We started the day with a good breakfast, including the best bread in Burma, which I assume was the influence of the French hotel manager.



Inle Lake is an enormous lake, spectacularly sited and surrounded by mountains. We spent the day darting around the lake with our enormous transvestite guide in that little boat in the picture. The lake was covered in mist in the morning, but was crystal clear by mid-morning. It was really cold and jetting around in a boat getting splashed by the ice cold water didn't help, but it was a really interesting day.



The lake is situated in a very remote, mountainous part of Burma, occupied by minorities usually at war with the Burmese. The two main groups are the Shan and the Wa, both of whom were major opium growers who used the money to wage near constant civil war. The Shan are closely related to the Thais, and the border is quite fluid. As a result of all this, this area was a no-go zone for decades, but recently the Shan made peace with the central authorities, opening up the area around the lake for tourism. The Wa are still fighting and growing opium, so the periodic flareups sometimes close the whole area, but it was completely calm while we were there. While the lake is completely surrounded by the Shan, the people living on the lake are actually a totally separate group, the Intha.






The sheer beauty of the lake was enough to make it an interesting trip, and the fact that it was very much off the tourist track an added bonus. But the lake culture is so unique as you'll see that it made for a really fascinating time.