Inle Lake

Rachel and I spent a long weekend at Inle Lake, located in the hills of Shan State. Inle Lake is an expansive body of water, with an estimated 45 square milies of surface area, that sustains both wildlife and human communities. The Intha are the largest ethic group that lives in villages around and on the lake in stilt houses. Shan and other ethic groups also live in the area. 

 A view of the lake at sunset, our first evening

Due to the lake's distance from Yangon, we took a short flight to Heho, a city about one hour from the lake by car. From Heho, a driver took us to another small city along one of the canals that leads to the lake. From there, we met our lake guide, Chacha, who took us by boat up the canal and onto the lake. After a short distance, we arrived at the dock of our hotel.
 

While water buffaloes are old hat for Rachel at this point, I was excited to see a water buffalo for the first time! We saw this little boy on our drive from Heho.

Poinciana trees burst in full bloom along canals and on the lake shore. These trees were along the canal to the lake.  

We explored the communities on and around the lake, thanks to our guide, who met us at our hotel dock in the morning and took us accross the water to different locations. We enjoyed spectacular views of the lake and surrounding hills, and observing fishermen and people tending their floating gardens.

This fisherman models the method of paddling his boat with one foot, a practice unique to Inle Lake. Notice that he has both hands on his net and is balanced at the edge of his boat on one foot while he paddles with the other.

 More fishermen

Floating Gardens. Yes, the gardens literally float. The platforms are constructed from plant matter from the lake and topped with soil. The bamboo poles stake the floating platforms to the lake bottom. Inle Lake is known for the tomatoes produced in these gardens.

Men pulling up plants from the lake bottom for the floating gardens.

 

 A woman selling dark sugar at the 5 day market. (She gave us a free sample! Then Rachel bought some.) Each day the market rotates to one of five market locations in villages around the lake. Many vendors and customers arrive by boat to sell or buy.

 Weaving is a major industry in many lake villages. This woman is preparing thread to be strung on the looms. All weaving is done by hand.

 Weavers use cotton thread and lotus thread. This woman is extracting lotus fiber from the lotus stem, which is formed into thread. A lotus flower in bloom is on the right.

  A stilt house on the lake. The walls are woven from bamboo.

This house provides another example of woven bamboo walls. 

Boats pulling up to a dock near a Buddhist temple. Canals serve as the "roads" for the stilt house communities on the lake.

 Worshipers during a service at a Buddhist Monastery. This Monastery is also known for its cats. During their spare time, the monks train the cats to jump through hoops. In this photo, the cats are taking a break and appear to calmly observe the service.

Oh, yes. The Food. Can't do a post without mentioning the food, and this food has to be mentioned. While at Inle Lake, we enjoyed eating Shan food. Rachel had been talking up Shan food before the trip, so I was eager to try it and was not disappointed.

Shan noodle with pork, tomatoes, and plenty of fresh cilantro, green onions and chilies.

Rachel and I enjoyed fresh fruit, crispy, savory fried tofu strips and green tea at another restaurant for a mid-morning snack. We also ordered Shan rice (below) to-go so we could enjoy it later in the afternoon at our hotel. 

Shan rice, fried fish, roasted pumpkin vine, and green tomato salad. 

This food rocked my world.

The rice was flavored with chicken broth and topped with green onion. The fish, of course, was fresh. The roasted pumpkin vine had incredible flavor: young pumpkin vine and leaves with juicy red tomatoes, onion and garlic, all tied together with a mouth-watering charcoal flavor. The seasoning for the green tomato salad included fresh onion, chilies and peanuts.

I enjoyed the food so much that I was compelled to jump with joy after eating it. While at this point Rachel could have rightfully wondered whether I was going off my rocker, she just chuckled and kindly said, "I'm glad you enjoyed it so much."

***

The trip to Inle Lake was definitely a highlight of our time together in Myanmar. We were both grateful for the quiet beauty of the lake and the opportunity to have a small view into the rhythms of life so different from our own.

Last stop Myanmar

Rachel and I arrived in Yangon, Myanmar on Saturday, April 21st and proceeded to spend most of the weekend relaxing in her apartment. After nearly 3 weeks of constant travel and exploration, we were ready for a couple days of quality couch time. The intense heat of the day, characteristic of the end of the dry season, also made camping out next to the fan (set on high) a very appealing option. Temperatures were around 100 degrees F. We did rally ourselves for a quick visit to the open-air fruit and vegetable market in Rachel's neighborhood as well as a walk around the lake across the street, both of which made us quickly remember why we had no problem just sitting next to the fan.

First thing Monday morning, however, Rachel began to introduce me to her normal routines and all that the city has to offer. Rachel began with the perfect starting point: breakfast. During the week she introduced me to quick and delicious breakfasts sold by various vendors just a short walk from her apartment. 

