Also see: Our photography tour to Myanmar
Somewhere in the central parts of Myanmar, surrounded by Shan Hills, is the expansive waters of a lake called Inle. The lake is popular, thanks to the amazingly skillful people of Intha tribe who row their boats with a leg, keeping their hands free for efficient fishing. But this lake habitat is much more than a fishing community. Floating villages with houses on stilts have existed on the lake for centuries, fully equipped like any village on the land. During my visit to Inle Lake last year, I spent more time understanding life on the lake and less time on the photographing the much-shot images of Intha fishermen.
Here is a glimpse of a water-world that is Inle Lake.
For a visitor who is new to a water-world, Inle’s villages come as a surprise. The houses are surrounded by water everywhere. Often, houses are laid out with in such a way that the lake between them serves as a boat-way. In the picture above is Nampan Village, one of the several such floating villages of the lake.
Naturally, boats are the primary form of transport. Noisy, fast-moving motorboats are used for long-distance journeys. Short distance commute is usually done with canoes rowed using a leg.
It is peak-hour traffic on the approach to one of the villages. Come evening, most villagers are returning either from the market, from their work in the fields or after a long day or fishing.
Just as the houses are located over water, so are the fields. Floating tomato gardens dot the landscape around the villages. A mixture of soil and weed serves are the base for holding the roots of these plants, while the long bamboo sticks projecting through them help root the gardens to the ground under water.
A man working in his tomato field. What is not apparent in this photograph is that he is sitting on a boat, not on the ground.
Much of the weed required for the floating tomato gardens comes from the lake itself. The bottom of the lake is rich with water plants, which is effectively used by the Intha people.
The places just outside Inle Lake are usually in a semi-inundated state. The villages have to be built on stilts despite being on land to escape the rising waters during the monsoon months. The paddy fields are usually immersed in shallow waters. Commute happens by boat as well as on land. Any land that has to remain dry, such as the roads and pathways are usually on a raised platform.
Fishing at a smaller lake in the periphery of Inle.
The floating villages that produce fish and vegetables obviously need markets, both to sell their produce and to buy what they need. If the villages are floating, the market too, has to be floating.
And finally, a glimpse of Intha fishermen rowing their small canoes using their legs.
Also see: Our photography tour to Myanmar