January 23 - Inle Lake 3

I must confess that even I was very cold when we first set out on the lake this morning.  For the first time there were some clouds in the sky and it took quite a while for the warmth of the sun to filter through.  Of course I could have worn my jacket.... The first new view of the day was a man with two water buffalo along the edge of the river we were traveling.  They are huge beasts with angry eyes and I wouldn't trust one as far as I could throw it.  Our first stop was at a "traditional" village of one of the ethnic tribes.  I believe the set up was very contrived and the people were simply posing for the tourists ands their cameras.  Beats working in an office I suppose.  After we had seen that the group, except for the young woman (Angela) who wasn't feeling well and I took off for their three hour walk (about eight miles?).  I sat and had a beer as I people watched.  I didn't get many good shots as the majority of the people around were tourists and not particularly interesting to me.  Angela wandered around spending more of her rapidly dwindling financial resources.  She said that she now has enough presents for her friends and I certainly hope so because she and her mother have another month or more in Southeast Asia before they return to England.  He father returns home after this tour.  By the end of the three hour wait Angela was completely out of money and was going to have to find an ATM or something to tap into her account.  Meanwhile I had another two beer and some watery but not bad noodle soup ($1.00).  (Breakfast was coffee, fried rice and crepes.)  Angela assures me that the food variety will expand exponentially in Cambodia and that I will have the opportunity to try all sorts of other "delicacies".  Bats and rats and cats and dogs and monkeys here I come...

When the group returned about half went off for lunch while the rest of us returned to the hotel.  We didn't want to eat because we had a farewell dinner tonight and wanted to be sure that we could eat something since the cost was included in the tour package.

Tomorrow morning we make the drive back to Heho and then catch the flight to Yangon.  With luck I should be able to at least send some e-mail tomorrow.