 Inle Lake
View of small canal off Inle Lake and the surrounding mountains.
|  Fisherman on Inle Lake
A typical carved teak fishing boat with its conical fishing net.
|  Typical house on Inle Lake
Although located in the Shan State, most of the people who live on the lake are Mon people known as Intha (Sons of the Lake).
|  Inle Lake Fisherman
|
 Rowing technique
Inle fishermen have developed a unique rowing style using only one leg - leaving the arms free to handle the fishing net.
|  Inle fisherman
Fisherman poised to start rowing the one-legged style.
|  Market in Nyaungshwe
The floating gardens of Inle Lake yield a surprising array of crops. For example, tomatoes are able to be grown year round the in the Inle Lake region.
|  Boat loaded with locally grown tomatoes
The soil for the gardens is dredged from the bottom of the lake. It is then laid upon a thicket of water hyacinths. The newly created land is then anchored to the lake bottom through a series of bamboo poles.
|
 Rice ready to be harvested
|  Close up
The rice harvester's face is almost totally hidden by the rice sheafs.
|  Phaung Daw Oo Paya
The most sacred religous site on the lake. This temple houses the five buddha statues - four of which are transported around the lake during an annual September/October festival.
|  Buddha statues
Buddhists are shown here applying gold leaf sheets to the Buddha statues. The statues have increased in size because of the numerous gold leaf applications. The original outlines of the Buddhas are no longer discernible.
|
 Local women
|  Shwe Inn Thein, Indein
At the top of the hill outside the village of Indein is an impressive collection of eroded stupas that are partially shrouded by the jungle.
|  Detail at Indein
|  Padaung woman
Padaung women have traditionally worn brass rings around their necks, wrists and ankles. The neck rings effectively push down their shoulders to give the illusion of a long neck.
|
 Padaung woman
More rings are added to the neck pieces as a girl ages. The weight of all the rings can exceed 50 pounds. Westerners commonly refer to these women as the "giraffe" women because of their long necks.
|  Extracting lotus fiber
If you look carefully you can see the thin fiber being extracted from the lotus stalk. The fiber is used to weave very expensive scarves and other clothing items.
|  Lotus plant detail
This is an empty stalk showing the areas where the fibers have been removed.
|  Cheroot factory
Young women rolling "cheroots" - thick tobacco cigarettes - popular with the Burmese.
|
 Jumping Cat Monastery
When the monks at this monastery are not meditating, they train their cats to jump through hoops.
|  Jumping Cat Monastery video clip
|  School children
|  School children
|
 Pai An Gyi temple
Pai An Gyi pagoda is a 10-minute walk from Nyaungshwe. The over 30-feet high Buddha is enclosed within the temple's crumbling walls.
|  Truck in Nyaungshwe
Who needs a hood!
|  Restaurant sign in Nyaungshwe
Shan food is the local specialty. Look closely at the sign to see all the geckos. (Htoo Htoo is a local bird nicknamed the "talking bird".)
|  Street celebration
In honor of the full moon festival that coincided with our stay, this small parade wound through the streets of Nyaungshwe.
|
 Dancing elephant
The Full Moon Festival in July marked the beginning of the Buddhist Lent. During this three-month period, monks concentrate on studying literature and refrain from leaving their monasteries except to gather alms.
| |
