Inle Lake, Myanmar (One-legged Rowers) (11/2006)

One-legged rowers cover page.	Map of Myanmar with star indicating Inle Lake.	Two "one-legged rower" fishermen fishing on Inle Lake.	He is pushing down with his foot the conical, woven bamboo basket that they use for catching fish.
The fishermen use a long pole to poke around inside baskets to frighten any fish caught inside.	Inside the basket is a net attached to metal rings.	If there are any fish inside, he lets the net drop. With some skill and luck, the fish is caught.	Here, you can clearly see the net inside the basket.
It takes good balance to manuever the net while standing on the boat.	The fisherman is using the oar to stabilize himself.	He is adjusting things before the next plunge of the basket.	Often, men will fish in a group and maneuver their boats in a narrowing circle to force the fish into the middle.
These two fishermen were working as a pair.	They worked the nets together like it had been choreographed!	The fisherman is reaching for the oar with his leg.	He is wrapping his leg around the oar to grasp it.
This is why they are called "one-legged rowers." He is rowing with one leg.	He is getting ready to try again.	The fisherman pushes the basket down to catch fish.	If any fish are inside, he will frighten them with the pole.
It takes a great deal of patience.	Here, he is waiting to see if this time he will catch something.	The fishermen fish where they see small bubbles or under water movements on the the lake.	His second attempt yielded no fish.
In reality, he was fishing to get a tip!	As you can see from these photos, this fisherman put on a great show!	Tips from tourists are probably more fruitful than fishing!	The second fisherman was taking a break.
Reaching again for the basket.	Here again, he shows his "one-legged rowing" technique.	He was hamming it up for the camera and, hopefully, was pleased with the tip I gave him.	After the photo stop, my boat started up again.
The fisherman looks for more fish (or more tourists) as we departed.	View of the fisherman in the distance as my boat moved away.