Treasures of Myanmar in a Week – Day 5
When I was planning for Myanmar, I came across a lot of information about Inle Lake. I genuinely thought it must be an overhyped tourist attraction. Every tourist talks of spending a day or two in Inle. But after coming here, I now realize this is one of my best experiences in Myanmar. Inle is a little town at the top of the Inle Lake. Hence, everything is a bit more expensive than anywhere else in the country. But it is surely a place you must not miss visiting if you are in Myanmar.
Highlights of the Day
- The Manor Hotel Lakefront
- Boat Trip
Avoid the Overnight Bus
I would advise other fellow traveler to take a flight to Heho and then take a taxi to Inle. Or maybe take a daytime bus, but this overnight bus run by Bagan Min Thar company should be avoided. You may try other companies.
The bus journey was a disaster as I could not sleep at all. It was so cold inside and the driver kept playing weird music even at night. Moreover, the seat was so uncomfortable with no leg space. Finally, when I made my mind to sleep irrespective of the insane circumstances, I got disturbed again. The bus stopped somewhere where a person collected 10 $ from each of us as an entrance fee to Inle region.
The crazy overnight bus from Bagan finally dropped us off in the small town of Nyuang Shwe at around 4 am. Taxi drivers awaited us outside of the bus. They will surround you asking where you want to go, but politely. Dump the private taxi if you are on a budget. Instead, look for the shared taxis where they drop the customers to their respective hotels and guesthouses at a flat rate of 3-4 $ per person. It depends on the distance of your hotel from the bus station.
The Manor Hotel Lakefront
There are many hotels in the heart of Nyuang Shwe. You can always take a boat trip to Inle from Inle boat station. It is not so far from the center of the town. Or, you can stay in the expensive lake hotels built very close to the banks of the lake. But we had different plans in mind. We wanted to stay in a hotel that has a view of the lake or the wide canal connecting to the lake. At the same time, we did not want anything expensive. The Manor Hotel Lakefront suited best for us. The location of the hotel was fantastic, right on a river that fed into Inle Lake.
Note that the hotel also offers free pick-up and drop-off shuttles from its sister hotel located in the city center, but our arrival time was way too early for that.
The shared taxi from the bus station dropped us to the hotel at around 4.30 AM. The hotel staff was available to welcome us even at that absurd hour. We were allowed to check in early and we had a great sleep that was missing in the creepy bus journey.
No trip to Inle is complete without a boat ride to the lake.
We woke up by to the sounds of longboat engines. It was a good sleep – the bed was so comfortable. We got ready for taking a boat trip to the lake that was arranged by the helpful staff at the reception. But before that, we surely fed ourselves with Shan delicacies from the riverside “Native” restaurant of the hotel. Shan is the eastern region of the country with a culinary style different than other parts of the country.
The Boat Trip to Inle Lake
I would really suggest all to start the boat trip since morning as I wish I could have had more time on the lake.
Most boat trips start at early morning and gets over after sunset, but we slept off, so we started late. Our boat driver was ready with the boat by the time we finished our brunch. The slender boat has two seats one after another and was equipped with comfortable cushion and blanket as well as it gets cool and windy during the sunset.
You have to pay an entrance fee of 0.5 $ to Indein village.
The lake is almost 22 km long and 11 wide at its widest point. We were first taken to Indein village. It is a small village on the south-west of the lake, known for its market and two groups of ancient pagodas – Nyaung Ohak and Shew Inn Thein pagodas. They are in different states of preservation – few of them are restored and others are in crumbling state.
The first line of pagodas inside the village where the boat will drop you is Nyaung Ohak Pagodas, meaning “group of banyan trees”.
From Nyaung Ohak, we climbed a covered walkway of around 1 km lined with stalls of local vendors selling Burmese local clothes, bags, paintings, and other souvenirs. The climb led us to the second group of pagodas named Shwe Inn Thein, located on top of a hill.
The people living around the lake are called Intha. They live on the lake and support themselves through vegetable farms on floating gardens. They are also known for their leg-rowing techniques.
After Indein village, our boat driver took us to a handloom of lotus weavers, which left us surprised when we saw locals weaving clothes from lotus stems – something we have never seen before.
The air got windier and colder as the sun started setting. We were glad our boat had blankets for us to make us feel warm.
After visiting the handloom, we were on our way back to our hotel. On the way back, we came across many locals paddling their boats back to their homes. We also saw the floating gardens. It was interesting to see how innovative the farmers are in making use of the space in the lake. We also came across the famous fishermen of the lake. They have a typical way of standing on one leg and do their job.
We reached the hotel and paid the smiling boat driver happily – we were so thankful to him for making our day so beautiful.
Dinner at Native Restaurant
We were hungry enough after the boat trip. We were glad that our hotel has restaurant serving delicious food – there was no need to go out and hunt for food.
Overall, it was the most beautiful day I had in Myanmar – the boat trip was excellent, and highly recommended! We wished to stay longer, but we already have our flights booked to Yangon tomorrow – but this is one of those places worth revisiting – we would love to come back, soon!
NET EXPENSE FOR 1 PERSON (IN USD)
Let us have a look at the expenses of Day 5 in Myanmar – Inle Lake.
