The hotel
is built on stilts and the bungalows do have an amazing view over the lake. The
sun sets just in line with the balcony! Kick ass! Another surprise - when you
arrive to the hotel, the staff walks out on the veranda and greet every new
arriving guest with a short cacophony of local tribe music. Cute when you
arrive but less cute when you sit in your bungalow and hear the orchestra
banging on the instruments every time a boat arrives with guests.
We ate lunch
at the hotel. No other option really. We were stuck on the stilts on the lake. They
didn´t serve any fresh grilled fish. Needed to be ordered one day in advance! Lack
of fish in the lake? So we had some Chinese fish dishes. I guess frozen fish
fried in a wok. Tasted quite OK and the portions were huge. Paid 8000 chat - inclusive
2 beers. Winner! It seems that every place we visit is getting cheaper! GOOD
TENDENCY since there were no ATMs and the only money we had was the dollars we
brought. We got kind of bored of the hotel so we found our way to walk to the the
Thale U village. Across the boardwalk, across the swampy brick laid path and
onto the village road.
The village
is very nice and clean. The houses lined the road along the road through the
rice and banana plantations. Papaya trees lined the road. Water buffalos were
resting in the shadows under the houses. So much greener then the villages in
Bagan! The housing here seemed more sturdy. The houses seemed more permanent
and well built. Might be the colder climate, the more productive crops, more
wealthy farmers or all of the above. We walked through the village, along the
road following a small creek with crystal clear water up to the crossing with a
main tarmac road. A pleasant 25 minute walk. We continued up a staircase up
to a monastery or some strange pagoda
with a lot of elderly people sleeping there during the midday heat. Just as we
started to walk up the stairs to the pagoda, we passed a huge tree with
thousands of crickets on it. Nasty looking bugs sung so loud that we could
hardly hear ourselves talking! Made some close up pics of them. Ugly little
bastards. Except for a lot of elderly people sleeping in the Pagoda, there was nothing
too see. A huge speaker mounted on a pole. The “sound of the day” was a monk
reading some holy texts. On full volume. That texts could be heard all over our
half of the lake, Including in our bungalow. It could be heard CLEAR and LOUD.
On our way
back, the siesta was over and we saw several locals walking home their water
buffalos back home from the fields, washing their mopeds and kids and teenagers
chasing us with buckets of water of unknown origin :D. Just before getting back
on the swamp path to the hotel, we parked at a local pub. The second last
building in the village. The whisky selection impressive. The only thing they
sold was whisky (local) rum beer, soda and betel. We sat there for maybe 45
minutes and the stream of locals was constant. Good business it seems! And it seems
they are wealthy since the beer in Myanmar isn´t exactly cheap.
We walked back
to the hotel for the midday siesta. That was the plan but the monk with the loudspeaker
on the hill pagoda ruined that. Later, a second monastery could also be heard
from across the lake and was echoing to our house on stilts. So much for the siesta.
We learned a lesson to keep our siesta when the locals have their siesta. Then
the monk with the loudspeaker from hell is also sleeping. Unfortunately the
traffic on the lake increased as well. Hundreds of motor boats could be heard
speeding across the lake, bringing the tourists back to Inle for the night. Some
late guests arrived, so more local music from the staff = banging on the drums.
And the heat...no aircond in the bungalow is maybe OK during the other seasons
but right now, in high summer.....it´s a bitch.
We had a
drink in the hotel lobby but it was already after sunset so we could a s well
stay in the room. It´s not that kind of lobby you sit in for a longer time. The
whole lake and especially our hotel is basically all about the view. When the
sun sets, the lake looses it´s charm. Went back to the room and the friendly
staff turned on the light outside our house. OK...now we had a whole mosquito
farm of several hundred of bugs outside the door! Not nice! Can´t go in without
letting some of them in. We took turns jumping into the bungalow, trying to not
to let 7000 blood sucking bugs inside each time we opened the door (they did provide
a mosquito net over the bed). Thought of reading a book on the balcony was
quickly abandoned when we saw the moths and other bugs swarming around the
light outside. NO WAY! The mosquito net was already wrapped around the bed so I
guess it´s an early night. Booked a guide with boat for a whole day for 25000
chats to drive us to all the main attractions. Start 08:00!
20:30 the monk with a big ass speaker across the
lake started his reading of the holy texts again. 30 minutes later, he is still
going on...Right..... So the monk across the lake went on for ages. After him
frogs and insects started their concerto. At around 04:00 the monk on our side
of the lake, from the hill pagoda, started his chanting. And then the birds
woke up. I do love nature and outdoors. A lot. But right now I´d rather have a
good night sleep and watch the bloody birds on Animal Planet on teh TV.
Other than
that our bungalows have seen their better days. The rooms are OK, but the
bathroom would need a make over and some maintenance would not hurt. On the
other side, the view from the balcony makes up for the few negativities.
