On Inle Lake, you will have a great chance to visit many workshops which bring you an unforgetable experience. These workshops mostly open for tourists.  Like most houses, all local workshops are buildings built on stilts on the lake. You will watch how to make handicrafts that are sold in their shops. You will be warmly welcome in each shop. There are also some shoppers speaking English who can tell you the process of their making crafts. It makes your discovery much more interesting.

Paper Umbrella making: You shouldn’t miss paper umbrella workshop. Aside from paper umbrellas, the young girls also make lovely products from paper pulp by hand. Then, they decorate and paint these items very beautifully and carefully.

Silk, cotton weaving:Making lotus silk is an extremely skillful process of extracting, spinning and weaving into stunning products. You can purchase lotus silk scarves and skirts for your family and friends. As artisans do not know English, they will describe what being done through body language.

Cotton wear is the best choice for most people through the world. Pure cotton fabrics are available in Myanmar. In Inle, the clever and creative locals can weave and design cotton and silk fabrics and then embroider charming articles from silk, cotton and wool.

The good weavers need have many perfect skills to work with hand looms. They ought to concentrate as well as coordinate their minds, eyes, hands and feet while working with the loom to produce handsome fabrics. Tourists usually buycolorful shoulder bags (Shan Bags) which are the most unique and useful, made from wool and cotton material.

Cigar rolling: even though you don’t smoke, watching the process of rolling cigars in local workshops is still really interesting. You can see that most makers are both young women and teenage girls who are working passionately. It will charge you about 10,000 kyats for a box of 30 handmade cigars. However, it is much cheaper as you buy at any convenience shop along the lake or in Nyaung Shwe.