How can I arrange an original tour around the Inle lake?

Hi, I am one of those who rented a bycicle, and I really want to recommend this experience. Rentals cost about 1500 MMK, while mountain bikes are about 7-8000 MMK. The villages which are reachable by bike are Khaung Doing, shortly after a hot springs site, and Maing Thauk, in the opposite direction. The excursion to the first location did not really impress me, but Maing Thauk was really nice. It was not market day, I was approached by a man with a canoe, who took me on a tour among the small canals, close to the houses, where the boats with engine do not go.
I could see scenes of everyday life, and take nice pictures. 3000 MMK for 40 minutes, really deserved

Wow... the way you describe this experience is fantastic! Thank you so much for your post!

I do not want to offend .... but if you are looking for authenticity , why do you plan to trek from Kalaw to Inle , a trek which you will nowadays share with hundreds of "backpackers" looking for the authentic Myanmar trekking experience?

As mentioned above , all boats in Inle are actually private tours as long as you are not travelling in a tour-group. You can expect that every single boat including all tour-groups will be visiting the actual five-day-market , they are unfortunately no longer authentic with more and more tourist souvenir stands popping up , the worst one being the so called floating market which is nowadays a pure tourist market.And , yes , the one-leg-paddling fisherman are amazing , but unfortunately they are nowadays nearly all fake ; not fishing anymore but posing for tourist photos instead.
In my opinion the best you can do is starting early , i mean really early before sunrise! Yes , its very cold on the lake that early but you might even meet a real fisherman at that time, the sunrise on the lake is still magic and you wil then go to the market first thing in the morning eventually being able to beat the crowds and see the real market. The local markets often start at 4-5am and they start closing down already at 10am , if you arrive later only the souvenir sellers are still there.
The far south with Sankar is great but you wont be the only tourist there as well. There are some great very local authentic markets at Sankar lake but if you are starting your trip in Nyaung Shwe you wont be able to arrive there until the market closes down already.
As others mentioned before , if this is your first trip to Inle lake many of the so called tourist stops are actually not so bad , umbrella making , silk weaving, cheerot ; you do not have to buy at those shops , just relax and enjoy the lake , it is still a very magic place.
For the authentic experience you should have come to visit 20 years ago.......

Thanks for your reply and your tips. I will try to follow your advice and wake up early :-)

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