Inle Lake by bike (and other sights)

Inle Lake is one of my favourite places in Myanmar, the perfect place to slow down, relax and enjoy its beautiful landscape. Unfortunately places like Nyaungshwe, the base camp for many budget travelers, are changing too fast and loosing its charm.

I have fond memories of Queen Inn, the guesthouse where I stayed in 2011. It was a bunch of wooden bungalows by the main canal, ruled by a kind of Italian mamma who personally took care of all her guests. I remember the grilled fish for dinner, the chats with other travelers under the porch until late at night . . . it was so cool that somehow I wanted to live all this also this time. Unfortunately three years later Queen Inn is a 4 floor modern hotel (there is only one bungalow left), the Italian mamma is now a business woman, the interesting chats with other travelers are almost impossible because of the noisy motorboats and the grilled fish does not taste the same 🙁 .  This is just one example about how Inle Lake is changing, in a bad way.

Inle does not mean only the lake, the countryside that surrounds all that water is also worth a visit. On my first day I rented a bycicle to see some old places and discover new ones. From Nyaungshwe I rode to Mine Thouk to see my favourite teak bridge again. In 2011 there were only locals and the bridge was a kind of “hidden treasure” for us, especially beautiful with that light after the storm (pictures of 2011 and 2014, can you find the 7 differences?).

This time I found some travelers but as most of Inle tourists visit only the water, this bridge is still an “off the beaten path” place. I took lunch at the same restaurant than in 2011, just in front of the end of the bridge and accessible only by boat. This is an excellent place for people watching so my lunch lasted more than usual 😀

Back to the bridge I loaded my bicycle on a boat to Khaung Daing, a quiet Intha village known for its tofu. The bycicle ride from Khaung Daing back to Nyanugshwe has some minor attractions but the countryside is very beautiful.

I finished the tour at the ancient teak monastery of Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung. This “tired”monastery is one of my favourites, maybe because its unique oval windows are the perfect frame for monks – pictures.

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On the second day I shared a car with a French couple to visit the caves of Pindaya. Pindaya complex of natural caves is very impressive. I don’t know why people chose this place for all these donations. At the latest count there were more than 8.094 statues inside the caves but Buddhist organisations from all the world still continue to bring more statues from time to time so who knows how many Buddhas I saw that day! However the lightning is very bad positioned and it was very difficult to take good pictures.

The third day in Inle was spent on a boat, but there are so many things to tell that it deserves a separate post 😉

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There are more pictures of Inle Lake here:

https://holaworld.fr/inle-lake/