Mohinga

Monday morning we ate Mohinga, a soup with a mild fish broth and rice noodles, garnished with fried lentil wafers, fried garlic, fresh chopped cilantro and dried chili to taste. The contrasting flavors and textures make this soup so delicious that we each devoured a bowl in record time, and probably could have eaten a couple more.

 

Delicious, savory pancakes (I forgot the Burmese name)

Another morning we bought thin, crispy, savory pancakes from another vendor that Rachel frequents. This breakfast item evidences the influence and presence of Indian culture in Myanmar. The vendor fries the pancakes on a griddle, balanced over an open fire. She tops the pancakes with a few cooked beans, fresh green onion and sesame, and then folds them into thirds. The result is a delightfully light, crispy pancake that is salty rather than sweet. Writing about it makes me want one (or two or three) right now.

Black tea with milk

One morning Rachel's friend taught us how to make a black tea with milk. What's so special about that, you ask? Well, my friends, if you could taste it, you would understand. Black tea, steeped with a pinch of green tea and a smaller pinch of coffee power, is mixed with both evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. The preferred method of mixing the tea and milk is to pour the mixture back and forth from one mixing cup to another, repeating the process several times. That same morning we also sampled sweet, rice flour pancakes with white poppy seeds (pictured in the bowl on the table) purchased from another stand that Rachel commonly visits.

The Market

During the week we also visited a large market that sells a stunning array of artfully crafted goods, including paintings, wood carvings and hand woven textiles. 

In the market, we visited a Kachin fabric shop (Kachin is an ethnic group in Myanmar). The shop sells hand-woven and hand-embroidered fabrics used for longyis. Longyis can be described as long skirts used by both men and women in Myanmar. Men tie their longyis in the front whereas women tuck their's in on the side. Rachel wears longyi, but has also had western style skirts made from traditional longyi fabrics. I decided to follow suit and bought some fabric at this stand.

A street in the market complex. Here you can see both women and men in longyi.

The Shwedegon Pagoda

The Shwedegon is, without a doubt, the most famous pagoda in Yangon, if not the most famous in the country. Buddhism is the majority religion in Myanmar, and Rachel explained to me that Buddhists from all over the country try to visit the pagoda at least once in their lifetimes. Pagodas house relics from the Buddha, and are important holy sites for Buddhists. It is an understatement to say that the Shwedegon pagoda is stunning--its size alone is impressive, and then the entire structure is covered in gold. Smaller stupas, also decorated with intricate designs, surround the large pagoda.

 We visited Shwedegon in the evening, which offered the advantages of cooler temperatures and the sight of the pagoda elegantly illuminated against the darkening sky.

Yangon is the largest city in Myanmar, but Myanmar is a large, diverse country with so much to offer. In the next post, I'll report on our weekend trip outside of Yangon to what can be classified as a truly one-of-a-kind location.

A day in Bangkok

Despite our silence over the past 3 weeks or so, we still have more to report!  I (Lisl) am now back in the U.S. and will post a few entries about the last leg of our trip together and the week I spent in Japan.

Let me start with our day in Bangkok.

  

After our time in Indonesia, we stopped in Bangkok for a day before heading to Myanmar. We had a rather formidable eating itinerary for such a short time, but it was a roaring success. A couple of highlights included:

 

Lunch

Rachel and I dined on sticky rice, roast chicken with two different chili dipping sauces (the redder one was sweeter, the darker one was hotter), green papaya salad with peanuts and shrimp, and a Laotian dish called Laap. Laap is finely chopped pork seasoned with chilies and fresh mint. It had a similar effect on as us, though not as extreme, as that of gado gado: while the hotness from the chilies had an accumulative effect in our mouths and throats, we  couldn’t stop eating it.

The Giant Lizard (this is not food-related)

In the afternoon we went to Lumpini Park and saw a GIANT LIZARD, swimming in the lake. By giant I mean at least a meter long and standing at least a foot high. We first saw Mr. Lizard lumbering slowly towards the lake, but then lost sight of him. Later, when we were walking along the other side of the lake we saw Mr. Lizard swimming towards us. When he reached the shore, he climbed out, stretched his lizard neck to take a good look around, and then waddled into a large hole in the bank. I have no photo because my camera battery died, so I found this photo on the internet. I googled "giant lizards in Thailand"  and actually found a brief article about them invading Lumpini Park. Apparently these lizards are called Water Monitors. Here's the link to the article: Giant Lizards

Eat Me

For dinner we enjoyed Eat Me, an art gallery and restaurant that has creative and innovative dishes inspired by an array of international flavors. Highlights included the heirloom tomato salad with olive oil ice cream, mint, basil and parmesan and delicious homemade ice cream. We tried three ice cream flavors: English Breakfast Tea, Chesnut & Rosemary and Spicy Chili and Dark Chocolate.  Our first bite of the chili chocolate ice cream delighted us with an intense chocolate flavor, but we were puzzled to not taste any chili. About 1.5 seconds later, the chili hit, right in the back of our throats.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the aforementioned dishes at Eat Me. Obviously I didn't do so well on taking pictures in Bangkok. Since this post has been heavy on text and lacking in pictures, I'll  throw in another picture just for kicks.

