Inle Lake’s Five-Day Market

On The Way To The Five-Day Market

The Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda is considered the most famous in the Inle Lake region.  It houses five unique Buddha images.  We went to visit the pagoda after our visit to the market.

The Phaung Daw U Pagoda Festival is held annually for a total of 18 days.  It is one of the most famous festivals in Myanmar.  A large barge with a Golden Hintha Bird creation carries four of the five Buddhas.  One image always remains in the temple. The barge is towed from Village to village along the shores of the lake in a clockwise fashion.  The highlight of the festival is the day when the images arrive at the main town of Nyaung Shwe, where most pilgrims are waiting to pay their respects in hundreds of boats from near and far.

At the Market Place

The Pa’O people are the second largest ethnic group in Shan State where Inle Lake is found.  The traditional dress is indigo tunics with narrow blue or red trim and brightly colored turbans around their heads, mostly in orange and red as you see in the photos. They are believed to be of Tibeto-Burman lineage.  There are twenty-four Pa’O subgroups. The people typically cultivate onions, garlic, chili, potatoes, rice, peanuts and green tea.

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These are crispy snacks made from tofu and chickpeas.  Burmese people are very fond of chickpeas and use them in a variety of soups and especially snacks.

Our time at the market finally came to an end.  We spent some time looking at the souvenirs and buying a few things.  I wish we had had more time there.  I always enjoy the hustle and bustle of market life and photographing the local people in a significant part of their daily life.

We left the market and were on our way to the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda which enshrines five golden Buddha images carried back to Myanmar by the 12th century King Alaungsithu upon his return to the Malay Peninsula.