Bagan Temples and Villages

The temples at Bagan in some way are more breathtaking than Angor Wat because of their isolated beauty, their unpretentious location and the absence of the hoards of tourists.  Taking photos does not really capture the beauty of the setting. I enjoyed when I stopped and took it all in.

I decided to spend a few days exploring the temples of Bagan. My plan was 1 day by horse cart, 1 by bicycle and one on foot around the New Bagan area. I was excited to relax and just become a bit of a local in New Bagan. My hotel, Mya Thirda Guesthouse, was the perfect place away from the backpacker group in Nyaung-U. It was clean, peaceful and relaxing. The owners spent time explaining the history and life in Myanmar which I appreciated. After a few breakfasts of the standard eggs and toast I was excited when I got a bowl of food that I did not recognize. I was ready to try something new and different. Over the week I had rice with pickled mango, noodles with onions and carrots and a variety of fried been and vegetable cakes. It was all good and I was surprised that I stayed full into the middle of the afternoon. It was a nice change from the standard eggs and toast.

Bagan has been described by many people as one of the finest sights in the world and I must agree. Between the 11-13th centuries, Bagan's kings commissioned more than 4,000 Buddhist temples. The temples have beautiful murals, Buddha statues and stairways that lead to exterior platforms with jaw-dropping views of the plains. The brick and stucco structures  remain where the wooden cities of the time are long gone.  The site has withstood centuries of neglect, looting by the Mongol's, erosion, regular earthquakes and questionable restoration. Even so, the plain of Bagan is remarkable. I was in awe when I first glimpsed the site and words can not convey my appreciation of the temples.  I will let my photos speak for themselves. I was told numerous times that I needed to return between Dec- Feb when the sunsets are beautiful and the rain clouds disappear.
My horse, Amoo Amoo, arrived with the driver at 9 am to begin our tour of the pagodas of Bagan. We left the hotel and all I heard was the clip-clap of Amoo Amoo's shoes on the pavement. I relaxed into the sound and the sights. It was early morning and the sun was already scorching down on the buggy. I was thankful to be in the shade of the carriage. We pulled up to the first temple and I was off to explore the grounds. The government charges $10 USD for entry to the Bagan Archeological sites. I expected to pay at this site, but nobody was collecting money. I removed my shoes and left them at the steps. Luckily I am not a germ freak. The hardest thing to get use to in SE Asia is removing your shoes and walking barefoot. Socks are not allowed. I have witnessed several westerners trying to do this and they are typically turned back. I only have 2 issues with removing my shoes. The marble tiles can be extremely hot in the afternoon sun and in the courtyards the stones and sticks hurt my wimpy feet! Anyway, I entered and observed many families were setting up their souvenir shops along the path. Since it was early and they were setting up, I was spared the hard sale. Yay! I walked the steps to the temple and a young boy greeted me with "Hello, where you from?" I responded and he ran off to tell his family. A few minutes later, they appeared and asked if they could take photos with me. I posed for photos for 5 minutes and then we said our goodbyes. The temple was under reconstruction as they were replacing the gold leaf on the upper stuppa. I was amazed by the bamboo scaffolding that surrounded the stupa and the ease with which the workers climbed up and around it. It did not look very safe to me but what do I know?














After exploring, I returned to Amoo Amoo and we were off to my favorite pagoda.  I loved this pagoda as soon as I saw it. The arching entry way, the amber yellow bricks and the large castle-like design. It reminded me of Spain. I waited for the tourists to disappear so I could capture the beauty of the arch entry at Sulamani Pagoda.

All of the souvenir salespeople were ready for business so I was immediately begged to buy a t-shirt, bells, gongs, paintings and postcards. I continued on my path. I enjoyed the carvings and murals of the pagoda before returning to my horse cart. We clambered down the sand path to a small 3 story pagoda. I avoided the sales hawkers and made my way to the top viewing platform and sat down to admire the plain. As I was taking pictures, two eager artists took the moment to pull out their artwork. I explained I was not interested and they started giving me the history of the surrounding pagodas. I admit it was all very overwhelming. I could not keep the names straight. The told me about a pagoda that was built by one of the kings that he required a pine needle could not be inserted between the bricks and mortar. If he was able to insert the pine needle then, the workers arm would be amputated or they would be killed. Drastic, huh? I was also intrigued watching the cattle and goats make their way across the plain. Several goat decided to climb a pagoda below. I knew I had lost track of the time. I was talking to the artists and someone tapped me on the shoulder. As usual, I screamed and about jumped off the pagoda! I am not sure who was more scared...me or my horse cart driver that came to get me.

