After the culture and chaos of Yangon, I took the overnight sleeper bus to Nyaung Schwe, otherwise known as Inle Lake. I was the only white boy on the sleeper and sat next to a group of native burmese folks dressed in traditional garb, chewing beetlenut and spitting the blood red juice into styrofoam cups. After about 10 hours we arrived in the village surrounded by a magnificent mountain range. The bus driver stopped and we all had to pay for the Inle Lake conservation and rural community development permit. This is a five day permit that cost 13500 Ks or roughly $10. I had gotten a recommendation for a hostel called Ostello Bello from a good friend and walked about a half mile from where I was dropped off. It was around 5 am and the sun was about to rise. I walked down the empty dirt roads and came across an big group of fighting dogs and quickly moved on. Street dogs are everywhere in Inle Lake, not to mention horses grazing on the roadside. Most of the dogs are friendly and won't even look your way, but do be cautious as I've met a few people that have been bitten, had to go through a series of shots and had to stay put in certain cities to complete these treatments at the local hospitals. I made it to the hostel and was greeted by a few locals trying to sell me a tour on their boats to catch the sunrise on the lake. 17,000 kyat for the boat which was around $12 usd, split 4 ways. I threw down my bag and checked in. $10 a night for a bed in a 10 bed dorm, with free breakfast, an afternoon snack and free local cigars. It would be a few hours before I could enter the dorm, so they offered me to use the showers on the rooftop. I quickly showered and met a group of travelers, all looking to head out to the lake for the sunrise tour. We walked the half mile to Inle lake and met a local and jumped on his boat. There was a total of five on the boat and we cruised out through the river and into the lake and docked on a patch of vegetation in middle. We saw the local fisherman come towards us and the sun began to rise over the mountains that surrounded us and the lake. They put on a show for us, demonstrating the traditional fishing style with huge cone shaped nets and the way they paddle and steer their boats with their leg and one arm. After their show for us in the middle of the lake they came up to our boat and we offered a donation. The sun began to beat down on us and we headed back to the hostel for breakfast.