Inle Lake with kids is an essential part of your Myanmar with kids itinerary- trust us, it’s magical at sunset!

This huge freshwater lake in the Shan State of Myanmar is surrounded by the stunning Shan mountains and offers so many interesting things to do with kids of all ages.

Around 70,000 people live around Inle Lake mainly Intha people, a Tibeto-Burman group, who are famous for rowing with one leg on their long boats. It looks very impressive and skilful. Many of the Intha people live on the water in wooden houses on stilts and next to miles of floating gardens that they tend by boat.

Inle Lake is such a diverse and interesting place. If you are visiting Myanmar with kids, you’ll find so much to do and see. It’s definitely an excellent addition to your family travel itinerary. Keep reading to learn more about all the fun things to do at Inle Lake with kids, including energetic toddlers.

Things to do at Inle Lake with kids:

1. Ride in a Long Boat

Riding in a wooden long boat is not just a fun activity to do with kids at Inle Lake, more importantly, it’s the most common mode of transportation across the water.

Because our kids are young and wriggly, we decided to arrange two half-day long boat tours on Inle Lake. That way, we had lots of time to relax and play at the hotel before sunset beers, dinner and an early night for the kids.

Our relaxing long boat rides past water gardens, houses on stilts and locals going about their daily chores are absolutely bucolic. The whole family was captivated especially H, who at 5 years old, is never normally quiet but for 45 minutes we didn’t hear a single squeak as we sailed along!

2. Visit local artisans

So there’s no way of really escaping all the artisan workshops (with adjoining shops) if you go on a long boat tour but watching the artisans at work is an absorbing thing at Inle Lake to do with kids.

During our two half-day long boat trips, we saw traditional weavers, silversmiths, cigar makers and more. These cottage industries may be long forgotten in the West but are still thriving sources of livelihood in Myanmar. The delicate skills of the craftswomen and men were inspiring.

I was fascinated by how the fibres are extracted by hand from the locus roots which grow on Inle lake, spun into thread and then weaved into scarves. There were some gorgeous locus cloth scarves for sale but at more than US$100 far out of our souvenir price range.

For young children, watching the craftspeople at work was a great education in where things come from. Our city-dwelling kids had no idea of the amount of work and skill that goes into creating everyday items.

Are the Kayan Lahwi Women’s brass neck coils a feminist issue or merely a cultural symbol?

You’ve probably seen photos of the beautiful ladies from the Kayan Lahwi tribe in Northern Myanmar and Thailand. Their traditional dress includes a heavy brass neck coils which push down the clavicle to give the appearance of an enlongated neck.

As a writer interested in women’s rights, I felt  uneasy about the little girl posing for photos wearing the neck and knee coils who told me that she was five. I wonder how wearing such heavy jewelry affects her physical development and whether her role as a ‘model’ is optional or enforced on her.

Rather like the Victorian corset or Chinese footbining, I’m conscious that these forms of traditional attire stem more from old-fashioned patriarchal ideas about controlling women’s bodies rather than protecting them from assaults by tigers as our guide suggested! If you’re a social anthropologist, please enlighten me!

Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable with taking the above photograph. The three women were essentially posing “on display” for tourists to take photographs and tip them. However, the older lady who weaving was besotted by Zizi and grabbed her into an embrace so I relaxed, clicked and tipped.

3. Tour a few temples

Myanmar is full of Buddhist temples and monasteries, especially near Bagan.  Inle Lake is no exception. As the temples vary so much in size, decor and design visiting several of them is an interesting thing to do around Inle Lake with kids.

We were very excited about our visit to Nga Hpe Kyaung aka the cat jumping monastery where monks have trained the resident cats to jump through loops. Disappointingly for the kids, there were no performing cats that day but they did get to stroke many of the resident felines.

4. Meander around a local market

A trip to Inle Lake with kids wouldn’t be complete without a visit to a local Intha market. The markets move locations daily, your boat driver will know exactly where the next one is.

Once you’ve passed the tourist stalls selling the usual trinkets and tat (yep, look out for the made in China tags!), you’ll catch a glimpse of the real market that serves the local Intha people.

Whilst the kids found the smells (dried fish and spices) a bit overwhelming, they absolutely loved watching the football match being played on a sandy, dirt pitch by local teams. Visiting an Intha market is a great thing to do at Inle Lake with kids.

5. Eat (especially fresh fish)

Whilst planning our trip to Inle Lake with kids, we’d read that the food was not something to get excited about. But we loved it! We’re big fish and vegetable eaters at home so the traditional Shan food at Inle Lake was just right for us.

Most restaurants at Inle Lake are built on stilts looking out over the waterways or lake itself making for some unique dining experiences. We dined on whole fresh fish, Myanmar tomato or aubergine salads, Shan-style sticky rice (a hit with the kids) and stir-fried vegetables. If the kids are missing Western food, ask for fried chips, not French fries. Most restaurants serve these delicious home cooked crisps and they’re so good.

 

Super Useful Family Travel Tips for Inle Lake with Kids:

• The closest airport to Inle Lake is Heho airport. If you’re travelling with young kids be aware that it is a dusty and precarious 1 hour plus drive in a taxi from most of the lakeside resorts. Leave plenty of time to get to and from the airport. Marvel at the local ladies riding side saddle on the back of motorbikes with their babies as your knuckles turn white on the dangerous mountain roads.

 

• Split long boat tours into two. As I mentioned above whole day tours (anywhere) can really take it out of very young children. Break up the sightseeing with lots of play time and relaxing.

 

• Be prepared to tell your boat driver if you want to change the set choice of lunch/ shops. On both our two day trips, our boat driver took us to remote, completely empty (not very clean looking) restaurants. Both days, we refused and picked our own busier, nicer looking restaurants. Note: whilst we might have missed out on some delicious meals and support for lesser-known businesses, none of us got sick which is really important when travelling in Inle Lake with young kids.

 

• Bring warm clothes and layer up. It’s freezing at night in December.

 

• If you’re concerned, bring your own child-sized life jackets for long boat trips on Inle Lake.

 

• The mosquitoes near the lake are huge. Allegedly the area around Inle Lake is Malaria free but dengue fever is a risk as in most of SE Asia. Bring spray.

 

• There is a Global Care International Health Clinic in Thar Lay Village which I believe is a good standard (fortunately we didn’t need to visit and find out for ourselves).

 

• Check the swimming pool temperature and wind chill before you let the kids jump in unless you want some shivering little icicles!

 

• Power outages are an everyday occurrence, consider packing a torch or flashlight.

 

• Staying in a wooden cabin on the water is an experience for young kids in itself.

Inle Lake really is a magical place to visit with kids. Its beauty and tranquillity make it a wonderful place to stop for a few days. If you have been to Inle Lake with kids please drop your own tips and advice in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.

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