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Dagon Beer Station CHINESE, BURMESE $(mains from K1500; hlunch & dinner) Mere stepsfrom the town’s market, this echoing beerhall is where local dudes come to have adrink after work. Visitors (including women)are welcome too, and you can accompanyyour draught Dagon with standard andnot-so-standard Chinese-Burmese dishes,such as pig-lip salad!Memento Restaurant INTERNATIONAL, BURMESE $$(mains from K1500; hlunch & dinner) Also alongthe road that leads to Shwe Oo Min Pagoda,Memento is an example of a restaurant tryingtoo hard to please day-tripping foreigners.The menu here includes dishes such aspork ball Vichy, and our ‘traditional food’order was a very untraditional combinationof fish and French fries fried with turmericand ginger.Kyan Lite Restaurant CHINESE, BURMESE $(mains from K1000; hall day) On the lake shoreclose to the market, Kyan Lite serves coldbeers and a familiar menu of Myanmar Chinesedishes, as well as boxes of Shan tea.8InformationThere was no functioning internet connection inPindaya at the time of research.Old Home Tour Information Centre (%66188;h9am-5pm) Located at the market intersection.Here you’ll fi nd friendly local U Myint Thaung,who sells a small selection of books and antiques,and leads treks and day tours.8Getting There & AwayThere is only limited public transport to Pindayaso unless you’re willing to charter a taxi, you’llprobably have to stay a night.BUS Coming from Taunggyi, there are twodaily buses at 1pm and 1.30pm (K2000, fourhours). If starting from Nyaungshwe (Inle Lake),you can catch one of these buses up the roadin Shwenyaung starting at 2pm (K2000, threehours).Starting from Kalaw, your best bet is to takea bus or pick-up truck to Aungban – any of theTaunggyi-bound morning buses/trucks can dropyou off here (K1000, 20 minutes). From Aungban,a single daily pick-up leaves at 8am (K1000,1½ hours) from near Mikhine Restaurant, at thejunction at the north end of town.Leaving Pindaya, there are Taunggyi-boundbuses at 5.30am and 5.45am (K2000), and asingle daily pick-up departure to Aungban at9am (K1000, 1½ hours), all of which depart fromnear the market intersection.TAXI It is much more convenient, thoughmuch more expensive, to complete the journeyfrom Aungban to Pindaya by taxi. Driversloiter on the main street in Aungban, chargingK25,000 for a drop-off in Pindaya and K30,000for a return trip to the caves. Motorcycle taxiswill take you to Pindaya from Aungban for aboutK6000.INLE LAKEPlacid Inle Lake (a='"el"kn') ranks amongMyanmar’s top five tourist attractions,which ensures that visitors come here indroves. The once-sleepy village of Nyaungshweat the north end of the lake has growninto a bustling traveller centre, with dozensof guesthouses and hotels, a surfeit of restaurantsserving pancakes and pasta, and apleasantly relaxed traveller vibe. If Myanmarcould be said to have a backpacker scene atall, it can be found here.On paper Inle Lake is 13.5 miles long and7 miles wide but up close it’s hard to tellwhere the lake finishes and the marshesstart. Looking down over the lake from theTaunggyi road, Inle sits like a puddle on anenormous carpet of greenery. Dotted aroundthe lake are the stilt-house villages andfloating gardens of the Intha tribe. Youmay also encounter Shan, Pa-O, Taung Yo,Danu, Kayah and Danaw tribal people at themarkets that hopscotch around the lake ona five-day cycle.Boats are the main means of transportaround the lake – travellers tend to exploreon motorised canoes (a little like Thai longtailboats) but most Intha people get aroundusing traditional flat-bottomed skiffs propelledby a single wooden paddle. The Inthatechnique of leg rowing – where one leg iswrapped around the paddle to drive theblade through the water in a snake-like motion– is unique.The waters cool the surrounding air considerably.A pall of mist hangs over the lakebefore sunrise and during the morning, andevenings can be surprisingly cold. Bring acoat or buy a blanket in the market to keepoff the wind chill on boat tours around thelake.zFestivals & EventsInle comes alive during late September orearly October for the Phaung Daw Oo PayaFestival at Phaung Daw Oo Paya. The fourrevered golden buddha images from the177INLE EASTERN LAKE MYANMAR 88 PINDAYA