By : Chha
Staying only a day at Inle Lake is just not enough. Though there are not much things to do at Inle Lake but the laid back and calm environment here is really nice making me wanting to stay longer. So i stay another day here at Inle Lake with not much things to do, so i decided to ride a bicycle and go around Inle Lake. Song Of Travel Hostel, they provide free bicycle service for their customer who are staying there. I can just choose any bicycle I like and off I go cycling the whole day around Inle Lake, haha !
Inle Lake Cycling Map (Source)
Before you start your cycling trip around Inle Lake, there are a few things you might need to get ready. Firstly, get a route map, it will make your cycling easier and you can plan which point of interest to visit first. Secondly, apply a lot a lot of sun block, haha ! The weather here during my visit is super hot, though it is not as hot as Yangon but it is still hot enough to give you sun burn. With few minutes of some proper planning of where to go first and where to go last, then off i go .. !
Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung | Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery
GPS Coordinate : 20.684427, 96.931523
First stop the Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery. This monastery is the nearest attraction from the hostel that i stay. Just a short cycle up north of the town and is well known by photographers for its unique oval shape windows which serve as eye-catching frames when novice monks stand to look out. (Source)
I was there early in the morning so there is no young monk standing at the oval shape windows but they are all busy studying inside the monastery. It is always advised that tourist or visitor do not make any noise and keep as silent as possible when visiting Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, in order not to disturb the monk prayers and studying.
The monastery has a beautifully carved, gilded ceiling. The red painted, teak-wood building is an interesting architectural structure on its own. (Source)
Next to the monastery you can find a small temple with hundreds of little Buddha statues.
It only take me around 5 minutes to walk around Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery. After that, i continue my cycling journey. As i cycle around Inle Lake, there are few spot that have nice, calm and soothing scenery which makes Inle Lake an awesome place to visit.
The one thing that i don't like about cycling here is the uneven road with big rocks used to build the tar road, it is making my butt hurts, haha !
Khaung Daing Nature Hot Spring
GPS Coordinate : 20.627942, 96.880391
After cycling up hill, down hill and on the uneven road with my hurting butt, i finally come to another point of attraction, haha ! It is the Khaung Daing Nature Hot Spring .. !
After few hours of cycling under the hot sun, i would be really nice to dip yourself in the Natural Hot Spring and relax before continue cycling. I did not enter the Hot Spring, i just pass by, have a look from outside, take some photos and left. If you wish, you can always visit the Khaung Daing Nature Hot Spring .. !
Inn Tain Pagoda
GPS Coordinate : 20.617207, 96.883063
I become hungry as i cycle along and i decided to find a shady place to rest and have something to eat. After so long of cycling, i only come across one restaurant but i don't know what food they serve. What i am sure is, they do have some drinks but i am not sure about main food. So do pack some food with you if you wish to go cycling, in case you become hungry half way cycling here .. ! As i was looking for place to rest, i come across this pagoda which is not in the map. It has a lot of tall trees outside of the pagoda compound. So i enter and sit under the shady trees to have my lunch. After Google for awhile, i found out that this place is actually name as Inn Tain Pagoda.
Khaung Daing Village
After a quick rest and my light lunch, i continue cycling until i come to the Khaung Daing Village but along the way leading towards the Khaung Daing Village there are a few boat owner who will actually call you up as you pass by them offering boat service to cross Inle Lake over to the other side of the lake. I did some bargain and found a cheaper deal which cost me Ks 6000 per boat. The boat owner agree to wait for me at the boat while i make my way to Khaung Daing Village which is just a few meters away from the boat area.
The road leading towards here is very dusty. There is no proper tar road available.
Honestly, i am not sure if i come to the correct place or not, haha ! But there is nothing much here to see. Khaung Daing is the native village on the northwestern shore of the Inle Lake in Shan State. It is known for its production of soybean cakes and noodles. (Source)
In order to get across to the other side of Inle Lake, you will need to hire a boat to take you across the Lake. This boat allows you to bring along your bicycle on board.
Maing Thauk Bridge
Maing Thauk Bridge or also known as the U-Bein Bridge of Inle Lake, haha ! Maing Thauk Bridge is the place where the boat from across Inle Lake stop me at. Maing Thauk Bridge is a walk way that connect two villages together. Maing Thauk Village which is on the shore while Maing Thauk Inn which is on the lake. This bridge is said to be the U-Bein Bridge of Inle Lake is because of the nice sunset view from here which looks like the sunset view of U-Bein Bridge at Mandalay. Thought Maing Thauk Bridge is shorter, this place have a restaurant that you can have your meal while enjoying the nice view.
As i continue to cycle further, i come to realize that there are so many un-name place and pagoda which are not available on tourist map. I find it interesting to discover all these places by myself which is not on the map .. !
I found this place right after Maing Thauk Bridge. It seems to be a quiet place without any tourist visiting it. There were a few locals outside of this place so i walk in and take a photo or two .. (^.^)v
Red Mountain Estate Vineyards And Winery
GPS Coordinate : 20.638853, 96.955598
Being the last place to visit for today, i was in a hurry to get to Red Mountain Estate Vineyards to catch the amazing view of sunset from here. The sun set here is really fast and it happen at around 6.00 pm to around 7.00 pm. Without stopping, i cycle from Maing Thauk Bridge directly to Red Mountain Estate Vineyards but just before i make a turn into the vineyard, i notice a restaurant by the road side and since i still have some time to burn, i decided to had my dinner there before head to the vineyard. Mya Nann Daw Restaurant is located just opposite the main road heading towards Red Mountain Estate Vineyards.
The road heading up to the vineyard is kinda steep, many tourist park their bicycle here then continue walking up. The walk is not far, it is around 200 to 300 meters of up hill walk. So i did the same, i park my bicycle here and walk all the way up to the vineyard.
Sunset view here is amazing ! You can just sit here, enjoy your wine and relax as the big red sun set right in front of you .. !
The moment the sun set, i head right back to my home stay as i was advice by other travelers that the road heading back to my home stay is rather dark making it a little dangerous as there are no street lamp along the road. So before the day light is completely out, i rush back to my home stay .. !
Total Distance Covered : 39.93 km (Cycling + Boat Ride Across Inle Lake)
Total Time Taken : 1 Day
Route Covered
Visited : April 2017
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Posted Date : 12 September 2017
Posted Time : 10.52 pm
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