Fruits and vegetables at a smoothie stand we enjoyed

More to come on Myanmar and Japan!

In case you wondered where we have been the last few days or so, you can rest assured that we were not affected by the earthquake that hit off the coast of Indonesia, in fact we did not even feel it. Instead we left Pulau Penang, Malaysia on the 12^th and arrived in Yogyakarta, central Java, Indonesia on Friday the 13^th after spending a night in Kuala Lumpur.

As you might have guessed we were disconnected from the internet during our time staying in a beautiful house in a village called Klaten. A recap of our time there includes sleeping, eating, and reading on top of more reading, eating, and sleeping. We were privileged to have kind and cheerful Indonesian hosts, who constantly showered us with delicious home-cooked meals, as well as the best jasmine-black tea blend on the planet—yes, it was that good. In all, things appeared in front of us before we even knew of our desire to have them.

Food highlights from our days in Klaten include a variety of soups including ‘bakso’ which is made with chicken broth, fish meat balls, greens, and rice noodles. Other meals featured various cooked greens, commonly watercress, seasoned with garlic and chili or coconut milk and lemongrass. Most meals included a platter with several pieces of fried chicken, tempeh, fried tofu, and vegetable fritters. Breakfasts always included a fried egg and fresh squeezed orange juice.

When we did leave the house we enjoyed lunch at a restaurant that served up fresh gado-gado. One section of the open-air restaurant featured a large buffet of ingredients used in the dishes on the menu. ‘Gado-gado’ is an array of fresh and chilled steamed vegetables, tempeh, tofu, and pressed rice smothered in a spicy peanut sauce and topped with crunchy shrimp crackers. It is best eaten quickly before your mouth has a chance to realize just how much it burns. We chose not to document the horror that unfolded as our faces turned fire engine red and our salivary glands worked over-time. At one point the statement, “I think my eyeballs are sweating,” may or may not have been uttered. Despite these unfortunate reactions, we liked it so much that we chose to eat gado-gado again today.

During our stay in Klaten we took excursions to Prambanan, an ancient Hindu temple complex, and Borobudur, an ancient Buddhist temple. Both featured elaborate hand-carved motifs and are impressive examples of the human ability to construct massive structures without modern equipment. The motifs at both temples were used to instruct believers in the basic tenets and history of either Hinduism or Buddhism respectively, as many people in the surrounding area were illiterate.

Prambanan

Borobudur

To get from Yogyakarta in central Java to Jakarta to the west, we rode a train through the beautiful countryside. We were dazzled by panorama views of terraced paddy fields in the hills along the way.

More to come from Bangkok!

We have seen, done, and eaten a lot of things since arriving in Georgetown on Pulau Penang, Malaysia. We even picked up another travel buddy, Kiara,who is just as enthusiastic about food as we are and who we know from her time in Mexico with Lisl. The following are some of the highlights so far:

We took a 5 hour ride on a psychedelic bus to get from Kuala Lumpur to Penang…

We stopped at a roadside eatery for some noodles fried in the local style…

We took a break from a hot walk by sampling coconut shakes and chendol—a Malay dessert of shaved ice, palm sugar, coconut milk, kidney beans, and green jelly strands…

After dessert we got caught in a downpour with one very small umbrella…

On the walk back to our hotel we stopped by a street with food stalls for some satay, these men were serving up chicken and rice…

The next morning we found a delicious bakery serving up charcoal bamboo and cream cheese buns, pandan and coconut pastry, and green tea and red bean buns…

We enjoyed these baked delicacies, and some refreshing coconut water, in the shade…

After our refreshments, we learned about (and reenacted) some colonial history at Fort Cornwallis…

We toured a traditional Chinese (known locally as Nyonya) mansion of the merchant class…

While at the mansion we also saw the former inhabitants’ ancestor temple…

We stopped for a filling Indian lunch of various vegetarian curries served on a banana leaf and tested our eating-by-hand skills…

The next morning we visited the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion and delighted in the brilliant blue…

We tracked down a typical lunch dish called Assam Laksa, a fish curry soup made with mackerel, rice noodle, greens, lemongrass, ginger, chili paste, shrimp paste, and garnished with pineapple and raw onion…

After a short rest at the hotel we walked to an area with street food hawkers…

Some carts were selling squid…

Some carts were selling assorted meat on sticks…

We opted for a local favorite, Nasi Lemak, which is coconut rice served with hardboiled egg, peanuts, dried fish, cucumbers, and chili sauce with a side of fried chicken…

We ended the night with a beautiful walk back to our hotel.

Don't worry, there is much more to come. We spent today at the Tropical Spice Garden learning about botany and taking a class on tandoori cooking. Love from Penang!