lotus fabric, unique to burma. this woman is pulling fragile fibers from lotus stems; the fibers will be spun to form stronger thread. stems have to be used within 3 days of plucking, and over 100,000 stems are needed to make a monk's robe.and the lotus is not cultivated, they grow wild. the process of making just the thread involves an incredible amount of work, let alone weaving lotus thread which requires special looms. the monks get to wear lotus fabric - so much devotion & hard work goes into their simple garbNov 26, 2006
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spinning silk. this woman was so old, hard to believe she was still workingNov 26, 2006
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really pretty silk; it was interesting watching the process of making fabric like thisNov 26, 2006
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weaving silk on Inle lakeNov 26, 2006
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all kinds of stalls had been set up on the pagoda grounds in the lake for the festival. there were thousands of tribal people hereNov 26, 2006
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this pagoda on the lake is quite big surprisinglyNov 26, 2006
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protecting myself from the rain with my parasolNov 26, 2006
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the Phaung Daw U Pagoda on Inle lake. thousands of people thronged here to pray to the 5th Buddha who stays in the pagoda while the the other 4 travel to the monasteries on the lake to bless them during the festival periodNov 26, 2006
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at a silver workshop on the lakeNov 26, 2006
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Nov 26, 2006
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Nov 26, 2006
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doing laundry. there are many of these villages on the lake. since the lake isn't deep (although it's big), houses are built on stilts and people have floating vegetable plots and gardensNov 26, 2006
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it was amazingly relaxing sitting at this restaurant surrounded by water and mountains, watching the occasional fisherman or lake people going by on their canoeNov 26, 2006
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Inle is the 2nd largest lake in Burma. it's about 4400 feet above sea-level, so the temperature is really pleasant (doesn't get scorching hot, unlike Mandalay). it's surrounded by these blue mist shrouded mountains. stunning place!Nov 26, 2006
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we stopped at Anna's Restaurant in the middle of the lake to get some food at 9 in the morning (we'd been up 5 hours by then).Nov 26, 2006
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Nov 26, 2006
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Nov 26, 2006
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flying off as our boat approachesNov 26, 2006
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Intha fisherman on Inle lake rowing standing up with one legNov 26, 2006
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Nov 26, 2006
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birds all hanging outNov 26, 2006
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barge carries 4 buddhas, even though there are 5. the story goes that in 1965 the barge, which was carrying all 5, capsized & sank in a storm. only 4 were recovered but back at the pagoda 5th was sitting there covered in weeds; so now he never leavesNov 26, 2006
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Nov 26, 2006
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Nov 26, 2006
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the barge takes the buddhas from village to village around Inle Lake to bless each monastery, which takes 20 days to complete since there are so many monasteries on the lakeNov 26, 2006
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here comes the barge that everyone's been waiting for. shaped like a mythical bird, it's carrying 4 buddha images from the 12th century (except over the years, devotees have been plastering them with gold leaf so they're shapeless lumps now)Nov 26, 2006
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the men standing on the elevated pole in the middle of this slender boat are singing and dancingNov 26, 2006
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Nov 26, 2006
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the leg-rowing boat competition has started. the Intha men (who live on Inle Lake) row standing up, with one leg. each of the procession boats has people playing music, drumming, singing while the rowers row away in unison with their legsNov 26, 2006
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Chuck happy on our boat. we're not morning-people and getting up before dawn is anathema to us. but this was definitely worth itNov 26, 2006
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