The beauty of Myanmar’s Inle Lake is not limited to nature, but also draws from the relationship between the Intha people who derive their livelihood from this lake. The village grows out of the water while the fish from within provide sustenance. And now, the beautiful scenery is providing another source of income in the form of visiting tourists. Surrounded by mountains on all sides , the lake in the middle is so clear and reflective like a big mirror. Continue reading
On our last day in Ngapali, we paid a visit to the nearby fishing village where the local fishermen were just coming home from a night out on the sea. The catch of the day was quickly brought up on shore. Here you can see fish laid out to dry under the hot Burmese sun. The market was just opening, and buzzing with people out to buy their food for the day. In these remote villages, it’s more common to buy fresh ingredients every day, instead of relying on the fridge.
In the small village of Mingun, just an hour boat ride north of Mandalay, you can catch an ox cart taxi to take you around town. Even though the town is small, it is famous for the unfinished Pahtodawgyi Pagoda. The King at the time wanted to build the largest temple in the world that would rival the Great Pyramids of Giza. His ambitious project drained local resources and was an unpopular undertaking. When he passed away, the pagoda was left unfinished and currently stands as an impressively gigantic dilapidated pile of bricks.
Today we headed north to Inle Lake, an area full of small fishing villages. While visiting one of the villages on the lake, we saw a procession of children. School had just let out and they walked across the bridge to the dock where they waited to be picked up by boat to go home. Like children everywhere, these kids were quite happy to be done with school for the day.
A while ago I wrote about Hallstatt as one of the places I wanted to see; so when we booked our ticket to Vienna, I knew we had to make a little detour. After doing some research, I found out that this picturesque village was only a 3 hour train ride from Vienna. We decided to make a day trip through the Austrian countryside.
[via fanpop.com]
The original plan was to stay 3 days in Vienna and soak in some culture, music, and pastry. But as I started planning, I realized we’d be remiss to go all the way to Austria and not see the country-side. So while looking for places nearby that we could visit for the day, I came across this beautiful picture of Hallstatt. This idyllic town is about 3 hours away from Vienna by train, nestled between a lake and towering mountains in the backdrop.
If this looks familiar to you, it’s because this picture and others like it have been used in many screen savers. In fact, this place is so beautiful that a replica of the village has been created in China. I can’t wait to see the real thing for myself in a few months.
life after 9to5 