What to see in Eastern Myanmar: Part 4 - Inle Lake - The Famous One Leg Rowing Fishermen and Villages on Stilts

There are two things you can’t miss when visiting Inle Lake: the villages that are built on stilts all throughout the lake and the world famous fisherman who can row their longboats with only one foot. No matter what season you visit this place you’ll always see these two. The interesting thing about the lake is that it’s not very deep so it makes it easier to build on top of it. The village function just like any other village and even has postage system so locals can send and receive things. The only concern the locals face is the environmental problems. My tour guide told me that trash/pollution and untreated sewage are the biggest concerns for the community.

My tour guide and I drove through various communities throughout Inle Lake and was able to see how they designed their villages next to the their floating gardens. It’s quite interesting to see how the bottom level would be to park their long boats and then the second level was the common area and the third level was usually the bedrooms. Most houses though just the bottom parking level and then the one level above it.

Inle Lake is just like any other tourist community with various high-end resorts, restaurants, and shops of all sorts. I was here during the month of January and the sunrises and sunsets were photo worthy and beautiful. There’s also a nearby winery too and great places just to hike and admire the natural beauty.

The main reason why I wanted to visit the Inle Lake area was due to the famous fishermen who delicately balance themselves on one leg while fishing and rowing their long boats at the same time. I first saw this on some National Geographic show many years ago and when I knew I would be going to Myanmar I had to include this in my itinerary. I saw numerous fishermen fish like this and are easily noticeable from the distance since they have a traditional Intha conical net. I also noticed that one of the techniques they used was to slap the water with a long stick to scare the fish into their nets.

Most of the fishermen didn’t mind my longboat taxi getting near to them to pose for a photo for me and were quite friendly too. This area may not be as popular as Mandalay or Yangon but if you’re looking for a place to relax and just appreciate the tranquility then you should come and add a few days to your itinerary here.

Happy traveling…