Insights at Inle

Who: Singaporean Mark Richards, 39, is group executive chef of the Caerus Holding restaurants, which include Nuvo, Procacci, Lady M Confections and Ujong @ Raffles.

Favourite destination: Shan state, Myanmar

Why: I like it because of the clean, crisp and cool air. The people there are friendly, caring and honest. I have been there once a year for the past two years as it is my wife's home state.

Favourite hotel

ViewPoint Lodge & Fine Cuisines (www.inleviewpoint.com; tel: +95(0)8120-9062) in Nyaungshwe, Myanmar, where my wife, Nang Hsaddan Phyu, and I spent our honeymoon. The hotel has clean facilities and its decor is traditional yet has a modern feel.

Its 20 stilt cottages are located on a canal near the tranquil Inle Lake, a must-visit for any tourist to Shan.

Favourite restaurant

The Golden Kite Restaurant in Taunggyi (Yone Gyi and Myawaddy Road, Taunggyi). It serves Burmese and Italian food and this is the only local restaurant in the area that has European-influenced dishes on the menu, which is good because it gives you some variety.

My favourite dishes there are the stuffed lake butterfish and pizza. A meal would cost about $15 for three people.

Favourite tourist site

Inle Lake. It is serene, beautiful and picturesque. The journey through the lake is breathtaking and the view, magnificent.

Must-try dishes

To fully immerse yourself and understand the country's culture, one must explore the local streets and shop at the wet markets to taste the best and authentic Myanmar flavours.

Try the tea leaf salad called lahpet thoke. It is made of tea leaves that are marinated in garlic and chilli oil and tossed with tomato, fried beans and cabbage.

Shan-style tofu noodles is a savoury dish that doesn't actually include tofu. It is a thick porridge made from chickpea flour that is served over thin rice noodles with chunks of marinated chicken or pork. The dish is topped with a drizzle of chilli oil and served with sides of pickled veggies and broth.

My favourite dish is mohinga. It is a robust, savoury and hearty rice noodle and catfish soup. It is available throughout the day, but it's usually eaten for breakfast. I prefer the homemade versions, but you can easily find all these dishes in local coffee shops and wet markets.

Best view

Visit the Shwe Phone Pwint Pagoda, which is at the top of Taunggyi mountain. It offers a fantastic view of the sunset.

Event to bookmark

Tazaungdaing Lighting Festival which is held around October and November. In Shan state, particularly in Taunggyi, hot air balloons are lit with candles and released to celebrate the full moon.

Best hidden find

Yepusan hot springs about 5km south of Kengtung on the road to Tachileik in southern Shan state. There are regular flights from Yangon to Kengtung (also known as Kyaingtong).

Visitors coming from Thailand are allowed to cross into this border town with border passes. Tachileik is also a border crossing point through which visitors from Thailand come to Myanmar. Regular air services are available between Heho, Mandalay, Tachileik and Yangon. From these domestic airports, there are private buses and vehicles that can take you to the hot spring area.

You can also rent a bike in Kengtung and cycle the bumpy road for 45 minutes towards the mountains, then spend a relaxing afternoon at the hot springs. The hot springs are actually four swimming pools in a big concrete spa centre, so you do not go there for the natural surroundings. The bike ride to the spa, however, is very scenic, though the dirt road is a bit rough.

It costs $5 a person to enter a common pool and $8 for access to the three private pools. The prices include a towel and there is a full bar available.

Necessary day trips

Visit the Kakku Pagoda, about 40km from Taunggyi. It is one of Asia's largest and most spectacular ancient monuments, with over 2,000 stupas dating back many hundreds of years.

All the stupas are packed closely together and centred around a main one that is about 40m tall. While the stupas surround it uniformly, each one is an individual masterpiece and was originally topped by a gilded metal hti, a multi-tiered umbrella-like feature typical of Myanmar pagodas.

Many of these hti have fallen, as have some of the external mortar and stucco sculptures on the stupas. Trees have even established themselves inside a few.

Still, so many of the original stupas exist and the whole site is remarkably well-preserved.

It is not only an outstanding example of traditional art and architecture, but also a testament to the religious devotion of the Pa-O, one of Myanmar's many ethnic minorities who for many centuries have lived in peace, cultivating their land and devoting much of their energy and limited wealth to creating monasteries and pagodas.

Favourite memory

The boat ride on Inle Lake, which is 22km long and densely inhabited by many tribes.

A boat trip on the lake is a must. Tours cost anywhere from 10,000 kyat (S$12) for a half-day tour to 18,000 kyat for a tour around the whole lake, which I recommend. We travelled from Nyaungshwe to Inle Lake, where we went to the wet market and bought some bread and crackers to feed the seagulls. They fly right next to the boat and catch the tidbits you throw in mid-air.

While on the lake, you will also pass the villagers who live on stilt houses and you get to see how they cook, clean and live their daily lives.

Inle Lake is also a great place for birdwatching as it is used by thousands of water-birds on migration. The lake is a wildlife sanctuary and a warden can introduce a guide who knows the names of the birds.

Ideal length of stay

Five days. It is a romantic area and a great place to go with your partner to experience the beautiful sights and delicious food together.

Best advice

Bring warm clothing because the air can be chilly, especially at night.

vlydia@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 7, 2014.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.