A Day On The Lake...

Inle Lake

il 13 novembre

A stellar day spent on the lake; it’s another world here, another way of life on the water. It was  cool and overcast in the morning, but the sun broke out by the afternoon and I didn’t need to cover up with a blanket. The floating gardens are truly remarkable; cherry tomato plants lined up in rows and the gardens are fertilized with their own greenery; absolutely nothing is wasted.

Many of these shacks dot the lake; a place for people to rest and eat during the day as they can’t go home before the work is finished.

Men paddle their canoes using one foot as they stand, headed for spots to drop their fishing nets in this fresh water lake.

The houses are built on stilts, laundry hangs over the railings, and the mode of transport is a canoe that can take one anywhere on the lake. It seems like a hard life, full of continual chores, but am I simply looking through my "western lens" and not really understanding?

 Pagodas on the water

Myanmar is made up of about 135 ethnic tribes, the oldest one being the Padaung people. Meeting some of the Ring Neck/Long Neck women from the tribe was a bit disconcerting, yet fascinating at the same time, as they maintain a unique and very old custom of elongating their necks with the wearing of many layers of brass bands. There are different legends as to how/when this tradition began. The one that our guide told us stems from the culture having the animistic belief that their father was an alchemist and the mother a dragon. So, starting from an early age, around 8 years old, coils are put around the girls’ necks to make them look more like dragons. (Another belief is that the coils offer protection from tiger attacks and/or from the slave trade.) As the girls get older, the number of the bands increases to a weight of 15 pounds. We watched a video of a young girl being fitted with her first bands and I have to admit that it was tough to look at. The women and girls I photographed appeared to be content and happily posed for pictures, although, to be completely honest, trying to imagine what fifteen pounds of bands around my neck would feel like makes me shudder.

The Phungtawoo Pagoda proudly displays its five Buddha statues. One probably wouldn’t recognize them if not knowing that what appear to be five lumps of gold are, in reality, Buddhas who have lost their original shape as a result of people putting layers of gold leaf on them over many years. (It's only men who are allowed to do this.)

The smoking of cheroots is commonplace in Myanmar. These cigars, all done by hand, are made of tobacco, honey, rice, flour, tamarind, banana, and anise. Many of the young girls living on the lake need to earn money and so they leave school by the 6th grade, get a job making cheroots, and, ultimately, never leave their village. It was painful for me to see children who don’t have a “way out” of their poverty; whose childhood is taken away by the need to work. I know that it is accepted and often expected in many cultures of underdeveloped nations, but how does one break the cycle?

Late afternoon on Inle Lake...and it's time to head for home.