How to have an exotic night time in Inle Lake?

Many tourists opt for Inle Lake as a must-visit place in their Myanmar tour to explore the local life floating on the lake. However, there are no traffic light on the lake and it is dangerous to travel by boat on the lake in the dark. Then what to do at night in Inle Lake? 

Unlike other bustling cities in Myanmar, Inle Lake nightlife is rustic. However, Inle lake still offer some nightlife activities to discover when the sun has set. Just so you know, Inle Lake nightlife activities predominantly happen in Nyaungshwe town, the main town by the popular tourist destination. Therefore, if you want to discover the local nightlife in Inle Lake, if possible, you’d better stay nearby Nyaungshwe town.

See more: Inle Lake day trip with boat

1.    Night market in Nyaungshwe

Nyaung Shwe is a bustling town in the day time but all the roads fall quite by the early evening. While it may have few people in the streets, the Nyaungshwe night market is busy with vendors offering a wide variety of handicrafts, traditional food and drinks at cheap price. The market starts from 6pm and the locals often come here to eat and relax after working hours. So the night market is an ideal place to mingle among locals.

Nyaungshwe night market is not a traditional market, it’s more like upmarket food vans with a party vibe with some lights and pop music. You can taste all kinds of local food including grilled skewers, famed tea leaf salad, hot pot, and Shan noodles…

2.    Try some Shan cuisine

Shan food is very popular throughout Myanmar with some signature dishes including Shan noodles, Chickpea tofu soup, Shan Yellow Rice cake with tomato sauce and Shan fish rice. You can easily find Shan restaurants in every city or town you visit. Yet, Inle Lake is the best place to taste some Shan food as it’s more authentic. 

Here are some good restaurants in Nyang Shwe to have some Shan food:

-    The Viewpoint Shan restaurant: A beautiful restaurant is Situated inside the Viewpoint Ecolodge which is located on the edge of canal leading from the town of Nyaung Shwe to Inle Lake. It offers both authentic Shan food with high quality ingredients and also a western menu. It is peaceful place with stylish decor to rest your day after a long boat trips or trekking in Inle Lake.

Add: Talk Nan Bridge & Nyaung Shwe Canal, 11101 Nyaungshwe Township, Myanmar.

The Viewpoint Shan restaurant

-    The Shan Noodle & Food House: A good place to have a bowl of delicious Shan noodles at reasonable price. Other Shan traditional and vegetarian food are also available here.
Add: Paung Daw Side Road ,Nyaung Shwe, Nyaungshwe Myanmar

The Shan Noodle & Food House in Nyaung Shwe

-    Sin Yaw Restaurant: For some locals, Sin Yaw is the best restaurant in the Inle Lake area. It has a set menu with all the typical food big enough for two people. Some best options:  steamed rice with pork, steamed fish with lime, chilli and lemongrass, grilled fish with a sweet and sour tamarind dipping sauce and steamed vegetables. There are also some vegetarian options. Most of the dishes are served along with rice and/or noodles. 

Sin Yaw Restaurant

3.    Aung Puppet show

 Aung Puppet show

It may sound lame or unappealing when mentioning Puppet show as a thing to do at night in Inle Lake. But the Aung Puppet show is different and worth to pay a visit. The show is 30 minutes long, and taken place in a small room of Mr.Aung’s house. Mr. Aung is 4th generation puppet master. For more than 200 years, his family has played an important role in preserving this traditional Burmese puppetry alive by entertaining tourists who come Inle Lake. 
Mr. Aung is an amazing character and his short show of 12 different stories is incredible. He puts everything he has into each show when he is dancing, twirling and manipulating the strings of a character come to life. After the show, he has a short talk about his life as a puppet master for the past 30+ years, and he’s happy to answer any questions you may have. 

There 2 two shows every evening which starts at 7.00PM and 8.30PM. Price is 5000 Kyats (3 USD). 

4.    Bars and Pub in Inle Lake

Nyaung Shwe town is now becoming more lively. Not so many, yet Nyaung Shwe town has few bars and pubs around the town. However, the bars here mostly close around 11pm.

Asiatico Pub

-    Asiatico Pub: Asiatico is special thanks to its great rooftop and its British ambiance. Many travelers opt for Asiatico Pub to watch the sun go down in green surroundings. Its décor makes the pub itself different from the others in town. They use many local things to decorate their pub, perhaps the most striking of which is the real trishaw hanging from the roof, and its brick façade. Here, tourists and locals alike come to drink beers or cocktails in a friendly and warm ambiance. The pub offers some western food including burgers, pizzas, chicken wings and other tapas.
Open 11am to 11am (rooftop 4pm to 10pm) daily.

Museum Road, Nyaungshwe Myanmar 

Peter Tapas and Grill bar

-    Peter Tapas and Grill bar:  It’s located near the Nyaung Shwe night market. You can easily recognize the bar thanks to a caricature of the owner’s head that sits in front. It’s a street bar with street theme in design. Big tanks are set as tables while small tanks are used as chairs. They use the samples of street signs, traffic lights and license plates to decorate the bar. The bar serves special beverages and the ‘street tapas’. Its signature drink is the Big Bowl which is a giant cocktail that up to six people can share. If you don’t have a group of six, you may order other good drink such as a gin-based drink called the “Inle Lotus” (2000kyats). As for food, the bar offers only grilled meat and vegetables at reasonable prices.

Open 3pm to 10.30pm daily

Phaung Daw Site Road Face to face with Royal Inle Hotel, Nyaungshwe Myanmar

See more: Top must-try Foods in Myanmar