We jumped in with both feet (not literally) at the possibility of visiting Inle Lake. A days minibus ride from Bagan we decided to opt for the daytime journey this time to see more of the Myanmar countryside. We weren't disappointed. The journey took us from the arid plains and dry homesteads of Bagan through mountain roads and hairpin bends until we finally arrived 8 hours later in Nyaung Shwe, on the edge of Inle Lake.

The town bustles with backpackers although still manages to avoid noisy bars and loud music. We are staying at the Joy hotel where Lindsay, our daughter stayed, when she was here four years ago. It's on Jetty road, so overlooks one of the river inlets which is teeming with boats all day. The tomatoes which are grown in the floating gardens on the lake are brought in just down the lane from our hotel- so each morning we see huge bamboo baskets of tomatoes on their way to market.

Today we had what is likely to be the best bargain of the whole trip- a six hour trip around the lake in our own boat, with our own driver, for the princely sum of 15,000 kyats (approx £7.50 in real money). Not bad to keep the two of us occupied for the best part of the day. The boats were long shallow boats with an outboard motor on the back. Some took groups of six or more, others although the same size just took two. At the beginning of the trip it seemed as though we were in some sort of staggered Brands Hatch start as boats sped alongside each other down the narrow river towards the lake. Our personal boatman steered us skilfully across the water and through the various inlets, slowing down to allow us to photograph the famous Intha leg rowers, birds, and stilt houses, as well as calling at points of interest. One of our favourites was the stop where we could see the weavers extracting the lotus threads from the stems of the flowers and then transforming them into woven products. Another, a stop before lunch to watch the girls rolling charoots (cigarettes), from leaves and tabacco.
All in all a good day, lots of photos and loads of fresh air.

John must have enjoyed his Captain Birdseye moments as he celebrated when we got back by donning his new longyi (A mans Burmese skirt), and his new bag, and heading off for a bottle of the local beer. Not sure whether it will go down so well up at the Golf club when he gets home, but he was happy to fit in with the locals here -despite the drafts in the nether regions.