FEBRUARY 26, 2014: INDEIN, DINNER-STAR FLOWER

February 26, 2014

     Good grief!  That guy and his music.  Playing off and on all night.  I wonder if this town has a noise ordinance.  He certainly qualifies as a nuisance of sorts.  I don't mind the music blasting but all night!  Wonder what his neighbors think?  Anyway this morning I have something different for breakfast-scrambled eggs with onion and tomato-yummy!  Our guy is right on time and we head off walking to the pier/jetty whatever you want to call it.  Lots of construction going on in town.  Same kinds of lake scenery but then, wait, loads of INTHA fishermen with the cages and I know they're posing because this is so different from yesterday.  Lots of boats stopped, tourists taking pictures.  I think I got some good shots.

New building going up

This guy is hitting the water to scare the fish??

   













     We're lucky as the 5 day market is in INDEIN today.  Pa-O village.  Running on a 5 day schedule the markets rotate their way around the lake, allowing for each hilltribe to descend for their shopping.  With bright towel like scarfs on their heads and those colorful woven bags, the Pa-O are distinct.  Locals from all the villages come here by boat to sell their fruits, vegetables, and other goods.  There's a lot of tourist stands where you can buy souvenirs, local handicraft.  A feast for the eyes-so much color.  Lots of photo ops.  Good people watching place.  Also AUNG MIN GA LAR PAGODA. 

Aung Mingalar Pagoda

Our boat guide and me on this bridge.

     Spend a fair amount of time walking around this village with its lovely houses.  Some have very pretty flowers planted along with vegetable gardens.  It's a nice slice of life to see.    Cross over wooden bridges over narrow channels of water.   We make some shop stops-paper/umbrella, silver.  I tell my guy that I'm not interested in the cheroot place and that I really don't want to stop at any other shops either.  Evidently lots of tourists do though. The 1-1 1/2 hrs. we've spent doing this is not what I want to spend my time on.

Hnin Thitsar umbrella and paper workshop

Paper and umbrella place

A tour group from OAT

I watched as the demonstration yielded a square of paper with OAT spelled out in flower petals.

Paper for sale

Umbrellas for sale

Aung Chan Ther silver workshop

Cheroot place but we didn't stop here.

     Now that we understand each other (my fault as I should have told him right at the start) we get to SHWE INN TAIN PAGODA.  Lies near Indein village.   Camera fee 500k per.  Same goes for video camera.  The walkway is very long and I was getting pretty tired.  I thought we'd never get there.  As you walk there are lots of souvenir sellers.  Ruined stupas and Buddha.  Crumbling pagodas.  Some as old as 8th century.  Restored and unrestored next to each other.

Long covered walkway leading up to Shwe Inn Tain 

Buddha image

Restored and unrestored side by side

Restored stupas

Unrestored section

Water buffaloes enjoying themselves

Leaving we notice the bamboo barrier dam which helps with irrigation

Pretty neat bridge ahead

     PHAUNG DAW OO PAGODA  The lakes main sanctuary which contains 5 sacred Buddha images covered in gold.  They represent Kakkusandra, Kaunagamana, Kasatpa, Gautama, and Arainmareya Buddhas.  However, they look like lumps due to all the gold leaf that has been applied to them.    Women not allowed to touch the statues.  It's believed that the images were brought to Inle Lake by King Alaungsithu of Bagan.  There's a replica of a royal barge designed like a hintha bird.  During the month of Thadingyut-Sept.-Oct.-a festival is held during which 4 of the images are placed in this barge.  One image always remains at the temple.  This decorated barge is towed by several boats of leg rowers rowing in unison.  An impressive procession on the water.  The barge is towed from village to village.  There's a story that sometime about 50 yrs. ago the barge carrying the images capsized and only 3 of the 4 images were recovered.  But when they returned the missing image was sitting in its place!  Feeling very hot my husband and I wander over to a stand and buy some drinks-coke and sprite.  Lots of people here.  There's an ATM and a branch of Kanbawza Bank where I change $100 to 97800k.

Golden hintha barge

ATM and bank branch

Applying gold leaf

Ladies are prohibited

Ceiling and walls

 Barge building

Feeding the birds

     NGA HPE KYAUNG MONASTERY  Used to be known as JUMPING CAT MONASTERY but we are told there's a new abbott and he said no more jumping cats.  There are cats here but they are lying around, not jumping through hoops, etc.

Floating gardens

Cats don't jump anymore

     Another long day.  Cost for the boat trip today 20000k.  At the hotel Ko says we will go to Kakku tomorrow.  Everything I wanted to do is coming together so nicely.

Spent 2 days on the lake with "Joe"

Walking back to the PG I take a picture of our shadows

Even kids in Myanmar play in a makeshift fort

More hotels being built in town

     Dinner STAR FLOWER  Close to our hotel so we walk.  It's supposed to have good pizza but it missed the mark with us.  We ordered a mushroom pizza, coke, and Tiger beer.  The pizza tasted like cheese and mushrooms.  Where's the sauce?  It was ok but I wouldn't return here if I wanted pizza.  Cost 9000k.  We finish up our bottle of wine from the Red Mountain Winery.  I'm hoping with wine in my system I'll sleep through any music tonight!!

Last of our wine

Too much mushroom and cheese!