{"id":1280,"date":"2019-02-16T10:17:32","date_gmt":"2019-02-16T10:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=1280"},"modified":"2026-08-20T07:59:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:59:26","slug":"myanmar-oz-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=1280","title":{"rendered":"MYANMAR & OZ. 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is (well, it was!) Wednesday 6th February.\u00a0 We are programmed for yet another long bus ride, a couple of pagodas, a ferry ride across the Irrawaddy and a pony cart ride.\u00a0 Our decision was final. We were going to have a boat day!\u00a0 And very peaceful it was too (for us!).\u00a0 While (nearly) everyone was ashore, the boat was re-provisioned.\u00a0 Tons of supplies for the next cruise were brought aboard.<\/p>\n

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That evening we said goodbye to the crew because we are off to Inle Lake tomorrow.<\/p>\n

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We discovered that Government rules dictate that all passenger ships, regardless of size, have to carry a minimum of 14 navigation crew.\u00a0 I have a feeling that this requirement is one of the factors making cruising on the Irrawaddy uneconomical.<\/p>\n

A nice early departure with yet another opportunity to smash the toll barrier definitively, once and for all.\u00a0 It was enlightening to see the ladies taking our luggage off the ship balanced on their heads. … at sunrise!<\/p>\n

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20 kgs apiece.\u00a0 Over the narrow wobbly gangplank and up the bank – wearing flip flops.\u00a0 And they did if for all our group’s 36 cases.<\/p>\n

We have been learning Myanmar frantically.\u00a0\u00a0 We can now say “good morning”, “hi”, “welcome”, “how are you?” – (all one expression!). We can also manage “thank you”.\u00a0 Plus we can also count from 8 to 8 – that’s pronounced “shit”.\u00a0 I think it’s also spelt that way too!\u00a0 “Chips” in Hetty-speak.<\/p>\n

Well, it’s off to the airport for a quick flight to Heho.<\/p>\n

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Minimal checks.\u00a0 No passports or photo ID required.\u00a0 No restriction of fluids.\u00a0 No weighing of cases.\u00a0 And only a very short flight.\u00a0 Into the high country – Heho is 3858 feet above sea level. The coach trip to Inle Lake took us back down the mountain. The roads here are way better than around Mandalay – apparently the local Government is very active in improving them.\u00a0 The housing looks more permanent here and there is definitely less rubbish lying about.\u00a0 (Of course “less” is a relative term!)<\/p>\n

As we wound steeply down to the lake area we passed through a zone where the road was being upgraded to “motorway standard”.\u00a0 Two lanes both ways.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, it will be soon!\u00a0 As we passed, gangs, mainly of ladies, were placing stones in a layer and covered with fine gravel then molten tar.\u00a0 All by hand.\u00a0 Later this was being hammered into place.\u00a0 The final stage involved a proper road laying machine.\u00a0 On the bends gangs of men were levering off fractured rock with crowbars to widen the road and straighten some of the bends.\u00a0 Others broke the rocks up with sledge hammers. Everyone wore flip flops or went bare-foot.\u00a0 Labour is cheap in these parts!<\/p>\n

We were going to arrive early at the restaurant.\u00a0 So, it’s either a market or a pagoda!\u00a0 There wasn’t a convenient shoe-removal opportunity so it was another market for half an hour.\u00a0 More crowded spaces with low roofing.<\/p>\n

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Tons more veggies and all sorts of exotic fruits.\u00a0 Loads of trinketty things that we couldn’t possibly want!\u00a0 Most of the “stuff” is delivered to the market by ox cart, trishaw and odd one-cylinder tractory type things which move slightly faster than the oxen – but not much and they make a hell of a noise!<\/p>\n

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And on to the hotel on the lake.\u00a0 On the map it’s nestled neatly at the edge of the blue bit.\u00a0 However, when push comes to shove, (and the Chinese tourists sure know how to shove!), the edge of the blue bit is really mainly green.<\/p>\n

