Category Archives: Myanmar Inle Lake in the Shan Hills of Myanmar may not be particularly large, but it is rich with culture. Its shores are laced with canals and waterways that give access to cities and villages housing about 70,000 people. Inle Lake is as ethnically diverse as the Shan State as a whole; pockets of Intha (“People of the Lake”), Shan, Taungyo, Pa’O (Taungthu), Danu, […]  Inle Lake, Myanmar’s second largest freshwater body of water, sits in the mountainous-west of the multi-ethnic Shan State. The 45 square-mile (117 square-kilometer) lake is known for its leg-rowing Intha fishermen and its floating villages. Amongst the reeds and narrow waterways, the ethnic markets and buddhist pagodas are also worth a visit. The markets around Inle Lake are held on a rotating five-day cycle. The one at Thaung Tho […]  Inle Lake, in the Shan Hills in central Myanmar, is a unique environment. I’ve written before about it’s floating villages (Life on the Water) and about it’s distinctive leg-rowing fishermen (Iconic Images). Most of the lake’s 70,000 residents live in villages and towns on the shore line, where everyday life includes bustling local markets and quiet Buddhist worship. My time on […]  It can be so easy – especially for people who have never travelled outside their own corner of the world – to take one’s way of life for granted: to feel entitled to a certain level of safety, opportunity and comfort. But, imagine not being able to step outside your door because there is no solid ground beyond your simple […]  Nats (နတ်), or spirits, have been a central part of Burmese life since time immemorial. Nats are everywhere in Myanmar: they are in the trees, the wind, the stones and the waterways. They act as personal and village guardians, but can be troublesome if not properly propitiated. Every Burmese village has a shrine to curry favour with the local Nats; […] |
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