Two Days in Nyaungshwe – Burma’s Least Kept Secret

Inle Lake is no quiet secret. It’s one of the top tourist attractions in Myanmar. That’s not to say it’s over run and not worth seeing. I would easily go back if someone wants to donate some skymiles.

But one thing I’ve noticed is that many travel writers and bloggers gloss over the little town of Nyaungshwe. It’s where most people opt to stay, and it’s a place that carved out a piece of my heart for safe keeping till I can get back.

You can actually stay on Inle Lake if you have roughly $100 to fork over per night. Staying luxury on the lakeside means you will have front-row seats for the romantic fog that rolls over the water in the mornings and great sunset moments for your Canon in the evenings. However, you miss a lot in my estimation if you don’t experience staying in Nyaungshwe.

Filled with rustic teakwood hotels, meandering gravel side streets, and an open-air market covered with battered tarps, Nyaungshwe smells slightly of burning pinewood and a musky hint of river water. There are horse drawn carts, rusted bicycles and 30-foot palm trees bending down to kiss the tops of pagodas. Religious seasoning is sprinkled heavily on the landscape. There are cobras. There are monkeys and monks. And the world-wide-web doesn’t have much of a hold. Basically, Nyaungshwe one of those village towns that made me stop and think, “Yeah, I could easily disappear here for a month or two at some point in my life.”

Similar to Luang Prabang (Laos), Pai (Thailand), Hoi An (Vietnam) and Ubud (Bali), Nyaungshwe is a classically charming, tiny Asian dirt-road hybrid. It exists as a gateway to something grander, but also has enough strength to pluck the heartstrings of travelers who dream of putting down the backpack and making roots for a moment.

Eating:

The food can be hit or miss here. Lin Htett Myanmar is Lonely Planet’s Top Pick for traditional Shan cuisine in town. I ate there and found the chicken curry to passable but bathed in the intense puddle of oil that the Burmese love to ladle on top of everything. I wouldn’t tell you not to go, but I wouldn’t run back either.

My top pick is Gardenia Restaurant, and it is definitely a place I miss right now, typing this from my New York apartment. I met the owner, Mee Nge, who is an excellent cook and an even better hostess. The fried whole fish was exceptional. I drank a few Myanmar beers with everyone. Around 9pm, the two tables combined to one, and all of us spent hours laughing and joking in the darkness over plates of cauliflower. She invited me back to the kitchen to help prepare a tea leaf salad, even though we were both stuffed. It wasn’t really about the food at that point, though, anyways. It was a moment of family in a solo journey, and I will be forever grateful. I ate lunch there the following day, and if I ever head back, Mee Nge will be my first visit upon arrival.

Sleeping:

I chose the Princess Garden Hotel simply because the Lonely Planet listed it as the only place with a pool. It does have a pool, but more importantly, it’s off the main path. Hidden behind a pagoda complex, alongside a cute canal that acts as a splash pool for local kids, staying here forces you to navigate backstreets and areas of town you might otherwise miss. It’s about a 15 minute walk into town, but better yet, you can rent bikes for 50 cents/day from the front desk. The rooms are spacious and nicely decorated, and the bathrooms are brand new. The only downside is, there’s no restaurant on the property. While you do get delicious, free pancakes at breakfast, you can’t request a midnight snack or afternoon cookie. So, what I’m getting at is – bring cookies. Grand total: $35/night

Doing:

The main reason one comes here is to cruise on Inle Lake, obviously. There are hundreds of tour operators. You can usually set up something from your chosen hotel. I randomly stopped in Zodiac Travel in the little downtown quarter, and it was the best decision I ever made. The tour operator P.C. (a great guide for my day on the lake) now runs Fantastic Inle, and I could not recommend him more. Seek him out here. The next night, he’s the one who introduced me to Gardenia.

For our lake day, we hit up the five-day market, which moves to a different village on the lake each day. It’s also hosted one day per week in Nyaungshwe. On the Thursday I visited, the market was held in the village of Maing Thauk.

One of the most spectacular parts of visiting Maing Thauk is crossing 500-meter wooden walking bridge. Rickety and ancient, it was constructed more than 1,000 years ago by a king for his people. The boards have obviously been replaced many, many times, but the bridge remains a symbol for how much the Burmese love their dreamy history. That adoration has kept their present pretty damn dreamy too.

We then continued on our boat journey and checked out the weaving skills of the ladies at Inphaw Khone and toured the workshops.

You can also visit the village full of silversmiths, whose craft has been handed down for the last three generations and is still done with foot pedals fanning coal fires to melt the ore.

Nightlife:

This is Burma. More so, this is a sleepy village town Burma. There’s no nightlife to speak of, but if you have a group and a couple of cold beers, that’s really all you need. I will advise you that walking back to a guesthouse alone at night necessitates a bit of courage and goes much easier with a flashlight. There are angry street dogs. There are cobras. Watch your step and stay on the path.

Give Back:

There’s always an opportunity to help out, no matter where you are. I loved my experience volunteering in Cambodia, and when the owners of Gardenia mentioned they worked with a local orphanage, I jumped at the chance to visit. PC, Mee Nge and I hopped on our bicycles on my last day and went to the U Tin Mg Wai Educational Foundation. For information on donating money or visiting email info@nila-ev.de or if you are in Inle, head to Gardenia and inquire.