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There is a mile or so of floating garden.\u00a0\u00a0 Strips of weed mixed with sticks and mud anchored into the lake bed with bamboo poles.\u00a0\u00a0 These gardens are used to grow mainly tomatoes and beans.<\/p>\n

Each plot has a stilt house (or maybe a stilt shed).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Each hut has a boat.\u00a0 It has to because there are no paths or roads out here.<\/p>\n

These boats are long and thin and very shallow.<\/p>\n

The little ones are powered by paddle often using their feet (to leave their hands free for fishing duties.).\u00a0 The middle sized ones have outboard-like engines with long shafts and propellers which just skim the water surface.\u00a0 The big ones have five seats in a row and in-board, one cylinder engines that run at about 100 revs per minute…\u00a0 bang, bang, bang, bang…<\/p>\n

The REALLY BIG ones carry up to 20 locals in very cramped conditions with bigger, noisier engines.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There is even a luxury quiet(ish) version with a four stroke engine with silencer.\u00a0 But these are rare.<\/p>\n

We were collected by a fleet of four five-seaters for our exploration of the lake.<\/p>\n

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This add-on extension to the cruise was, in fact, one of the REAL highlights of this trip.<\/p>\n

First, we had to navigate through narrow channels, past villages built completely over water.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Past floating fields.\u00a0 Past people doing their washing, and generally going about their lives!\u00a0 Some houses had mains electricity supplied via a series of wooden pylons.\u00a0 Many didn’t.\u00a0 Some appeared to have water supplied by blue alkathene pipes.\u00a0 Just don’t even think about their drainage system.\u00a0 I guess “non-existent” would probably cover it.\u00a0 OK.\u00a0 Let’s not dwell on the obvious.\u00a0\u00a0 Just don’t drink the lake water!<\/p>\n

Every entrance to every watery space had bamboo barriers floating on the water surface.\u00a0 These were to keep the water hyacinth from spreading.\u00a0 Too little, too late.\u00a0 It’s already everywhere.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A sure sign of pollution by nutrient enrichment.\u00a0 Maybe the lake has another 10 years lifespan.\u00a0 Apparently, the water level is already dropping.\u00a0 That combined with spreading weed will cause massive problems.\u00a0 The place might\u00a0 become a victim of it’s own success!<\/p>\n

After a mile or so, we emerged into open water.\u00a0 Zooming across the lake with dozens of other boats, we passed a lot of locals fishing with trammel nets.\u00a0 Standing precariously on the bows of their little craft and rowing with their feet while recovering their nets by hand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We saw quite a few fish being caught.\u00a0 Apparently the local name for these is “crap fish”.\u00a0 One guy told us he had caught 88 fish!\u00a0 (If you follow my Myanmar.)<\/p>\n

Another group of fishermen were using the traditional fish traps.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

These bamboo contraptions are dropped into the water and pushed to the bottom.\u00a0 Spears are then used to catch any trapped fish.\u00a0 My guess is that they were really just showing off their skill for tourist dollars!<\/p>\n

Of course, this is still Myanmar, so there is still the opportunity for another temple – 500 Kt for permission to use cameras inside.<\/p>\n

But that’s enough for now…<\/p>\n

The clerics.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

An imam, a bishop and a rabbi were contemplating what they would like to be said at their funerals.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

The imam suggested the following:\u00a0 “He did an enormous number of good deeds and worked tirelessly for the good of his community.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The bishop wanted: “He worked with total commitment to bring together all the various religious groups in his city.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The rabbi wanted people to say: <\/em><\/p>\n

“Look, he’s still breathing!!!”<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is (well, it was!) Wednesday 6th February.\u00a0 We are programmed for yet another long bus ride, a couple of pagodas, a ferry ride across the Irrawaddy and a pony cart ride.\u00a0 Our decision was final. We were going to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-myanmar-2019"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1280"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8143,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280\/revisions\/8143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}