Analysis of On Lake Inle, in Shan State, Myanmar

On the inlet of Lake Inle, in a small motorboat,
in Nyaungshwe Township.
There — on a freshwater lake,
in lovely Shan State,
nested in magestic Shan Hills …
There — I’m ferried by local fishermen
on cool freshwater at 2,900 feet elevation.

It’s early Winter and the air is cool
as I brace myself with a woolen scarf,
enjoying the tranquil view
of local  fishermen passing to and fro
with their distinctive style of rowing.
Standing firmly at the stern.

One leg wrapping the other,
as they propel themselves forward
on a lake covered by reeds
adorned with floating water lilies
and the lively lotus of the lake.

With speechless awe I observe
the passing view before me.
A parade of simple wooden houses
rising bravely above the lake …

Wooden bamboo houses
posed on bamboo stilts,
built by self-sufficient farmers
to comprise their nuclei of villages.
The villages of a multilingual people,
of a multilingual tribal people.

There — in Nyaungshwe Township …
There — on Lake Inle, in Shan State,
overlooking Shan Hills …
at elevation of 2,900 feet,
I am greeted.

I am greeted by the tribal villagers:
The Intha, the Shan, and the Taung Yo …
The Danu, Pa-O, and the Kayah…

These villagers …
These fishermen and women …
These farmers and merchants …
These natives of the lake …
These royal hosts and hostesses
greet me.

They greet me serving me …
Serving up a popular dish …
Their local dish of htamin gyin …
So deliciously  made
of fermented rice kneaded with fish
and cooked with soft potato.

A meal topped off with fried Shan tofu,
the popular local dish
that goes by the name of hnapyan gyaw.
After such a festive meal in such festive place, not far from Kipling’s “Road to Mandalay,” a ditty to you I heartily share:

“Oh, surely, surely I must declare,
the pleasure it gives to be just right here;
at Lake Inle in lovely Myanmar’s Shan State,
where a traveler surely has need to prate;
about a view nature has given us all;
here, in lovely Lake Inle, where cool waters resiliently fall.”