Day 9 : We set off from Pindaya after our amazing cave visit and start our 57km ride to Inle lake. The first half is tough going with lots of hills but the second half we’re downhill (arghhhh) or flat so it’s not too bad. We stop at a small family run business to see how they make umbrellas which is really impressive and hard to believe they still do this by hand. there’s got to be some machinery in the back!
We are staying in a town called Nyaungshwe and on arrival we stop for lunch before abandoning our bikes to an afternoon of leisure. We are all excited about staying at the Paradise hotel for three nights.
This evening we have all decided to go wine tasting at Red Mountain estate which just happens to be the wine we had last night. We try four different wines and then sit and watch sunset with another glass and a bite to eat.
Day 10 : It’s another 8am start and our final day of cycling. 50km to do… let’s get on with it…… my shoulders and bum are killing me!!! We start by cycling to a scripture monastery called Shweyanpyay and see young monks studying scripture or being distracted by foreigners and looking out the window!
Then we go “next door” to a really interesting temple filled with tiny Buddha statues in the walls all with the names of those who donated them.
There are some cool scenes created on the walls, the one below is a tree with women hanging from it and men trying to climb up and catch a girlfriend!!!!
We cycle all 50k in more or less one go and then say farewell to our bikes before doing some siteseeing. The support team and mechanic have been amazing and we say goodbye to two of them. I grab an opportunity for a photo with our amazing guide Naing.
Delighted to have complete over 450km since we started last week…
We visit Shwe Inthein which is a real treat and holds over a thousand slender Shan style stupas with spires.
It’s so impressive walking around and Ni takes us the back way out “Indiana Jones” style, in his words!
There’s a temple in the middle with these golden ones… hundreds of them…
There’s not much security and you can walk freely around and even jump into some of them!
On our way through the local village we meet this lady who happily stands around saying hello and getting her photo taken with the likes of us foreigners!! I’m curious to find out how old she is and Ni tells us she’s 74!!!! That’s what sun and cigars will do to you! [I hope I look as good as my own mother when I’m her age!]
We take a boat on the lake and head back home. The cool breeze is nice as it’s still in the high twenties (roasting for me)….
We see the local homes on the side of the lake
and fishermen fishing with a very distinct style and method
We get back to the hotel not long before sunset and I realize this is my chance for a massage. I book a 90 minute full body massage at a “spa” called Jasmine (recommended by the hotel) and they pick me up in a lovely car to take me for my appointment. The premises are very basic, as expected, in fact I’m not even in a proper room – I’m in the hallway with a sheer, but dark colored cloth around the massage table!! That said, the massage was magnificent. The first part was a lengthy foot massage that included everywhere up to my knees and the second part, the young girl stretched and twisted me til I thought she might break me!!! Her knuckles in my neck totally sorted out the pain I had there and I got the best sleep of the whole trip afterward! Fabulous 😀
Day 11: A change of pace today on Inle lake. We travel by boat and visit the local cottage industries. We start off with a temple though, because it’s hard not to visit a temple around here! The main centerpiece of this one is these five Buddha statues that have been adorned with so much gold leaf that they are now unrecognizable as Buddha statues… quite bizarre! There’s a story of how they were lost in the lake when they were being transported to the temple many years ago, also a bit bizarre but with a happy ending as here they are!
We see more fishermen on the lake but these ones are posing and although once catches a fish they’re really just there for photo opps!
We see women taking thread from the lotus plant which will ultimately be used to weave beautiful patterns onto silk and make lotus scarves, cushions etc..
We see blacksmiths bashing metal..
And we see women making cigars… I took this photo but I didn’t sit through the demo or “tasting”- yuuuuuuck!!!
Lastly we see the boats being made out of teak wood.. that was really interesting to see:
Theres all sorts going on on this lake adventure and it’s nice to see it all as we float by..
On Arrival back to town we decide to end the day with a cocktail at a rooftop bar to watch the sun go down… two mojitos in quick succession put a lovely hazy lazy feel to the sunset!
Day 12 : We say goodbye to Inle lake today and head for Heho airport back to Yangon
odohertyelaine 