Page 264 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

262 INLE LAKE AND THE EAST INLE LAKE

INLE’S FLOATING GARDENS
Large areas around the shores of southern Inle Lake are covered in a huge tapestry of floating
gardens, tended by the area’s Intha farmers. Each “garden” comprises a long, thin strip of
cultivable land, created using mud dredged up out of the lake layered on a bed of weeds and
anchored in place using bamboo poles. The lake’s nutrient-rich waters allow a wide range of
vegetables, fruit and flowers to be grown, with much of the surplus turning up in markets
around the lake. So successful have the floating gardens proved that large areas of lake have
6 now vanished beneath them and local farmers have been forbidden from constructing any
more – although it’s said that new ones are still occasionally knocked up under cover of
darkness, or when the eye of authority is turned elsewhere.

ACCOMMODATION
More than a dozen upmarket resorts dot the shores of the lake, some of them accessible only by boat, meaning that once
you’re in them, you’re essentially stranded after dark. Rates usually include pick-up/boat transfer from Nyaungshwe, or
sometimes Heho airport.
★ Golden Island Cottages Nampan and Thale U 211996. The only lower-end option on the lake, this place
T081 209550, Wgichotelgroup.com. One of the most functions primarily as a restaurant (see p.263) but also has
affordable options around the lake – two, in fact, since they a few simple rooms. $40
have locations in both Nampan and Thale U. Both are Paramount Inle Resort Khaung Daing T094 936
staffed by Pa-O people, and feature decent stilt-house 0855, Wparamountinleresort.com. Near the village of
rooms boasting gorgeous lake views; the Nampan location Khaung Daing and its hot springs, this is the best option at
is set above the lake, while the one in Thale U is closer to this price level. While its rooms aren’t exactly huge, they’re
pleasantly decorated, and all have appealing balconies
shore. $92
Inle Princess Resort North of Maing Thauk T081 with lake views. $140
209055, Winle-princess.com. A dreamily beautiful, ★ Sanctum Inle Resort Maing Thauk Village
undeniably romantic place designed with rare attention to T09 252 818 800, Wsanctum-inle-resort.com.
detail – with prices to match. The furnishings and fabrics Something a bit different from the other Inle resorts,
are all top-notch, the lily-filled ponds could tempt out the centred on a huge white, faintly Tuscan-looking building
set in spacious lakeside gardens. Inspired by the monastic
artist in you, and the on-site restaurant is fantastic. $265
Inle Resort Near Maing Thauk T09 515 4444, ideals of quiet contemplation and spiritual calm, the
Winleresort.com. Terrific option near to Maing Thauk, resort’s deep verandas, cloisters and tree-shaded paths
occupying a gigantic complex set around a restaurant that exude a sense of rustic peace, while the spacious,
feels more like that of an ocean liner. Their cottages are understated but quietly luxurious rooms offer further balm
affordable, but you’ll have to splash out far more for a to the soul. Facilities include the classy The Refectory
deluxe room or villa with lake view. The place is actually restaurant and Cloister Bar, and there’s also a gorgeous
accessible by land as well as boat, meaning that you’re not pool, plus an idyllic spa in which to tickle your inner nun.
It’s pricey at published rates, although discounts are often
entirely trapped. $115
Ngwe Zin Yaw Near Phaung Daw Oo Paya T095 available online. $284
EATING
Boat trips can take up the whole day, so it’s fortunate that there are plenty of places to eat on the lake, especially in and
around Nampan village (see p.259), and in stilt houses abutting the Phaung Daw Oo Paya. If you want to dine anywhere
specific, however, let your boatman know – otherwise, you may well be taken to a commission-friendly place of his choosing.

Golden Kite Nampan village T081 209327. Like Green elegant stilt house has more or less the same mainly
Chilli, this is a Nampan-based twin to a more established Burmese menu as its sister venue in Nyaungshwe (see
Nyaungshwe restaurant (see p.255). This time the food isn’t p.255), although it may not always be open during quiet
quite as good, but the charming above-the-lake location periods. Daily 9am–7pm.
means that it still makes a good stop for pizza or pasta. ★ Inle Heart View North of Myatheintan village
Daily 9am–7pm. T09 428 314 979. A Far Side cartoon come to life, this
Green Chilli Nampan village T095 214101. One of quirky, solar-powered restaurant is located in almost
the best-looking restaurants around the lake, this comical solitude on a shallow hillside east of the lake,