Thursday 17th November - 0500 alarm again - although we had negotiated a hotel pick up at 0620 for the 0750 plane rom the airport 5 minutes drive away !
For the fight to Heho we have swapped our allegiance to Air Mandalay which ironically took us back to Mandalay and then on to Heho in the Shan State. The flight at 11000 feet took us over the hills to the east of Mandalay and below you could clearly he small farms and fields below.
Heho airport is more typical of what you would expect in rural SE Asia - a walk from the turbo-prop to the arrival hall and the bags follow you on a trolley. Ronald our guide was waiting for us and immediately we reconfirmed our flight back to Yangon in two days time.
Off we set through the hills towards Nyaungshwe and the Inle Lake. En route we saw our first Myanmar train we think the '142 Down". Our first stop just outside the town of Nyanungshwe was the Buddhist monastery of Shwe Yaunghwe Kyuang which was unique for its teak construction and the novices chanting the scriptures.
In Nyaungshwe we stopped by a very lively market. In addition to the usual Chinese goods found all over SE Asia there were numbers of tribal women who had brought produce of various kinds to sell in the market. We managed a papaya and a couple of limes plus a can of mosquito spray - we went for the Thai, which turned out to be Reckitt Benseker, rather than the Chinese 'Jumbo' brand !
From the market we headed to the jetty and with all our bags and boxes loaded on the long boat off we set down the canal towards Inle Lake. The day was spent on the Lake heading from north to south.
Southwards we stopped at the Phaung Daw Oo Paya with its four buddha heads which are now so coated in gold leaf that they are really just blobs of gold. Each year in late October they are ferried around the lake staying overnight in various villages. In the village of In Phaw Khone we also stopped by a silk weaving workshop where the product was exquisite unfortunately nothing really grabbed us. Our final tourist stop was a cheroot factory where they roll the cigars by hand.
Our hotel which we approached from the lake, the Hu Pin in Khaung Daing village, was set on the lakeside facing east. It is a typical chinese style hotel with much carved dark wood and antimacassars on every possible ledge and curve. The main guests were a party of Koreans who spent most of the evening in a Korean version of karaoke.
For the fight to Heho we have swapped our allegiance to Air Mandalay which ironically took us back to Mandalay and then on to Heho in the Shan State. The flight at 11000 feet took us over the hills to the east of Mandalay and below you could clearly he small farms and fields below.
Heho airport is more typical of what you would expect in rural SE Asia - a walk from the turbo-prop to the arrival hall and the bags follow you on a trolley. Ronald our guide was waiting for us and immediately we reconfirmed our flight back to Yangon in two days time.
Off we set through the hills towards Nyaungshwe and the Inle Lake. En route we saw our first Myanmar train we think the '142 Down". Our first stop just outside the town of Nyanungshwe was the Buddhist monastery of Shwe Yaunghwe Kyuang which was unique for its teak construction and the novices chanting the scriptures.
In Nyaungshwe we stopped by a very lively market. In addition to the usual Chinese goods found all over SE Asia there were numbers of tribal women who had brought produce of various kinds to sell in the market. We managed a papaya and a couple of limes plus a can of mosquito spray - we went for the Thai, which turned out to be Reckitt Benseker, rather than the Chinese 'Jumbo' brand !
From the market we headed to the jetty and with all our bags and boxes loaded on the long boat off we set down the canal towards Inle Lake. The day was spent on the Lake heading from north to south.
Southwards we stopped at the Phaung Daw Oo Paya with its four buddha heads which are now so coated in gold leaf that they are really just blobs of gold. Each year in late October they are ferried around the lake staying overnight in various villages. In the village of In Phaw Khone we also stopped by a silk weaving workshop where the product was exquisite unfortunately nothing really grabbed us. Our final tourist stop was a cheroot factory where they roll the cigars by hand.
Our hotel which we approached from the lake, the Hu Pin in Khaung Daing village, was set on the lakeside facing east. It is a typical chinese style hotel with much carved dark wood and antimacassars on every possible ledge and curve. The main guests were a party of Koreans who spent most of the evening in a Korean version of karaoke.