Lonely Planet teaser notes: A most intriguing and picturesque ecosystem, the fascinating Loktak Lake is a shimmering blue lake broken up into small lakelets by clumps of thick matted weeds (called phumdis), the lake is inhabited by local villagers who build thatched huts on these floating ‘islands’ and make their way about the lake in dugout canoes. More peculiar than floating villages are the large, perfectly circular fishing ponds created out of floating rings of weeds.
 
 
December 8, 2014
IMPHAL to LOKTAK LAKE - 49 KM 
Sendra Resort 2750 Rs - 3 room cottage with breakfast and hefty tax

Public Transport to South End of Loktok

The Classic offered a private car taxi to Loktok lake for about $100. We asked them to write down the public transit directions for us. We managed to stuff enough stuff for our overnighter in our tiny day packs and stored the rest of our luggage at The Classic Hotel. 

We hopped across the center divider and flagged down an auto rickshaw taxi and showed our note while pointing to the Winger van collection point. The driver nodded and told us to get in. Dave shared the small seat with the driver in front and I squeezed in the back next to two other ladies. The driver must have misunderstood our written note and kept driving and driving way further than we expected. We initially ended up on other side of town. The nice driver, who usually drives a specific route, asked around and finally dropped us off at a bus-stop for Morang (on Loktak Lake) which was along the highway leaving Imphal. 
 
We looked in vain for the more comfortable "Winger" vans and eventually jumped on a filthy public bus with a "MORANG" sign in the window. Standing room only. The only other western face was a photographer from Israel we had met in Mon and again in Kohima. He offered me his seat but I declined as it looked pretty uncomfortable sitting three across. About halfway, a seat opened up for us. I tried not to touch anything around me. India is definitively immersion therapy of sorts for a germaphobe like myself. Many common sights will make even the strongest among us gag. The blood-red projectile "pan" spit that stains bus-windows, streets and teeth is right up there with the two finger nose blowing. Especially in America, we are so into the virtues of a sanitized world, admittedly leaning a bit too far to the other extreme. 
   
.....In any case, an hour after we got on the bus we arrived at the endpoint, the market in Moirang. From there, we got on a shared rickshaw and rode across a thin strip of land with Loktak Lake to our left and the smaller Takmu Lake to our right. At the entrance gate to Sendra Resort, we were let off at the foot of small hill. We had to climb up the path to the resort itself. We were a bit disappointed when we saw litter and building debris scattered around the resort. It was NOT to the same cleanliness standard at the Classic in Imphal. 
 

Cottage at Sendra

The grounds were not clearly signed. When we booked in Imphal, they told us to bring our confirmation paper to Jimi, in the kitchen. We sauntered into a messy area in process of being remodeled and eventually were pointed in the right direction. We met Jimi, a soft spoken diminutive young man. He showed us to our lovely cottage overlooking lake. Our cottage is one of four and perched on the hillside. They have two stories. Downstairs is a small kitchen dining area, bedroom and bathroom. Upstairs is a sitting area with small rattan chairs and table with the best view. The kitchenette consists of an electric water kettle and sink. Besides a few glasses and cups, no other dishes. 

We were shown around the grounds passing several military guard shacks. The guards greeted us with broad smiles. We asked Jimi if he could arrange for us to take a boat tour in one of those dugout fishing boats we could see on the lake. He told us he would check around for us. We grabbed some lunch at the cafeteria. And a bit later, Jimi informed us that he had found a fisherman who would take us at 2:00 pm. We were elated. We walked around the property on our own for a bit. There is a high viewpoint where several Indian families, who came down for the day, were enjoying a picnic. 
 

Paddle to the Phumdi
 
At 2:00, Jimi led the way down the hill and through the small village lining a dirt road to a spot on the shore where two dugout boats were tied side by side, attached to each other for stability. We negotiated a fair rate (300Rs) and told the fishermen that we wanted to see the few homes on the floating islands a bit closer. 

Many pictures show the lake covered with dozens and dozens of small phumdi islands formed by water plants. From our vantage point, we could see many floating clumps but only a few large rings with island homes. One nice homestead was floating just 200 meters offshore. Jimi told us that only two years ago, all the islands were inhabited by fishermen and their families. The government repositioned most of those people to the mainland because of the lack of sanitation and the problems of water pollution. Only a few families who refused to leave, remain. 
 
 
Lily Pad Homestead 

Soon we were gliding silently through the tranquil water. Bamboo poles from fishing contraptions protruded next to most of the small round islands. We landed on the shore of one of the few islands with a bamboo home, on stilts, still on it. It was the one we had admired our cottage. 
 
We stepped out of our dug outs onto a spongy green plant mass.
 
Wooden dug outs lay on the shore in front of their cordoned off fishing farm of sorts. They had a healthy looking vegetable garden. Apparently, it's very rich soil on those little islands. The men sat together repairing some fishing nets and the woman disappeared up the little bamboo ladder into the house. She came back shortly with a large fresh fish. "She likes to know if you like to buy it", Jimi said. "If your cook fixes it for us, we would love to buy it." I replied. So we bought the fish. We never found out what kind. It was but it had lots of bones. The purchase was just the opening we needed to forge a relationship and we were invited into the house and shown around.
 
We spent another 30 minutes on the mirror smooth lake before heading back. It had been a great choice to take the local fisherman's tour. 
 
 
Dinner and a Movie

Back at the cottage, we showered and went to the upstairs loft and watched the outline of the peninsula fade from the daylight as the sun sank into the lake, We enjoyed the extra space in the cottage and our little dining area where we played cards until dinner arrived at about 7:00. From our bed, we watched the movie about Stephen Hawkins, The Theory of Everything. The final credits were rolling when the cottage's battery power became depleted and all our lights clicked off.