Inle Lake, Myanmar Cruises

Inle Lake, Myanmar Cruise Port

• Book a lake tour from any number of companies, on either solo trips or with a group of other tourists. You can indicate to your driver that you only want to see the small-scale places and not the larger workshops; this gives you better pricing and helps out some of the local artists who might not get as much business. Keep an eye out for floating restaurants to enjoy fresh fish.
   
• Check out the Jumping Cat Monastery, called as such because the monks taught the resident cats to jump through hoops. It's a lovely structure, with Buddha stories on the walls and some monks roaming about to talk to visitors.
   
• The Lay Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda has five small Buddha gold leaf-covered statues; there are photos on the walls of what they used to look like pre-decoration. You'll also find stories on the walls of Buddha's life and how the statues got here.
   
• This is a birdwatcher's paradise, thanks to the thousands of water birds that use the lake (also a wildlife sanctuary) for breeding or migration. Just like the endemic snails and fish, there are species here you won't find anywhere else, such as the pheasant-tailed jacana.