It was a free/non-group day since almost half of the group was sick. We contracted wth the guesthouse owner to take us to Taunggyi and headed off for a half day with him, his older nephew as driver and his 7-year-old nephew tagging along. Taunggyi wasn’t much to see. There was a regional museum with costumes of the local tribes people and the ceremonial costumes of the sawbwa’s (the hereditary chieftan of the Shan people), a market and a cheroot factory.
What an awful job- dozens of women sitting on the floor, sorting the leaves, then rolling in the tobacco and filter…being paid by the cigar. Lunch was shan noodles- saved only by the addition of some spicy hot chile sauce.
Back at Inle Lake, we went to the Inle Inn. The owner has two Padaung (giraffe) women who come by for photos (for a price). It was almost uncomfortable to look at them. They have brass rings added to their neck every year until their neck is so elongated that they can’t take the rings off or they’ll die.
Back at Inle Lake, we went to the Inle Inn. The owner has two Padaung (giraffe) women who come by for photos (for a price). It was almost uncomfortable to look at them. They have brass rings added to their neck every year until their neck is so elongated that they can’t take the rings off or they’ll die.
Photo Courtesy of Flickr
Dinner was at the HauPin restaurant- jam packed with Lonely Planet followers. The place was run with absolute efficiency by a Chinese woman and her very large son. Back to the hotel by rickshaw.
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