Inle Lake - 2010
We flew from Bagan to Heho, and then travelled to Inle Lake in a minibus.
On the way we visited a workshop where they made parasols by hand.
The shade of the parasol is made from the bark of a tree.
It is pounded flat before being soaked in water.
Flowers and leaves are placed for decoration.
A simple pedal operated lathe.
The train goes under the bridge and around to the right ...
... and then over the bridge.
My hotel room is second from the right hand end.
A stunningly beautiful Burmese girl in the village near our hotel.
The view from the hotel room over Inle Lake.
All of our hotels on this trip were privately owned and pleasantly comfortable.
A school in the village.
There is a strong connection between Hinduism and Buddhism.
Some eucalypts have been planted in the village.
Bottles of petrol for motorcycles.
Collecting water plants, which are used to form "floating islands".
These "islands" are used to grow crops (tomatoes, beans, peas etc.)
The fishermen on Inle Lake have a unique rowing style using their leg.
It leaves one arm free for spearing or netting fish.
I saw young boys practising this rowing action.
Crops on one of the "floating islands".
What is on the menu here?
At a weaving factory.
Pith from lotus stems was processed and spun into yarn.
At a blacksmiths where they made knives, swords and other tools.
Working the bellows.
We had lunch (fried pork, rice, vegetables and a drink - $7) at this restaurant.
We visited a cigar-making workshop.
Clearly they have arranged to have some beautiful girls working there.
Some of the Padaung people whose women wear the brass neck coils live here
and they also live in neighbouring Thailand.
These coils are first applied to young girls when they are around six years old.
Each coil is replaced with a longer coil, as the weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down
and compresses the rib cage.
Contrary to popular belief, the neck is not actually lengthened;
the illusion of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle.
Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested, often formed by visiting anthropologists,
who have hypothesized that the rings protected women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes.
Contrastingly it has been theorised that the coils originate from the desire to look more attractive
by exaggerating sexual dimorphism, as women have more slender necks than men.
Padaung women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas, but say that their purpose for wearing
the rings is cultural identity (one associated with beauty).
Stringing local pearls in a jewellery workshop.
Nga Hpe Kyaung Monastery (Jumping Cat Monastery).
Some monks here have trained cats to jump through hoops.
Our long-tailed boats on which we travelled around the lake.
Lots of vegetables are grown on the "floating islands".
Red ruby cigarettes.
Buy your medicine at the market.
A soft backrest.
At Shwe Inn Thein Paya there are 1054 stupas.
While some are thought to originate from as early as 250BC,
mostdate from the 17th and 18th centuries.
A village near Shwe Inn Thein Paya.
Another village near Shwe Inn Thein Paya.
Taung ka Mauk village.
We flew from Bagan to Heho, and then travelled to Inle Lake in a minibus.
On the way we visited a workshop where they made parasols by hand.
The shade of the parasol is made from the bark of a tree.
It is pounded flat before being soaked in water.
Flowers and leaves are placed for decoration.
A simple pedal operated lathe.
The train goes under the bridge and around to the right ...
... and then over the bridge.
My hotel room is second from the right hand end.
A stunningly beautiful Burmese girl in the village near our hotel.
The view from the hotel room over Inle Lake.
All of our hotels on this trip were privately owned and pleasantly comfortable.
A school in the village.
There is a strong connection between Hinduism and Buddhism.
Some eucalypts have been planted in the village.
Bottles of petrol for motorcycles.
Collecting water plants, which are used to form "floating islands".
These "islands" are used to grow crops (tomatoes, beans, peas etc.)
The fishermen on Inle Lake have a unique rowing style using their leg.
It leaves one arm free for spearing or netting fish.
I saw young boys practising this rowing action.
Crops on one of the "floating islands".
What is on the menu here?
At a weaving factory.
Pith from lotus stems was processed and spun into yarn.
At a blacksmiths where they made knives, swords and other tools.
Working the bellows.
We had lunch (fried pork, rice, vegetables and a drink - $7) at this restaurant.
We visited a cigar-making workshop.
Clearly they have arranged to have some beautiful girls working there.
Some of the Padaung people whose women wear the brass neck coils live here
and they also live in neighbouring Thailand.
These coils are first applied to young girls when they are around six years old.
Each coil is replaced with a longer coil, as the weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down
and compresses the rib cage.
Contrary to popular belief, the neck is not actually lengthened;
the illusion of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle.
Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested, often formed by visiting anthropologists,
who have hypothesized that the rings protected women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes.
Contrastingly it has been theorised that the coils originate from the desire to look more attractive
by exaggerating sexual dimorphism, as women have more slender necks than men.
Padaung women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas, but say that their purpose for wearing
the rings is cultural identity (one associated with beauty).
Stringing local pearls in a jewellery workshop.
Nga Hpe Kyaung Monastery (Jumping Cat Monastery).
Some monks here have trained cats to jump through hoops.
Our long-tailed boats on which we travelled around the lake.
Lots of vegetables are grown on the "floating islands".
Red ruby cigarettes.
Buy your medicine at the market.
A soft backrest.
At Shwe Inn Thein Paya there are 1054 stupas.
While some are thought to originate from as early as 250BC,
mostdate from the 17th and 18th centuries.
A village near Shwe Inn Thein Paya.
Another village near Shwe Inn Thein Paya.
Taung ka Mauk village.
