Kathie

yes, I am looking forward to hearing all about your trip!

Kristina

Yes travel, I really hope you do a trip report when you get home! I've enjoyed the comments you've been posting long the way.

yestravel

From the airport in Yangon to traders hotel on a Saturday early afternoon it took us ~30 minutes. This morning we left the hotel at 9:45 and arrived at the airport at 10:20. Traffic seemed heavy at various points and then not much. they also seem to have very long stoplights at some intersections.

On the guides at Inle Lake, we never did get one. We did not see any at Sankar, perhaps we missed them. There were very few tourists when we were there. We did get the boatmen thru our hotel. As suggested we arranged where we wanted to go in advance with the hotel who provided the info to the boatmen. At one point on the lake we decided we wanted to go eat at a restaurant we had passed by. We asked a guide that I had been talking to, to please tell our boatman where we wanted to go. Another day, we gestured eating and the boatman took us to a nearby restaurant ( which wasn't very good! But it was lunch .)

Hopefully we'll get some TR posted when we return.

Kathie

Yestravel, didn't you stop at Golden Isle Cottages, pay for your entry to Pao-O lands and pick up a Pao-O guide? Is there no longer a checkpoint as you leave the main lake to make sure you have paid your fee and have a guide?

yestravel

When we first arrived at Inle Lake we paid $10 a person fee similar to what we paid when we were driven into Bagan. Lonely Planet mentioned the guides and payment, but our boatmen didn't stop anywhere. We were asked to pay a nominal amount for lavatory improvements, but that was it. We ran I to welltravledbrit at Sankar and they were nice enough to let us tag along with them and their guide.

Kathie

Very odd. Did WTB have a Pa-O guide from Golden Isle?

I was so glad to be able to pay a fee to the Pa-O (at Kakku as well) as it was a concession the junta made to an ethnic group. Has it ceased or did your boatman just not take you to get your permit?

Kristina

Update; I now have reservations for 2 nights in Bagan at the Hotel at Tharbar Gate, made directly with the hotel.

I contacted the Inle Princess and the rate is now $230 a night for a Lake View Chalet. This seems kinda crazy to me. I've been pouring over reviews for all the Inle hotels in TA and frankly, none of them sound great. Looking for that ever elusive perfect mix of location, good food and price.

Yestravel- are you going to do a trip report?

Kathie

Kristina, I highly recommend the Inle lake View.

yestravel

We are still traveling. Once home we plan to do a TR on the Myanmar portion of our trip. We stayed at Pristine Lake Spa Resort at Inle and liked it. Very nice room. We ate twice at the hotel and food was good. There are indiviual villas and ones higher up the hill have some views of the lake. They have just opened some smaller villas on the water which they said are less expensive. You might Take a look at them.

Not sure where WTB got her guide from. I don't know if the boatmen skipped on the permit or the hotel deals separately. We never asked as LP guidebook was so outdated in terms of many things, it wasn't something we thought to question.

yestravel

Hotel at Inle is Pristine Lotus spa Resort. The noons just opened are called floating something or other. We were in a villa, but saw the outside of the newer units as they are right near the boat dock.

Kathie

Pristine Lotus is quite near Inle Lake View. They are in the early stages of building it when we were there in 2009.

Kristina

Thanks Kathie and Yestravel, I've emailed both for quotes for our nights in July.

yestravel-it looks like the Pristine isn't directly on the lake. Did you have a good view from your room? Sounds like it might be closer to a town than some other hotels. Were you able to walk anywhere from the hotel?

Kathie

Closer to town? by maybe two minutes. When we were at Inle, there was a small village walking distance from both hotels. Interesting to wander through, but no restaurants and such. Yestravel can tell us whether that has changed. No matter where you stay, unless you are right in town, expect to eat your evening meal at your hotel.

yestravel

About a five maybe ten minute walk from Pristine Lotus Spa Resort is a very small village, Khaung Doing. We ate there once at a roadside restaurant, Myay Thet Kaung, recommended by hotel. The larger village, Nyaung Shwe is about a twenty minute boat ride from the hotel and cost $20 to get there. You could stay as long as you liked in town as the boat waited for you. The issue for us in February was the boats had to be off the lake before dark (around 6:30 or so) which meant we couldn't really stay and have dinner in Nyaung Shwe.

The lake is lined with marshes on all sides and you go thru them to get to the shore. It was actually pretty cool to go thru them. The older villas where we stayed were across the street from the water. They were staggered up the hillside. Our villa 5003, had a slight lake view. The newer ones just completed are right on the water, but again not in the central part of the lake. We were very happy with our villa at Pristine Lotus Spa Resort. If I could do it again I think I would try and stay right in town, but we were there for four nights and that might have made a difference. I also wonder if staying right in the lake is noisy? We heard the boats get going very early, 5:30ish. But it would be suite at night.

I have posted hotel reviews on Trip Advisor which may have some more info. I post as dl.

yestravel

That should be Quiet at night.

Kathie

Because you aren't right on the lake, it should be quiet. We certainly didn't have any problems with noise at the Inle Lake View. I do understand that the places out on the lake can be noisy because of the boats, but the boats don't run after dark.

Kristina

I heard back from both.

The Inle Lake View hasn't published their rates yet for July. I've seen this for several hotels, but frankly I don't get it. It's only 5 months from now and they can't commit to room rates?

The Pristine Lotus Spa has quote me $110 per night for the new "Floating Duplex" rooms and $150 per night for a "Lotus Villa". I'm leaning toward the duplex rooms if we stay here as I really wanted to be at or over the water.

yestravel

With the floating duplex room you will definitely be on the water, but as I said not in the lake itself. You might ask for a room to the right of the dock that faces out wards to the lake. I think that might be the best view. I would not want the units that line the way the boats take into the dock.

Kathie

Kristina, some things change slowly in Burma. It is very common for hotels not yet to have published rates for summer or fall. I still recommend the Inle Lake View, but it will be more money than the Pristine Lotus.

Shujbhar

Slightly OT question on Inle Lake - the boats, do they have life jackets? Am a non-swimmer, so wondering…….