WATCH: The Burmese Boat Festival That Puts Mardi Gras to Shame

Once a year at the end of October on Inle Lake in Myanmar, there is a festival of epic proportions. The lake’s canals and surrounding waterways are jammed with long boats rowed by over 100 men, all wearing fishing pants and dress shirts. But the most amazing thing to witness is that they row with their legs. Not kidding.

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An over-the-top festival on Inle Lake. (Photo: Andrew Rothschild)

Four out of five golden Buddha statues from the Phaung-Daw-Oo Pagoda are carried on a royal barge and taken around to 15 villages on the lake. Hundreds of boats follow the two-week-long procession. As they squeeze through narrow canals with the music pumping and the rower’s legs churning, it turns into one heck of a party.

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The author, floating along Inle Lake (Photo: Andrew Rothschild)

Seriously — this is a sight you have got to see.

*Thanks to Jacada Travel for organizing this insanely awesome trip.

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