Up around six, buffet breakfast, check out, meet Mr. Win and set off by car to return to Mandalay International Airport, about 1 hour's drive away. Say goodbye and Mr. Win hands me over to two Porters who shepherd me through check-in and security (for money, of course). The Customs people are very friendly and one guy quizzes me on exactly where I'm from – his knowledge of English geography is not bad. Then on to the Departure Hall. This is the busy time of day and various internal flights come and go as I wait, passengers being taken by buses to and from the aircraft. There are automatic glass doors out to the apron, but they're either broken or isolated, because each time people go through, the doors are pried open by hand. A tow truck takes three trailers of luggage out, and I spot my case. A little later, we pile onto the bus and drive out to the Air Bagan Fokker 100. It's Alpha Golf Foxtrot which brought me from Yangon a couple of days ago. A bit overkill for the 20-minute flight to Heho, but then the flight continues to Yangon.
As we fly South-East to Heho, we leave the plain that Mandalay occupies and come to the more mountainous Shan State. We land and taxi up to the fairly modern terminal. Stairs are pushed into place and we have a short walk into the Arrivals Hall where I'm met, not by my guide, but by a courier. He directs me to the Foreigner Immigration desk, where my details are laboriously copied into a register by the smiling clerk. The luggage is placed on the floor of the all-purpose arrivals hall (there's an Information Desk as well, but it's not staffed). The courier and I go outside – still no guide. We have to walk a few yards further and, once past the airport gate, there's a dusty car park with my guide and driver. It's going to take over an hour to drive to the ferry dock at Nyaung Shwe, along twisting, hilly roads and through rather modern-looking villages. Most of the houses around here are substantial constructions, with concrete frames and building block infill, similar to the types found in Thailand which, of course, is not that far away.
We make a stop at the Shwe Yan Pyay monastery. The seminary for the young (around 10 years old) novices is of wooden construction, internally decorated with glass mosaic. It's around 100 years old, with characteristic oval windows. There's a large classroom/temple with a Buddha figure and a separate dormitory decorated with posters of European footballers. A corner of the main room is raised and a little more homely, for the pupil master. A young cat is in residence. We move on to the main pagoda – brick and stucco with hundreds of niches for small Buddha figures. Because it's Buddhist Lent, a monk is intoning the writings of Buddha and this is relayed to people in the area over a loudspeaker system. A little further on we come to the fairly substantial town of Nyaung Shwe, where we stop at the ferry dock. There are Inle Lake Longtail motor boats everywhere, including one to take me to the hotel. While the luggage is being loaded, I visit the scrupulously clean toilet at the modern office building of the local tour company, Tour de Inle Co. Ltd. The chain always intrigues me. I instruct my agents, Wexas, who place an order with VSOE (Venice Simplon Orient Express) who place an order with their subsidiary RTM (Road To Mandalay). They, in turn, use Diethelm Travel as their ground agents. Tour de Inle Co Ltd are the local representative of Diethelm Travel, who retain my guide, Mr. Win.
The boat is fast, but it still takes about half an hour to get to Inle Princess Resort. The first part is a canal but, when we enter the lake, it's not open water but a series of islands criss-crossed by a bewildering series of waterways, sometimes wide, sometimes so narrow the hull scrapes the water hyacinths that are everywhere. At a small township where most buildings are wood and bamboo, raised on stilts, we make a left turn for the hotel.
About half a mile short of the hotel, we stop at a bamboo dock where two leg rowers board and the motor is cut. The Chinese-built diesel engines invariably used on these boats are powerful but noisy, so rowing the last bit means we don't shatter the peace of the resort.
The resort is constructed from wood, painted black, and bamboo in traditional styles. In the centre, the largest building is the dining room where there's a large section of decking next to the lake for outside dining. To the left, the boat dock is a wide series of steps reminiscent of an English rowing club with a waterside reception at the top. On either side, there is a series of guest chalets, each with its own private sun deck. Check-in formalities are minimal and I'm conducted to my Lake View chalet, number 112 (no, there aren't that many chalets, I think there are 46 – I don't know how they get the numbers). On the landward side, there is another series of Mountain View chalets. All right, I admit it, I'm quite impressed by the facilities.
The main room of my chalet is about 20 feet by 25 with walls about 10 feet high and a pitched roof rising another 8-10 feet. These proportions help to keep it cool in summer - there's no air conditioning (works for me) but a multispeed ceiling fan. Part of the main area is partitioned-off for wash basins and a W.C. and a lean-to houses a bath. There's then a private area outside with a shower (odd!) After a shower, I go the Dining Room for my (included) lunch. The soup, vegetables and boiled rice are fine but, although I picked the less-spicy offering, I don't do very well with the rest. And the portions are huge! Then I meet up with Mr. Win at 1.30 p.m. and we go off in the boat again for an afternoon sight-seeing around the lake. The middle of the lake is open water, as you would expect. Depth varies from 8 – 16 feet, depending on the season. The local fishermen normally use locally-made canoes perhaps 12 – 15 feet long, propelled by oar. The 'Leg Rowers' propel the craft by wrapping their foot around the oar and using it as an 'extended limb' whilst balancing on the tiny deck provided either end. Such a boat costs around 150 U.S. Dollars. The motor boat which we're using costs about 2,000 U.S. Dollars. Inle Lake is famous for the 'Cone Net' method of fishing. We come to Indaing along a twisting river, disembark and walk towards the famous Shwe Inn Tain pagoda set on a hill. In addition to the main pagoda, there are over 1,000 stupas in the grounds, most in poor condition, but some refurbished or being refurbished by various sponsors. The tablets set in the renovated stupas show that a number of restorations have been funded by Europeans. Late afternoon, we return to the waiting boat for the journey back to Inle Princess Resort. By the time we arrive, I'm fairly shattered. Dinner, e-mails, then off to bed.
