Today we traveled to the Jumping Cat Monastery. There were no jumping cats just one really lethargic cat. Monastery was built by a chief with the aid of local families. There were huge Teak beams with the names of the families who donated them. Religion is so important here. It is ingrained in every aspect of their lives.
We also headed up a mountain river to some old stupa ruins. The ruins had been laid waste tell the people realized their worth for tourism. It seems much of where we went the economy is dependent on tourism. Suppose that makes sense since we are tourist. Still the tourist season is so only October to February. We were actually there during the off season. We were served our meals in a huge empty teak dining hall. I can imagine it full of tourist and happy lake goers. The family that runs the hotel we stayed at seemed very happy and content with their occupation.
While being shuttled to and fro on the lake we watched locals fish in their traditional style and collect compose from the lake to nurture their floating gardens. The gardens are true hydroponics. Vegetables like tomatoes are tied to bamboo post and the roots float in the water compost mixture. There are miles and miles of these gardens. Shan area is the largest producer of fresh vegetables for Myanmar.
In the afternoon we headed to airport for a long shuttle with two stops back to Yangon. Fairly certain I had heat stroke by that time. The plane is hot and stuffy, and not enough water is served, but I manage to make it to hotel and recharge with a nice shower and lots of water.