Inle Lake, the shallow and cold lake in eastern Myanmar, has supported numerous cultural traditions throughout the centuries, some of whom actually made there homes in the waters of the lake itself. These standing (sometimes called floating) villages have endured to this day. Despite the nearby town of Nyaung Shwe transforming into a dozens of blocks of pun-named hotels, these villages still seem to go about their lives as as they have for years.
Changes have come in the visible forms of power lines and signs advertising food and drinks to foreign visitors on stilted restaurants. Yet, the villages accept and adapt, one of the residents telling me that the influx of tourism has provided her the money to attend university, one of the first in her village to do so.
Good choice, Ben.
janet