Boat Trip on Inle Lake

We're staying at what might just be the best guesthouse in town - Queen Inn. Our host is incredibly cheerful and generous. We often get free juice, like lime and papaya/lime juice, and avocado lassi. She even treated us to rice cakes with guacamole. Her hospitality more than makes up for the fact that we’re right by the river, where longboats zoom by starting at 5:30 in the morning. A boat trip on the lake costs 15,000 kyat, whether it’s for a full day or half a day. You can easily spend most of the day out on the water. It’s absolutely fascinating just to cruise around and observe life on the lake, which is 22 km long and 11 km wide. There are towns along the banks and right on the lake itself. You can find schools, businesses, and little shops in the lakeside towns. Each house is built on stilts, with boats "parked" in front so families can get around. The kids even paddle around on their own. There are floating markets and floating gardens where tomatoes are grown. People row along rows of tomato plants to tend to and pick them. Everything happens from a boat. They fish and transport animals and goods back and forth in longboats. We visited a weaving workshop, a gold and silversmith, a cigar factory, and met the long-neck people, who wear rings around their necks to elongate them. We bought some pants for 4,000 kyat and a box of 10 cigars for 1,500 kyat. The people on the lake have developed their own unique way of rowing. They wrap one leg around the oar to help with paddling while balancing on the other leg. It looks incredibly intricate. We had dinner at "The 4 Sisters" again. Their motto is "Pay as much as you like." We ended up paying a bit more than last time - 8,000 kyat for the meal. We also bought a bottle of local wine, which was quite good, for 12 USD. After all, it’s our anniversary today. They are just so lovely. Unfortunately, you can’t always escape a bit of an upset stomach, even with such friendly cooks. We definitely left there with rumbling tummies. Fingers crossed it doesn’t turn into anything more! :)