At 9AM, I make my way to the station to try another pickup truck to Inle Lake. It was nearly a two hour wait until the compact Nissan pickup truck had enough people to depart. In this case, the number was 25 passengers. It is interesting to compare one person driving in a full size pickup truck in America and 25 people in a compact truck here. I can see why the USA uses a quarter of the world’s energy. And what is going to happen to the world when everyone tries to live like an American?
Arriving at noon, I find the Gypsy Inn guesthouse recommended by a friend. I ask about electricity and it is something like a 12 hour on, 12 hour off cycle. Niilar was able to join me here for a few hours in Inle Lake. We decided to rent a couple bicycles and ride to some nearby villages.
We ride to an area with some canals and homes. After a while we were able to hire a small boat and go through some canals. However we got charged the foreigner price.
It seems like a simple place around Inle Lake. The canals and lake are in a valley between two mountain ranges. We visited a monastery, and tea with the monks. They said not many tourists have visited here in the past six months. Because visas have been harder to get after the storm in May, tourism is very slow right now.
We visit one more village and it seems the kids here know one English word, “Money!” as they hold out their hand. Niilar takes a truck back to Tuanggyi and then I ride around some more on my bicycle before going to bed in my $6 room.