Overheard: Monastery in Inle Lake

Overheard is our series of snippets/conversations that we have with other travelers and/or locals along the way.

There once was a monastery in Inle, that took in those needing a place to stay. It cost 5000 kyat per night, a deal to many travelers' delight. But when the government learned, their innards churned. And they prohibited the monks, from taking in foreign punks. So the money went back to hotels, and the officials celebrated with singing bells.

Okay, the bell part is made up, but the rest of this is real. Unlike hotels, the monks don't have to pay taxes to the generals. Once the generals realized how much potential money they were missing out on, they prohibited the monastery for accepting tourists. Pretty crazy.