Inle Lake - Day 1 & 2
After landing I decided to split a cab with a scot and two Thai ladies (who were extremely talkative and hoped I knew Depak Chopra). The ladies had just attended a spiritual seminar and were all about self help and had a great mindset, despite being a little over the edge. The scot was softer spoken but was well traveled and was a teacher by trade.
Once we arrived at our respective hotels we would not see each other again.
I arrived and walked around a bit to find a place to grab dinner. About midway through my most delicious meal thus far (some fried noodle dish) I realized I was getting sick. The rest of the night would be vomiting and diarrhea. The next day I tried meeting up with the boatman I had planned to take me out on the lake for sunrise, but I was still sick and had to return to bed. After more hours of sleep I managed to get a massage and see a puppet show, traditional but not very entertaining.
Inle - Day 3
Finally, the boat ride, what I had been waiting to do. We traversed the murky lake to several, touristy locations that I learned kick back money to drivers when they make purchases. Due to the hype and trash it was not as beautiful as I had hoped, however, it had an aura about it that helped me understand the country a little more.
I was taken to a sugar cane candy making “factory” in somebody’s hut when my driver went to drop off some money with his family. The other stops I was taken to was a place to see “long necked women”, a lotus/weaving hut, and cigar and silver making. I met a cool german guy named Julian who is on vacation before returning to a new consulting gig. His girlfriend works at SAP and recommends it, his gf works there.
I returned from a long, hot day on the water and went to cooking class with Leslie, Kamran’s friend from when he lived in the Inle area.
The class took me through a few classic dishes but I was unable to eat much because my stomach was still fragile.
Inle Day 4
I rode a rented bike around the lake via a small village and a boat ride across to another larger village. Then I went to a winery that had terrible rain and held me captive in a rainstorm, but had a breathtaking view of the lake and the greenery surrounding it. I rode around with an South American woman I met on the road. At least she provided some much needed company.
The rain subsided and we hitched a ride with some Scandinavian travelers who were riding in the back of a truck back to their hostel. Saved us a bike ride in the rain. Then we grabbed lunch at a Nepalese restaurant and parted ways. Her to wherever and me to the airport.
