Largest Cluster of Temples that I have seen

Temple clusters are quite a stunning sight. One can simply marvel at the architecture of the bygone era. Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, Indonesia’s Borobudur and Prambanan, India’s Great Living Chola Temples, Myanmar’s Bagan and many more are some of the famous ones in Asia. But, the surprise is that the largest temple cluster that I have seen is one of the less known ones. It is called the Shwe Inn Dein Pagoda complex and it is located in the Inle Lake of the Shan state of Burma.


It takes a trek or a boat ride to reach this temple complex. The beauty of this place is that it has more than 400 temples in a super small area. While I was at ground level, I continuously kept getting lost both in my path as well as in my head as the beauty was un-paralleled. It was only when I climbed a nearby hill that I actually could make sense of its sheer numbers. Have you seen such a large temple cluster before?

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Popular Shan Snacks of Burma

Everywhere I travel to, I try and taste their local food as long as it is vegetarian. While I was in the Shan state of Myanmar, I got the opportunity to taste two yummy snacks, Hin Tou and the Tea Leaves Salad. These snacks are so good that the locals seem to enjoy it every evening.


Hin Tou is pounded rice with onions and greens steamed in a banana leaf and then served with roasted garlic, oil and fish sauce. Tea Leaves Salad is a salad with some greens, tomatoes from the Inle Lake and a variety of roasted and deep fried nuts and beans that include peanuts, broad beans, soya beans and more. The salad is served with chillies, coriander leaves, roasted garlic, oil and fish sauce.


If you are a vegetarian and/or do not like the taste of fish sauce, you can tell them to skip the fish sauce for your snack. The rough cost of a plate of either of these snacks should be 700 kyat for a small plate and 1000 kyat for a large plate. These are costs of the street and hence the prices will be higher if you order them in a restaurant. Both these snacks are addictive, so be prepared to eat more than one and may be skip your dinner.

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Travel Photo: Inle Fishermen

Every country has its specialties. In Burma, the fishermen of Inle Lake, called the Inn Thars have to be one of the more special ones. The reason is because of their unique fishing style that makes them famous all the world over. In fact, such is the popularity that these fishermen have been on the cover page of magazines and books for many years.


The Inle lake, unlike other freshwater lakes of the world has a lot of undergrowth that keeps floating in the water and it seems like the fishes hide in these plants. Hence, in order to catch these fishes, the Inn Thar people devised their own interesting technique. They oar with their feet to disturb the water and as the fishes rise up from the plants, they use a large net to trap them. Then they use sharp spears to kill the fish inside the net. I captured this photo around sunset in the middle of the lake.

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Burmese Billiards

Have you ever imagined a game of billiards, snooker, 8 ball or 9 ball without a cue stick? Well, the Burmese imagined such a game. This game is played more or less all over the country and is fiercely popular in the Shan State of Myanmar. I saw this game in live action in one of the markets on the Inle Lake. The game is a mix of traditional billiards and carom board.


Basically, the table looks like a large carom board and instead of the balls, there are flat coins that have numbers and colors. Instead of the cue ball, they have a striker coin which is white. They even keep the scoring pattern of billiards in this game. I don’t know what this game is called in Myanmar, but it sure did look interesting.

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Gold Star Hotel, Nyaung Shwe: Comfortable Hotel near Inle Lake

Inle lake is one of Burma’s main tourist attractions and hence it is no surprise that there are a lot of accommodation options in Nyaung Shwe (budget) and on the lake (luxury). Nyaung Shwe is a small town and hence it is easy to get around between the hotels. While I was here, I stayed at the Gold Star Hotel in one of the inner lanes of Nyaung Shwe and near the main temple area. I stayed here for 3 days and 2 nights and the below review is based on my recent experience here.

1) The Gold Star Hotel is one of the more decent budget places in Nyaung Shwe. They offer large rooms for a competitive price, free internet, hot showers, free breakfast and more.

2) For USD 25, one can get a large room with an attached bathroom. During the day, one has to use the fan and during the night, the temperature drops so much that it becomes very comfortable to sleep in a blanket.

3) They are one of the few places in town to have free wi-fi. The speed was very respectable as I could do a skype call. The only problem was that during my last night the internet stopped working, but apparently the internet stopped working in the whole town.

4) The people running the hotel are very helpful and help you with maps, directions, things to see, do and more.

5) The reception arranges boat trips, ticket booking, trekking trips and more. Their prices are very competitive and sometimes it is cheaper to book boat trips at the reception than directly going to the boat driver.

6) Since Nyaung Shwe is a small town, getting around is very easy. The market is a 10 minute walk away. This is where all the banks, grocery stores and booking agencies are present. The restaurants are spread all over the town and some of them are very close to the hotel.

7) The hotel serves free breakfast in the morning between 6 AM and 9 AM and the food is tasty and filling.

If you are looking for comfortable budget stay in Nyaung Shwe, this hotel offers a good option. I would be happy to stay at this hotel again when I return to Inle Lake.

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