- Hotel in Inle Lake for twin sharing (1 night): 45
- Entrance fee of Inle and Indein village: 10.5
- Getting around: 15
- Food: 9.5
Total expense (roughly): 80 USD
For an overall idea of itinerary and expense of the trip, whether for solo or couple or group of any number of people, feel free to contact me on Contact Us page. You can also have a look at Treasures of Myanmar in a Week – Itinerary and Expenses.
If you are planning for a much-organized, tastefully-curated, stress-free yet exciting vacation, consider booking your holidays at Travel Love Repeat. It is going to be a treat for sure!
WOW! This is really inspiring and it was worth of reading, thanks for sharing these tips! The photos are amazing, seems like you’re really talented for taking them! 🙂
Oh thank you so much for such motivational words!
There are so many interesting things to explore on a boat! I would love to go there with my camera.
Oh yes, and don’t miss getting few awesome pictures of the locals on the lake!
I would love the view from your room overlooking the Inle Lake at Manor Lakefront hotel. What an amazing sight. I love your boat cruise on the skinny boats up the lake. Those pagodas are amazing. This is definitely getting added to my Myanmar bucket list!
Yes Eric, visit to Inle Lake is must if you are visiting Myanmar.
as always beautiful post 80 usd per day sounds quite pricy for myanmar though..but them m quite a broke backpack traveller..so i understand..ur pictures are beautiful
Thanks Ritika
I love the honesty of this post! The world needs bloggers who doesn’t sugarcoat their experiences. Thanks for the tips. I’ll definitely avoid the overnight bus!
Yes Karla, it was pretty horrible!
I’m really missing summer after seeing your photos! I’ve heard so many good things about Inle Lake, and it doesn’t seem to end! Myanmar is high on my list, so I can’t wait to go.
Yes darling, you must go there soon!
Myanmar is somewhere I dream of going – but sadly the cost of flights is just too much for me at the moment 🙁 loved reading about Lake Inle though, it looks and sounds beautiful x
Becca, try to fly via Bangkok. Flights are cheaper that way.
I would love to visit Myanmar and your article just makes me want to go even more. Your room overlooking the river is just amazing. Imagine waking up to that view every day! Like you, I’d always advise people to avoid overnight buses as they can be so uncomfortable and I’m not convinced it’s that safe to travel at night in some parts of Asia. We use the bus a lot to travel but try to travel during the day.
True that, Angela. The view was amazing, however the bus ride was a flop.
While reading this post, I kept imagining that this was going to be an expensive excursion. I was pleasantly surprised that you spent $80 USD for the entire day! I love that this boat took you to not only see the the beautiful resorts and houses surrounding the lake, but also to the small Indein village with the pagodas. I was shocked that this was a stop on your boat tour, but would love to explore them! I’m glad that Inle Lake didn’t turn out to be a tourist trap like you envisioned.
True that, instead, it’s totally worth a visit.
Inle Lake reminds me of the backwaters of Kerala. The pagodas of Mynamar always intrigue me. Excellent photography and vivid descriptions make the destinations come alive in your posts. Great job once again in narrating a perfect trip experience.
Haven’t been to Kerala yet.
You’ve got me where it hurts with this blog, Myanmar is at the top of my list to go to and trying to plan a trip there so your top tips on visiting Lake Inle will come in very handy. The overnight bus sounds like an uncomfortable experience. The Manor Lakefront looks adorable with those views from your balcony. Exploring the lake with the pagodas looks awesome, Shwe Inn Thein is stunning. Good to know the costing too, you make me want to go more now!
Go for the flight than that overnight bus, rest all good!
O wow..never heard of clothes being made from lotus stems nor of Inle. This is a revelation for me. The Manor looks chic and well furnished and glad that you got to have an enjoyable boat ride. Was reminded of my boat trip in Thailand. The stilt houses look beautiful.
Glad that you liked them.
The Manor Lakefront’s restaurant looks absolutely lovely. I can just imagine enjoying a beautiful morning breakfast with those gorgeous surroundings. I can see why the boat trip was a highlight of your trip given the landscape you were passing through.
Yes, ain’t it just beautiful?
I loved your boat ride in Lake Inle as you have captured true essence of Myanmar’s countryside life. Those foot bridges look interesting and really some parts of this place really looks like Indian village. The view from your hotel is also stunning with river feeding into lake. It is great you tipped us about not to take night bus and definitely I would go for day bus. Good that you found the ancient site where pagodas are built by monks sent by Indian king Ashoka to spread Buddhism.
It was an amazing experience.
I love your pictures of the footbridges. I feel like I was travelling with you too just looking at them. The floating garden sounds interesting. That’s a brilliant way of growing fresh produce. These Intha people are interesting too. They have adapted their skills in order to survive in their environment. Imagine rowing your boat with you foot while standing on the other. Those are powerful feet there huh.
Totally!
Myanmar is long due on my wish list . Although I have been planning to visit it through land border considering the proximity of the distance it has between Manipur n Burma . The post on Inle lake is of much help as not much has been described much when I checked out . Great I will bookmark it
Please, do bookmark it, Debjani.