Inle Lake

*Caveat: writing this from Kipling Bar in Mandalay without detailed notes kindly provided by Keykey as to where exactly we visited.  Better detail to follow once reunited with the same*

Thursday morning dawned bright and clear - perfect for a second day exploring Inle Lake.

After watching the herding of water buffalo downriver over breakfast, we headed off down the lake, through various villages and floating garden plantations, to make our way up the mountain river to one of the lakeside villages to visit a v old temple with hundreds (literally) of old stupa. 

(In Shan State, the practice, historically, was for the King to erect the highest stupo, and for others to build smaller stupa around it, signifying unity - many have now fallen into disrepair but are, gradually, in the process of being restored). 

Shan State also characterised by its smiling Buddhas - compare and contrast the stern faced Buddhas of C11th  - 13th Bagan:

Making our way up the lakeshore to lunch we stopped at a family of silver smiths, where we had a chance to watch them working with the silver (and make a couple of purchases - though only after deployment of impressive negotiation skills by Angus!) including work on an ornate decorative offering stand, which the silversmith had been working on for over a month!

Lunch was a Shan feast at a restaurant adjacent to the temple which houses the 4 Buddhas which are taken out to all of the 25 villages on the lake during the great Pagoda festival next month (There are in fact 5 Buddhas: but due to matters too long to go into here, the 5th now never leaves the temple) 

(View from lunch; to the left, the temple, to the right the building housing the Royal Barge which is used to transport the 5 Buddhas, pulled by a longboat for each village, rowed by between 70-100 men each)

(The 5 Buddhas)

After the visit to the temple, we headed to a village on the lake which is predominantly home to the weaving industry: cotton, silk and locus.  We visited a 'factory' which has been in one family for over a hundred years - amazing to see the skills still in operation (nothing was solely done by machine):

Then it was on to the monastery in the middle of the lake, formerly known as jumping cat monastery (sadly, this has ceased since the passing over the former head monk)  But still a very beautiful (and old) monastery and a reminder of how important, and part of everyday life, the faith and temples/monasterys are to the life of the people here:

Then it was back to the hotel for a truly beautiful sunset (and dinner!)