Our last hotel left much to be desired. The first room they put us in had a king sized bed, the second smelled of sewage. The third was passable even though there was an electrical outlet awfully close to the shower head...which was in the middle of the bathroom with no curb or even any change in flooring material..the water drained across the floor behind the toilet and out a hole in the wall. I decided to stand in the bathtub and use the handheld far far away from the ungrounded electricity.
Tonight makes up for it big time. After a bus, a flight and another long bus we arrived at the Kaun Daing Resort on the edge of lake Inle where we were met with ringing gongs and a cool glass of juice. Our rooms are individual teak cabins with a balcony and they line a walkway along a lagoon filled with lotus plants. The main lobby and dining hall are very nice teak buildings with high ceilings - landscaping is lush.
Had time for a walk up to the pagoda at the end of the lane then it was off for a quiet canoe ride at dusk. The lake is about 20 km long and up to 4 km wide. ""Floating" villages line the shore. The buildings are actually on stilts - teak I assume since it's in abundance here. Canoe and long tail boats are the mode of transportation. Bamboo bridges connect clusters of buildings.
The fishermen have a unique way of propelling their canoes. They balance on their right foot and with the paddle in their left hand, they use their left foot to pivot and push the paddle off. This leaves their right hand free for the netted basket and/or spear. Tonight our pilot had his 5 year old son helping out at the front of the boat - what a cutie. At this age had had mastered the technique but was struggling with the paddle size and with the lack of a belt on his too big shorts.
We made a tour of some canals between floating tomato gardens and a turn around the local floating pagoda. At one point the pilot pushed the bow of the boat through some planted fence into a lagoon and his son collected a few water hyacinths for us.
Very peaceful here even with the chugging of the long tail boats. The chanting from the pagoda next door is lulling.
On the way to dinner there were fireworks down the lake - another stellar day!
Tonight makes up for it big time. After a bus, a flight and another long bus we arrived at the Kaun Daing Resort on the edge of lake Inle where we were met with ringing gongs and a cool glass of juice. Our rooms are individual teak cabins with a balcony and they line a walkway along a lagoon filled with lotus plants. The main lobby and dining hall are very nice teak buildings with high ceilings - landscaping is lush.
Had time for a walk up to the pagoda at the end of the lane then it was off for a quiet canoe ride at dusk. The lake is about 20 km long and up to 4 km wide. ""Floating" villages line the shore. The buildings are actually on stilts - teak I assume since it's in abundance here. Canoe and long tail boats are the mode of transportation. Bamboo bridges connect clusters of buildings.
The fishermen have a unique way of propelling their canoes. They balance on their right foot and with the paddle in their left hand, they use their left foot to pivot and push the paddle off. This leaves their right hand free for the netted basket and/or spear. Tonight our pilot had his 5 year old son helping out at the front of the boat - what a cutie. At this age had had mastered the technique but was struggling with the paddle size and with the lack of a belt on his too big shorts.
We made a tour of some canals between floating tomato gardens and a turn around the local floating pagoda. At one point the pilot pushed the bow of the boat through some planted fence into a lagoon and his son collected a few water hyacinths for us.
On the way to dinner there were fireworks down the lake - another stellar day!
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