June is the start of the rainy season in Myanmar. Throughout the last 2 weeks I have seen very little rain, but the last couple days have seen a few downpours. Most of these have been overnight, but some have been in the daytime.
This is the view from my hotel room. Usually these showers last for 15 minutes or so and then pass. It’s not a problem if you are inside, but it’s a nuisance if you are hiking!
Hiking the hillside is one of the best things I have done in Inle lake. It’s a difficult climb, and a guide is required, but it’s cheap and you get to meet a lot of locals living in very basic conditions in the mountains. They don’t speak very much English, but they are very friendly and outgoing as they don’t see foreigners very often. I was in a group of 3 and we ate lunch with them in a bamboo hut while we talked about village life. Everyone is waiting for water after the dry summer months, so I am told that this rain us good for everyone.
Hiking trips differ from the boat trips on Inle lake that most tourists do, which seems to be more like a tourist trap. Everywhere you go, you have people trying to sell you little trinkets which apparently cannot be found anywhere else in the world (the “Made in China” sticker did not help them to convince people of this). I found the whole experience to be overpriced and mildly irritating. I really don’t think selling things in a temple is inline with any Bhuddist teaching. Here was another place (read my post on Yangon) where there was a cash machine inside a pagoda.
Another alternative to the boat is to hire a bike and cycle around the lake. Yes, it’s very hot and sweaty, but you meet a lot of locals, see interesting sights, and it’s good exercise! They have a hot spa about 15km from town which was nice to relax and recover from the bike ride before continuing on. $5 gets you in and the hot water is coming from the mountain. It’s pretty rustic, but relaxing.
Overall, I like Inle lake, but for the people and the atmosphere, not really the boat trips that it is famous for. Unfortunately, as tourism takes off here, I think the touts and the overpriced trinkets are just going to increase. For the sake of preserving a culture, I hope I am wrong.
Internet is terrible here, almost non-existent, but I will try to post some more pictures in the next couple of days.