Unfortunately, we had to leave Bagan, but once we made it to our destination, it was all worth it. *side note: as I’m writing this, the power just went out. Fun times with undeveloped infrastructure.* Inle Lake is situated between two mountain ranges, so all around there are beautiful views. I have to say, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the chance to see. To get to our hotel, we had to get off of our van and ride a boat down a channel and then across the lake. It was absolutely breathtaking. I’ve always been into nature, so seeing the mountains and the lake was right up my alley.
Besides the views, we also got to learn about the culture that has developed here in Inle. We got to go see how they make cigars using natural resources from the mountains that surround the lake. I don’t smoke, but I can still appreciate the work that the Inle women put into the cigars. It looked like back breaking work, but they were quite skilled at it.
After that, we went and visited a Lotus, Silk, and Cotton weaving place on the lake. Lotus is the flower that blooms on top of the water. In order to weave lotus, the stalk has to be cut and the fiber extracted. It takes more than 5,000 plants just to make a small scarf. Since it takes so many plants, it costs 7 times more than silk. It was amazing to see the work that all of the local people but into their weavings. It was kind of a little sad because at first it seemed a bit like a sweat shop, but no one seemed to be really pushed or pressured. It really was a work of art.
We then went and saw a silver smith. They still do everything by hand and with bellows and small equipment. They put a lot of work into the pieces. They are able to get raw silver from the mountains and then they have to separate out the Zinc and Copper also contained in the ore. It was cool to see the work put into the pieces even if I’m not one to buy jewelry.
After that, we got to meet a few women from the Kayan tribe. The women use brass coils to extend their necks. It was interesting to consider how beauty can be determined so differently. What amazed me the most was the weight of the coils. They weigh 8 Kilograms which is 17.6 pounds. Just imagine carrying that around on your neck all day every day for the rest of your life. They never take the coils off, and they slowly add more between the ages of 9 and 25. Eventually the weight becomes too much for the elderly women, so they have to slowly remove coils. I love learning about cultures like that mostly because of how different they are from the one I was raised in.
We also saw Shan paper making. Again, they use resources from the surrounding mountains. Using wood from a certain type of tree, they beat it into a pulp and then dry it to make a special paper. They also add flowers and other decorations to make it extremely pretty. The paper is then used to make other things like umbrellas, lamps, notebooks, etc.
All along the way, we saw the floating gardens. Inle has a bunch of floating gardens. They’re not Islands, because they actually float. At one point, we even saw some bobbing up and down. The floating gardens can be moved around, but they are typically held in place using bamboo stakes. It was amusing to consider how easily you could move if you have disputes with your neighbors.
The whole day, I couldn’t help but find myself considering how different it would have been to be raised in a place like Inle. Their world just seems so simple and small. Yeah, they have interactions with foreigners, but it seems that most modern aspects of the world have yet to reach Inle. I found that refreshing to see that there still are places like that.
Kristina says
I really agree with your last thoughts 🙂 Glad it left such an impression on you. Going back home, I think you’ll have a different perspective on your daily life because of your experiences in SE Asia.