We continued visiting pagodas and I continued to avert the sales pitches for souvenirs. I considered that a huge success! I was getting hot and ready for a bite to eat and a break from the hot sun. The driver took me to town for a nice lunch and time to cool off. Afterwards we headed to additional temples. In the middle of the afternoon, he said we were ahead of schedule and could go visit some smaller temples or take a break in town and let Amoo Amoo cool off. I felt bad for the horse and said I would like to explore town while Amoo Amoo cooled off. I enjoyed a cool fruit shake at a teashop while the men played a game.

After a short rest, I was off to expolre the village of Old Bagan on my own. It didn't take long for the children to find me and start selling postcards, magnets and their travel services. I told them I did not want or need anything and continued on my way. They followed and told me "No customers today. No lucky day. You my first customer." I laughed and told them" Me no customer. Me no buy." Yes, my Asian-english has come to this! But they understand the simplicity of it. These kids do not take no for an answer and continued to follow me. I got to the point where I just ignored it. I know that they do this because it has worked with other tourists and they have been conditioned to just keep following you and lowering the price until you finally buy something. I met back up with my horse and cart at 4:45PM to head to the final pagoda for sunset.

When I arrived at the pagoda, every salesperson I had met throughout the day was there waiting for me. I was mobbed at the entrance. They were still trying to sell me things. Ahhh! I said no and continued to the stairs. I was thankful to get to the pagoda and start my ascent to the top. The salespeople stood at the bottom yelling out prices to me. OMG! This was crazy. I found that it made me that much more adamant that I was not buying anything. The climb to the top pf the pagoda was not too hard. The steps were small so I had to go up sideways because my foot was too big. The craziest thing is that the step height was so big. Each step was probably 18-24 inches high. I giggled as I thought about the short stature of the people and these huge steps. At the top of the pagoda, there were only 15 other travelers. I sat down to await the show. A private guide was telling a couple that during the high sesaon (Nov - Feb) the pagoda was packed with tourists on every level. This was better because you could walk around the top level and see the plains as we awaited the sun's final descent. I took a moment to walk to the other side. Oh no! There were huge rain clouds coming our way! The guide had followed me and said we may get lucky and it would miss this temple...maybe. I went back to my waiting spot and decided to cover my bag with the rain cover. It was not going to be fun going down if it rains. Only time was going to tell. The sunset was not amazing since the clouds moved in.

I got a few shots before the storm blew in with heavy winds. My skirt flew up and the rain was an immediate downpour. Everyone packed up and started the five level descent. It was slippery but everyone told the next person to be careful if a step was loose or especially slippery. I looked down thinking the salespeople would be gone. Nope! There they stood waiting for us with their items in rain. I made my way out of the pagoda and back to my horse for the ride back to my hotel. It had been a great day. My driver tried to talk me into a second day but I had decided to do a walk  and a day of biking around the New Bagan area.

Over the next two days I explored on foot and due to the heat I gave up on a bike and went with a second driver and horse (Rambo) for a bargain price of $12 USD. I explored the smaller temples and a beautiful little village of Min-nau-thu. The village was beautiful. I was told about 188 people live in the village. There are woman that weave and farm animals are grazing or sleeping near the homes. As I walked through the village, I saw an old woman making cigars. I loved her!

Her name was Ching-Ching and she was 82 years old. She loved betel nut and smoking. She said these were her hobbies and had helped her live to this age. She lit a cigar and handed it to me. I told her "no thank you. No smoke. " Then she was trying to push the betel nut on me. I asked if I could get a photo of her smoking and she was excited. She loved seeing the photos of herself. She asked a young girl to take a picture of the 2 of us smoking cigars. I gave in and pretended.

On the second day of the horse cart tour, I went to small temples. The gate keepers opened up the temples for me and tried to sell me their artwork or souvenirs. I had bought a painting the first night from a man named Tin Tin. He passed us on the road and told my driver to come to his temple. He wanted to show me the mural that I had bought from him. He was so excited to show me the beauty of his little temple. It had some of the best murals I had seen on my tour. I was thankful for his time and the artwork he shared with me. Then he took me around the outside of the temple to make certain I got the best photos. Since we had bonded and he had just put a wad of betel nut into his mouth I asked if I could get a picture of him. He was excited and asked me to give him a moment for the redness of the betel nut to get stronger. The people of Myanmar are friendly and I loved them immediately. This place is  not only beautiful but the people are warm and welcoming. I will never forget the beautiful temples of Bagan or the kind hearted people I met here.

Bagan Bound by Bus

Ugh! Too much beer last night made for a rough start in the morning. I went to the lobby to wait for a taxi ride to the station. After a 45 minute cab ride we arrived at a large bus station. Each bus line has an office where you wait for your bus. I checked in at the small desk, recorded my country of residence and passport number and took a seat to wait for the bus. Once again I was the attraction. I laughed as the Burmese people would do a double take when they saw me and then went and got a friend. They would come over to the bus station and stand and giggle. When I looked at them and smiled or waved, they would laugh and then turn away. A few brave individuals would walk up and want to see my ticket. I realized quickly they wanted to see if they were on the same bus. I wonder if I will ever get use to this.

