SPOTTED Abroad​

After sampling the Myanmar style cheroot with our host Mr. A, we were excited to learn our tour of the lake included a stop to view how the cheroots are made by hand. The ladies who roll the cheroots work eight hours a day and can roll over 500 in that period of time. A mixture of tobacco, banana flowers, raw sugar, and various spices are rolled into a special leaf along with a make shift newspaper filter. Once the cheroot is rolled it is banded together with a paper band tha

The primary means of transportation on Inle Lake is the long tail boat. There are water ways that resemble roads, blocks of homes, and even what appeared to be traffic rules for the boats. These long tail boats are made from teak and come in several different sizes and styles. Needless to say the creation and maintenance of boats is a very important job. Most of the boats are made from teak because of its ability to hold up so well in a consistently wet environment. Smal

On Inle Lake, the lake is life. It sustains the people who live on it in every way possible. This extends also to farming. In shallow areas, soil and organic matter harvested from the lake are added to create "farming land" in the middle of the lake. Rows of various vegetables are separated by canals just large enough to navigate a canoe through to tend to the crops. We saw various crops such as tomatoes, eggplant, several squash varieties, and the occasional corn stalk.

Our first stop on our day tour of Inle Lake was sunrise breakfast in the middle of the lake. We enjoyed warm cups of coffee and sugarless doughnuts called jacqui. The idea is to sweeten them by dunking them in your sweet coffee or tea. We both enjoyed them. Life on a lake wouldn't be complete without some form of fishing to provide sustenance. Fishing sustains and provides a source of income for the inhabitants of the lake. Their methods also haven't changed much over th

Wineries and vineyards are not common in SE Asia. We've encountered only a handful that actually grow their grapes for their wine production. When we learned of one just a short bicycle ride away from our hotel from our helpful host, Mr. A, we knew we'd have to make a pilgrimage there. Red Mountain Estate is located on the mountain range to the east of the Inle Valley. The grapes they grow range from your typical Merlot to a unique white wine that bears the namesake of th

Note to self, when booking a seat on an air conditioned bus from a hotel concierge, make sure said service is the real deal before the day of. The morning we left Bagan to head to Nyaungshwe (one of the larger port cities on the lake) we were crammed into a mini van (not a bus as advertised) without air conditioning. I'm typically not one to complain, but with 12 people in a van made to carry 9 in 100 degree plus temperatures, not to mention the windows not opening, a guy c

From Mandalay we made our way by mini bus to the ancient city of Bagan. The city is perhaps the largest tourist attraction in Myanmar and should not be missed if traveling in the country. Bagan was founded in 849 CE by King Pyinba - the first king to unify all of Myanmar. After its construction it quickly became the political and economic capital of the Pagan Kingdom. Apart from the history of the city the main draw of Bagan is the vast amount of temples and stupas that w

In Myanmar, puppet shows are big. They are part of their long and rich history and tell folk stories and myths indigenous to Myanmar. We noticed vendors selling puppets of every size where ever we went. Every evening at sunset, our lovely hotel in Mandalay, Hotel Yadanarbon, offered its guests a free rum cocktail and puppet show on their rooftop restaurant. Not being ones who decline anything free while on the road, we decided to partake of the offer. Though there is no dialo

To say Myanmar cuisine makes generous use of oil is an understatement. Oil seems to be the key ingredient in every dish we encountered. It's as if the waitstaff are asking you, "Would you like some salad to go with your oil?" Because we've been trying to watch what we eat on the road, we weren't too keen on the over abundance of oil in the food in Myanmar. However, with some help and advice of where to eat and the best dishes to try from some of the locals in Mandalay we

We wanted to end our Mandalay day outing the best way possible - watching the sunset atop Mandalay hill. The weather was perfect - humidity was low and the heat index was dropping as the day ended. Unfortunately a large mass of evening clouds moved in and prevented a picture perfect sunset. Though we weren't able to actually see the sunset, we had a beautiful view of the city below to end our day in Mandalay. Oh, and the wood Buddha at the exit of the hill was worth the tr