Day 42 - Burma (Inle Lake)

Not a great deal happened today in truth, so I won't go on about it. I flew into the Shan (Top Gear watchers may recognise that from a recent special). It'a a big area and I'm in a very touristy bit called Inle Lake.
I got to my rather plush hotel, to find that I'd been given an over-water bungalow to myself. Which I didn't think warranted too much complaining about. Very very peaceful, Very very top end for this part of the world. My back is recovering from having seen few mattresses and more than a couple of hours rest in the last couple of days.

The Burmese internet just isn't man enough to upload pictures, so I'll post text and do pics when I have a decent enough connection. It's a shame though because some of the stuff I was hoping to share is really worth it.

What I did do today was have a traditional Shan full body massage. I was told it would be in the privacy of my bungalow. I must admit, not knowing what a traditional Shan full body massage in my bungalow might involve, I was ever so slightly apprehensive about it. Turns out I have an overactive imagination and it was mostly elbows. It was very nice though! $15 for an hour of elbows can't be bad can it?

I also went for a stroll and a beer in the evening. I asked for a bottle and was given 'Mandalay Beer'. I didn't give it much thought and waaaaaay too late I read the alcohol content on the bottle. 6.5%! (Carling is 4.1%, Stella is 5%) This stuff was drifting towards Spceial Brew territory! I'd already had a tad more than was prudent and it kicked in properly as I left the bar. I don't recall any real detail of the remainder of the evening.

I know this entry is a bit thin but it'll look better with a pic and I've spent most of my allocated blogging time faffing around with unsuccessful picture uploads.

Upadte - Pic of water bungalow

Update - Pic of Shan State in the early morning.