I had assumed that I would be able to buy something to eat and drink at the bus station. My choices were betel nut chew, tea and fruit. I went for the fruit and then tried to ask about cold bottled water. I was told no. Wow! This could be a long trip without water. I sat back down and young girls came with a small basket of goods. I looked in it. She had wet wipes, nail clippers, Myanmar books, nasal inhalers (she was really pushing this) and peppermint candies. I told her no thank you and she moved on. Monks were making the rounds for morning alms and I watched quietly. It was different than Laos. Most of the monks were given rice and bananas there but here it seemed to be money offerings.

At 15 minutes before the scheduled departure we were told to place our bags under the bus and find your seat. I went to mine and sat down. Yes! There was a bottle of water, a bag (in case you got sick) and a wet wipe at each seat. The bus left the station at 14 seconds after the scheduled time! That was prompt! I can't wait to see if this is the way it will be the remainder of the trip. As the bus left the station, I watched out the window. When people saw a foreigner, they would wave and smile. I was excited to see the countryside outside of the city. I knew it would take some time to get out of the city and decided it was the perfect time for a little nap. When I awoke we were on the freeway headed north. The country was green and beautiful. I watched as farmers were sitting in wagons pulled by 2 large ox. Right down the side of the road! I felt like I had gone back in time. The bus stopped at lunch time for 30 minutes. I sat down and ordered a chicken fried rice. It was what the locals were eating so I figured it was turned over quickly. Then, I was back on the bus for a few more hours. We left the freeway and turned onto dirt roads. People started yelling out which I assumed was the locations where they wanted to be left off the bus. As we entered the small towns, I saw pickup trucks and horse carts shuttling people around town. The pickup truck beds had bench seats along the sides of the bed and a cover over the top. The bed of the trucks were packed full of people. Sometimes the people overfilled onto the back of the truck and the roof of the truck. They calmly road cross-legged on top as the trucks swerved down the roads. I am open to trying most means of transportation but I am not sitting on top of a truck that is traveling down a road!

As we entered one town, there were 4 tanks and army personnel sitting on the side of the road. This caught my attention because there have been some fights breaking out in towns around Myanmar but I had not read about anything near Bagan. As we entered a small town, we passed about 8 police officers with machine guns standing armed. I am not sure what was going on but it made me realize this country was still an emerging tourist destination. After 50 years of military junta, they were trying to become more democratic and to bring in investments and tourism. It has been said that as a tourist you are always watched and only allowed to go to areas allowed by the government. I had several places I had wanted to go but that had been closed due to the low tourist season or political instability. I was disappointed but there was plenty of the country for me to explore.

At 5:00 PM, I arrived in Nyaung-U. The girl sitting next to me told me this was not my stop. I needed to stay on the bus for 2 more stops. So I sat down and waited. Then, a young man got on the bus with 5 guys behind him. They walked up and wanted to know where I was going. He told me this was my stop. As I exited the bus, all 5 of the guys wanted to take me in their horse carts to my hotel. I gave the guy that spoke English my hotel information and he gave it to one of the men. They grabbed my backpack and I followed him. I crawled up on the back of the horse cart with my two backpacks and introduced myself to the driver. As the horse cart headed towards New Bagan where I was staying, I had time to take in the sites. We passed the first temples and I smiled. I had seen so many pictures of Bagan and was not disappointed.

We passed through the gates of Old Bagan and by small temples on the side of the road. My driver offered to take me to see sunset at the temples but I really wanted to get my things to the hotel and relax. It had been a long bus ride and I wanted to wait for tomorrow. I negotiated a rate with the driver for the next day (20,000 kyat) for the day. He pulled over to the side of the road a few times so I could get a quick look at what tomorrow would bring. I was happy when we arrived at my hotel an hour later. I forget how slow horse travel is!
I checked into Mya Thirda and was pleased with the small room. It was a bargain for $20 when most rooms were starting at $65 and up. The owner looked at the clock and asked if I wanted to see sunset. I told him I just wanted to relax. He said that sunset was not going to be great tonight (rainy season) but he really wanted to show me the plain. For 3,000 kyat ($3 USD) he would take me to a small pagoda with no other people and a great view of the Bagan plain. Oh, why not?!?!? We drove outside of New Bagan and parked. He grabbed a flashlight and took me to a small pagoda. We walked up 2 flights of stairs and looked out across the plains. It was a beautiful sight that I will never forget. I have traveled for many years, there are some sights that you remember seeing for the first time. The plains of Bagan is one I will always remember and cherish. I was so happy he insisted that I did it on my first night. Now, I was excited and anticipating my exploration of the pagodas in the morning!