Located in Myanmar, Inle Lake is home to floating vegetable gardens called "floating islands", which can rise and fall with the rise and fall of the lake, or paddle around like a boat.

The island's vegetables are neither flooded by the swelling of the lake, nor are they afraid of drought and rain.

Vegetable farmers and school-going children on the island use this boat to and from the lake, and even monks often take this boat when they go out to make a fortune. And the tools they use for rowing are replaced by two feet.

There are two types of floating islands on Lake Lae – natural floating islands and artificial floating islands, both of which are land floating on water.

In order to make a living, the locals gather aquatic plants, duckweed, and vines floating on the lake and cover them with mud to create new floating islands.

These floating islands vary in size, from the largest ones measuring 0.4 kilometers to the smaller ones being only about 1 square meter.

People have carved out slender strips of fields on Dafu Island to grow fruits, vegetables or grains, and some islands have also built light Fangfu Islands in the center, which can be fixed to the water surface with bamboo fences or drift in the lake.

The floating islands are fertile with water and a variety of vegetables and other crops grow luxuriantly.

Fish gather around the floating islands, and people can catch fish and shrimp in addition to farming. During the harvest season, the lake area is busy, with trucks and boats loaded with all kinds of vegetables, fruits and fresh water, which are exported to all parts of Myanmar.

In the middle of Inle Lake there is a fixed artificial island on which a Burmese-style pagoda is built. The body of the tower is shining with golden light. It is beautiful and solemn against the turquoise water.

Buddhists come to worship the lake. There is no market around the tower, and people buy all kinds of food and daily necessities from here.

Many fishermen and vegetable farmers also bring fresh fish and vegetables here to sell.

A water market is held at several places on the lake every five days to trade goods. It is also famous for producing fine silk fabrics.

In order to facilitate people's travel, there are bamboo bridges or wooden bridges that are close to each other, and small boats are used for those who are far away. In the center of the floating island group, there are two slender floating islands facing each other, forming a "river channel" about 3.4 meters wide in the middle, and the two "banks" have built shops one after another.

Most of the more than 10,000 households living in the Inle Lake area belong to the Inda ethnic group, scattered in more than 180 villages along the lake.

They are mainly fishing, industrious, simple, rich and hospitable.

There are also quite a few people who are engaged in vegetable cultivation or sericulture, weaving, ironmaking, and making gold and silver handicrafts on the floating islands.

The Inda people living in the water town of Zeguo generally build houses with four tall wooden piles in the shallow water by the lake or island, forming a series of floating villages. From a distance, there are villages on the clear water, and there is no world.

There is a flat boat tied to the front of each house, and as soon as you leave the house, you will use the boat to walk, so people have practiced the hard kung fu of rowing with their feet since childhood. Locals believe that rowing with feet is fast and durable, and that it can be used to cast nets and forks with free hands, and that a single person can work on a boat and fish at the same time, and this unique traditional boating method is still commonly used today.

During the festival, the residents of the lake also hold a boat race for a view of Inle Lake.

Lake Inle has a cool climate and pleasant scenery, making it an excellent summer resort for excursions.

Groups of domestic and foreign tourists come here to witness the wonderful floating islands, with their foot rowing skills and charming lakes and mountains.

Visitors can take a boat around the lake, watch the floating island, climb the pagoda, and enjoy the lake and mountains.

In addition to sightseeing, you can also take a break in the gazebo and watch the water birds in the blue sky and the fish in the blue waves, and be intoxicated by the beauty and harmony of nature.

There are many foreign tourists in Inle Lake, and the food here is also a combination of international flavors. There are many small restaurants of various styles in Niangshui Town, including Chinese, Western, Burmese and Shan cuisine.

The fish in Inle Lake is also worth eating, as it is small but has a smooth, delicious meat and no small spines, and is commonly made into curry fish by locals, which is included in many Burmese-style set menus.

Many tourists may not be accustomed to eating Shan food, which tastes different from what they usually eat, but when you get here, you can't try it.

Most of the tourists live in Niangshui Town, in the north of Inle Lake, the town is not big, you can visit it in half an hour, there are many hotels here, because of the unique geographical advantages, almost every house is a water view room.

Lake Inle retains some of its traditional handicrafts, and the floating village at the floating market where you can buy homemade cigars, danakas, and some silverware, lacquerware and wood carvings.

The cigars here do not add any chemicals, the taste is very mellow, the price is not expensive, almost everyone has a small stone mill at home, used to grind a kind of yellow fragrant tree bark, grind it into powder and then rub it on the face to protect from the sun and remove spots, this powder is called Danaka, and it is the custom of the Burmese people to apply it.

It is an exaggeration to describe the workshops here as the front shop and the back factory, but the reality is that there are almost all family workshops here, and the whole family works together, and there is a lot of talk and laughter.

Due to the relatively low overall material and economic level, the health situation here is not very good, especially in the daily diet, there are more raw vegetables and fruits, it is recommended to bring some common medicines around, such as antidiarrheal drugs, cold medicines, etc. In the dry season, the climate is hot and there are many mosquitoes, so when you go to the lake, you must bring some mosquito repellent to avoid diseases. If possible, try to drink bottled water.

There are often power outages at night at Inle Lake, and the air conditioning in the hotel cannot be used, only candles are used for lighting, so visitors are advised to bring their own flashlights.

With the tourist pass, you can visit the pagodas and museums of Inle Lake, and you can buy it at the entrance of Niangshui Town, where tourists gather, and be sure to keep the ticket stub for inspection when you visit.

Generally, there is no need to tip, if the driver or the waiter of the hotel or restaurant is very good, you can give a little bit, about 500 kia. In tourist attractions, especially near the pagoda, there will be many children, women begging for money, if you want to give some change, 20-50 kia, to give or not to give them generally will not entangle, carry some candy and ballpoint pens and other small gifts instead of money.

"Hahaha, it's just a habit, thanks for the compliment!" Thayer smiled and took the basket off his head.

"We've been in Myanmar for a while, we have some understanding of Myanmar, and we need to know more about it.

"Yes, then I'll introduce more!"

Myanmar is composed of several major ethnic groups and a series of small ethnic groups, among which the Burmese are the largest, and their descendants are the main population of today's Myanmar, these ethnic groups began to gradually migrate into the fertile land of Myanmar from southwest China, northeast India and southeast Tibet about 2000 years ago.

"Well, we've been in Bagan for a few days, and Thayer has taken us to visit a lot of places, and Bagan has left a deep impression on us!"

"Well, let me introduce you to Bagan, which is still very important to Myanmar!" Thayer said.

"Bagan in central Myanmar is one of the world's greatest archaeological sites, and its ancient history is as majestic as it is Angkor Wat. ”

vertex