On And Around The Lake

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The lake is almost 9.5 miles long and 3.5 miles wide.  Its open sheet of water is approximately 23 sq. miles.   It's very shallow,  only about 12' at its deepest.  A highlight of a trip on the lake is to hire a boat and set off down the canal before dawn.  We hired Nyunt from Inle Glory, at our request he took us to see the leg rowers at dawn and on a two day tour of the lake, stopping to visit monasteries, pagodas, the unique floating gardens, workshops and markets.  It was chilly when we reached the open lake at 6.15am on our first morning but we dressed in layers we could shed as the day warmed up and an umbrella provided by Nyunt for shade, did double duty as a wind break                   

Out on the open lake Intha fishermen emerge from the early morning mist.  Intha, 'sons of the lake' are more commonly know as leg rowers.   They perch precariously on one leg on the stern, wrapping the other leg and one arm around a single long oar.   This leaves the other arm free for fishing.  From a standing position they are able to see the fish and avoid the patches of water hyacinth

When fish are spotted the tall conical trap is thrust into the lake.   A ring holding the net is released sending it billowing down.  If they are lucky they may catch carp, catfish, eel or snails.   This method of fishing, like the leg rowing and a large number of the fish and snails they catch are unique to Inle Lake        

The Floating Gardens of Inle Lake

Edging the lake  are water hyacinth and silt which left to nature would form fertile land within 50 years.  The Intha have devised a way of speeding up the process by creating 'Kyunpaw', floating gardens

Matting, woven from dried reeds and grasses is left at the edge of the lake to mature for up to 10 years.  By then it is home to a variety of plant life and the thickness of the submerged portion is 4-5 feet. It is comprised of running stems, rhizomes and roots tightly packed together into a thick base for the water garden.  The plants are slashed and burned, the mat sliced into 4' X 600' pieces and spread with the black silt dredged from the bottom of the lake moved.  the nursery gardens are then moved to a finals location and staked to the bottom of the lake
 
 

Her boat is held steady with a stake firmly anchored in the lake bed.  Cauliflower ,cucumber, peas, cabbage, beams. eggplant and tomato all flourish in the rich loam beds as of a variety of flowers.   The gardens remain fertile for about 15 years after which they gradually sink to the bottom of the lake or form permanent island.  Tomatoes are the main crop when we visit in December.   Even here they are not pesticide free
  Mystery Monastery

We visited this photogenic monastery for a' pit' stop, quite literally as it turned out.  A loo with a view.    I made no note of it's name but would love to find out

Behind the monastery was a small land based market catering mainly to locals.  As always there were many flower sellers, the women buying them did not smell the blooms as to do so would lower their merit as offerings, either to the local temple or for their shrines at home

The Silk Weavers of Inpawkhon
Ko Than Alaing Silk Weaving Shed

Inthe have been weaving in Inpawkhon village for over a hundred years.  Inle weavers started with cotton thread but soon changed to silk.   The family have dyed, spun and woven beautiful silk longi in this shed since 1996

 

 

 
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