Myanmar/Burma part 3 - Hsipaw and Inle Lake

Hsipaw

After exploring the gardens of Pyi Oo Lwin we boarded another train and headed off to the small town of Hsipaw. At the train station we met a group of Malaysian train buffs who had flown to Myanmar for the sole reason of taking this train. They were apparently really excited to cross the famous Gokteik viaduct on the way to Hsipaw. We had no idea what this viaduct even was but they were beside themselves with excitment and had even made t-shirts with pictures of the viaduct on it. The Gokteik viaduct is basically a large railway trestle that crosses a massive gorge on the way Hsipaw. It was built by the British in the late 1800s. Apparently it's illegal to take picture of the trestle but I found this out much later... so here you are:

Gokteik Viaduct

Looking down at the gorge from the trestle

Crossing the viaduct

The train ride was really enjoyable with great scenery. By late afternoon we had arrived in the riverside town Hsipaw. Most travellers go to Hsipaw in order to trek to the nearby villages and see how the locals live. We however at this point in our travels only had flip-flops and decided to just stay in town instead. Most of the people that we talked to that did go on treks said it wasn't that great anyway because each village had 20 westerners tramping through it each day. 52-days of trekking in Nepal was enough for us. It didn't really matter for us anyway because Hsipaw had enough to keep us entertained for a few days.

Hsipaw vegtable markets

River fish

I unfortunately got sick for the first time since Nepal on our first day in Hsipaw. I spent the whole day inside reading George Orwell's 'Burmese Days' while traveling back and forth between the bed and toilet. Kiersten meanwhile roamed the town and took a bunch of cool photos. Fortunately it was only a 24hr thing and I was pretty much better the next day.

Young buddhist nuns seeking alms at the local shops

While Kiersten was out roaming around she stumbled upon a tiny little restaurant/garden run by an older lady named Mrs. Popcorn (apparently her land used to be a popcorn factory). Anyways, when I recovered Kiersten took me there to eat. Mrs. Popcorn probably made us the best meal we had eaten in all of Burma. Burmese food was probably my least favourite food of all the countries we had visited so far, but that being said, I loved what Mrs. Popcorn made. She grows all the vegetables she uses in her own garden and the food is really fresh and a lot less greasy than most food you typically get in Burma.

Mrs. Popcorn and her garden

The next day we hiked through a bunch of rice paddies to a local waterfall and had a swim. The hike wasn't that long but the whole time we were paranoid about poisonous snakes in the long grass. Myanmar apparently has more poisonous snakes than any other country in the world as well as the most fatalities due to snake bites. Fortunately we didn't get bitten and arrived at the waterfall safe and sound. It was a hot and sweaty hike but the the swim in the cool pool at the base waterfall made it all worthwhile.

Cooling off near Hsipaw

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Because we didn't end up trekking to any of the nearby villages we decided to rent a motorbike instead and see the countryside a bit. We managed to find a few cool villages and pagodas on our own as well as a massive Chinese pipeline project.

Village near Hsipaw

Village near Hsipaw

After Hsipaw we got on a bus slowly meandered along the bumpy road to Inle Lake. It was another night bus and I had yet another crappy sleep due to the bad roads and Burmese pop/rap/movies that played non-stop on our ride there. I've been getting used to it though and it wasn't the worst ride on this trip. At least I wasn't sick.

We arrived at Inle lake at some crazy time in the am, probably like 3am or something. Fortunately we found a cool hotel that didn't even charge us for that night and let us check in when we got up later in the morning. Located in the Shan hills, Inle Lake is the second largest lake in Myanmar. Many people live in around the lake in small villages on the shore or built on stilts on the lake itself. There is even a massive floating garden in the middle of the lake that people use to grow vegetables. The fisherman on the lake are famous for using a paddling technique where they hook their leg around the paddle row thereby freeing their hands to use the nets and spears that they fish with.

Kiersten getting some Thanka from a local women (she got a lot of attention that day because of it)

Young buddhist monks riding around the Pagodas near the lake

After a day of exploring the main town of Inle Lake, we took the obligatory boat trip around the lake. I was surprised to see how busy and populated the lake was. It wasn't a typical lake that you would see in Canada. There were villages with hundreds of houses built on stilts, massive pagodas that sat on small islands, fishermen and locals paddling small boats around, floating gardens and markets, factories, restaurants, businesses and more.

Local fisherman

Posing for the tourists (basically the technique is to throw the trap down on the fish then stab them with a multi-pronged spear)

Foot paddling

Selling things at the rotating market that changes locations everyday

Drying rice

More foot paddling

Kiersten with Thanka

The Burmese people definitely did

Kiersten is a giant among the Burmese

Sandalwood for sale

Never tried this dish but we were tempted

Trying out the hand-rolled sweet cheroots that contained among other things tamrind, sugar, tobbaco, and cloves

Lakeside Pagoda

Locals leaving a market

Long necked women working at a textile factory

Kiersten with some women wearing the traditional Shan clothing

Hanging out with the kittens that basically took over a temple

The floating garden

Monks heading home

These tiny eggs were sooo good with their spicy sauce I was totally disappointed that I didn't try them earlier

One of the days in Inle was a holiday... lots and lots of people

On our last day we rented bicycles and road the a few kilometers to the Red Mountain Winery, one of the few wineries in the area, to have a little wine tasting. The climate around Inle is perfect for growing wine and a few small wineries had popped up over the years. We left late in morning arrived near lunchtime. We progressed from just having a tasting to having lunch and drinking two bottles of wine. We had only drank wine twice on this trip and this stuff was good.

Feeling good at Red Mountain Winery

We left Inle the next day for Yangon in order catch our flight back home. Overall we spent 27 days in Myanmar (one day less than the visa allowed) and loved it. Go there before it gets overrun with tourists! Our last day in Yangon was good, we spent a few hours sitting around at the beautiful Swedagon Pagoda before catching a flight back to Bangkok.