THE SKIES OPEN AND THE LAKE, suddenly, is everywhere, pouring down from above, seeping across the horizon, thrashing beneath our long-tail boat. Then, just as suddenly, as if to the cue “let there be light,” the sun splits through the clouds, tames the rearing waters, and paints a gaudy rainbow across the wild blue yonder. The lake, now a perfect mirror, reflects the arc in a full circle, a rainbow bull’seye, and in the center, the Sanctum Inle jetty, positioned right in time for our arrival.
As we putter up to the wooden gazebo on the waterfront, the background is all Burma with wild green hills and the intractable crawl of tropical flora, but the architecture, with broad arches and a central courtyard surrounding a marble fountain, would look more…
