30th Dec (Bagan - Inle Lake / Nyangshwe or NS)
- ... cont from above
- checked in @ Nawng Kham - The Little Inn in the town - south west of the NS market (most people stays at NS town as it has cheaper accommodation and near to the lake) in the late evening. we paid approx RM 330 for 3 nights for a double room (twin bed). pretty basic room with fan, without aircon (you dont need 1). garden setting. walking distance to restaurants (aplenty!), mini markets, laundry, tour agency and the jetty (for long boat ride to the lake). very frenly and extremely helpful staff. no complains at all, eventho the unit we got was the older unit. breakfast included, of cuz
- after dinner, booked our long boat ride thru the guest house (we din go around the jetty to enquire - as suggested by TripAdvisor as we were tired after a long ride (my post above). we paid 20,000 kyat for the long boat for a whole day, including Indein ruins and sunset viewing at the lake (we din nego much). we asked about the itinerary, and the receptionist patiently explained to us according to the map hung on the wall. the  long boat  driver is 1 of their family members it seems. i ges it doesnt matter, the rate quoted is approx those comments i read in TripAdvisor.
- we also enquired about the express bus between Inle lake / NS to Yangon as again, we afraid it will be sold out due to high season. oh well, again JJ Express was sold out, thus we booked the ELITE express bus @ 20,000 kyat per pax (MORE ON THIS LATER ON)
- other expenses : dinner (local noodles + coffee + dessert) - 6,000 kyat per pax, we bought some Snickers choc bars for the boat trip pasal afraid  might get hungry during the boat ride at the mini market nearby - 900 kyat each.

31st Dec (Inle Lake / NS)
- since the boat is ours for the day, we went out approx 9 plus am. life jacket and thick blanket is provided (it is cold during the morning and evening) and came back after 530 pm IIRC (after the sunset)
- 1st stop, some mainstream market (cant recall the name), which everyone goes to (std unless u request otherwise? not sure). upon arrival, there are already hundreds of long boats parked beside the market. i guess most tourist make this their 1st stop in the morning huh. since there are many stalls selling souvenirs, i would suggest to do some bargain hunting here. after that, we proceed some villages, some garden, some weaving factory, Inthar Heritage House (booked early if you want to have lunch here. it is extremely popular! we failed to get any seats), lunch, some important temple (cant recall the name) and then Indein ruins follow by sunset on the lake. lunch is not included in the long boat fee.. (we went to a restaurant on route to that temple and paid approx 3,000 kyat per pax for local food). we aint  sure where to makan,  thus the driver brought us to a restaurant not far from the temple (since its on the way). my suggestion is have a few recommended restaurant of your choices and inform the driver so that he can tell you which is feasible according to the itinerary. the lake is indeed bloody big
- we planned to do a day trek on the next day to the near by mountain, which we were recommended to seek for a guide at the tour agency just few blocks away. upon checking out the itinerary, we decided to take it. we paid approx 12,000 kyat per person (we din nego). according to them, its a private guide tour and the guide is English speaking as well. the shop does laundry as well at the rate of 2,000 kyat per kg. since it is close to our guest house, we din bother checking the price at other laundry (mostly situated near the market area according to the receptionist), we saja drop our laundry that night expecting to pick it up right after our trekking activity the next day
- other expenses : dinner @ NS town - 4,000 kyat + 7,000 kyat per pax including local wine & beer

1st Jan (Inle / NS)
- we started our day trek pretty late around 9.30 am
- itinerary include a uber cool cave temple, some villages, some viewing point over looking the town at the mountain, passed many gardens and more villages, lunch @ a local village house (damn paiseh, we got the whole dining room by ourselves while the family members and guides waited downstairs! =O), pass a dam and lastly passing thru a vineyard enroute to Red Mountain Vinery. here, you get the best freaking view of the town and lake! we sampai early, so we just chill and do the wine tasting @ 3,000 kyat per set (4 type of wine) while waiting for the sun goes down. its cool that we arrived early as it is very popular. after the sunset, we  walked back to the town (approx 1 hour via the main road as it is dark after 6 pm).
- other expenses : dinner @ One Owl Grill off the main road - 7,000 kyat per pax (recommended)

2nd (Inle / NS - Yangon)
- the bus ticket include picking u up to to their office at the main road. waited for awhile, but eventually left Inle / NS around 930 am. the ELITE bus (based on the 1 i sat) is comfy with recliner seats and has huge leg space. it is 4 seater across express bus (compare to the popular JJ Express of 3 seater across, i think (?)). during the ride, they ll give u a bottle of mineral water, a box of confectionery & wet wipes. the journey was approx 9 hours (IIRC) with multiple stops for lunch and toilet breaks. oh ya, did i mentioned every seat has it's personal touch screen multimedia display? but the movies / music selection is ok saja la..
- we arrived at Aung Mingalar bus station quite late in the evening (approx 730+ pm IIRC). Once sampai, there will be lots cab waiting for u. nego well to get to the your desired hotel / hostel.
- other expenses : lunch at somewhere between Inle / NS to Yangon - 2,000 kyat per pax for local food

more on Yangon later...