Inle Lake is a mesmerizing freshwater lake. With various villages living on the lake. On the lake?! Yes, on the lake. With floating gardens. With just a few words, it's hard to picture what's going on, but then you go and there's a bit of an ah-ha moment before reality snaps back and you're just as confused as before.

The lake, while sizable, is rather shallow with a depth of just 7 ft in the dry season and 12 ft during the rainy season. Stilt houses cluster together in the villages along with rows of tomatoes being grown in (on?) the floating gardens. Using narrow, small motorized boats to traverse the lake visiting various villages, you encounter many locals, working laborious jobs for what would be considered a meager wage in any modern, developed country.