Bagan, Myanmar (Burma)

On 23 November we flew from Yangon to Bagan.

From the 9th to 13th Centuries, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan, the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar.  During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 4,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas, and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2,200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day. (Wikipedia)

Very similar to Siam Reap, Cambodia, Bagan is almost indescribable until you experience if for yourself.

Temples, pagodas, and stupas everywhere.  Never did fully understand the subtle distinction among them.

On our first night in Bagan, we decided to bicycle out to a couple of sights before dark and ended up watching the sunset from atop a small temple.  This horse cart driver was recommended by a guy also watching the sunset. So, we made arrangements to have him take us around Bagan all day, the next day.  After throwing a chain on one of the rickety bicycles we rented from our hotel, we were stuck out after dark on a busy narrow highway.  That was the last time we attempted bicycling anywhere in Myanmar! 

This is a monastery carved from teak. 

There are about a half dozen super grand temples in Bagan (compared to the run-of-the-mill other 2,200 scattered around in a relatively small area).  Each one was an "est".  "Tallest, biggest, oldest, greatest etc."  It's difficult keeping track of which one was which.  Me to the guide, "I thought you said the last one was the biggest."  Guide:  "No, that one was the tallest."  Me to the guide, "Ok. Oh, but four temples ago, pretty sure you said that one was the tallest".....and so on.

According to Buddhism, you're not supposed to touch anyone on the head.  Well, what else could this Buddha statue be meant for?

It's not often that services are free.  But this nice lady painted Kassie's face with thanaka for nothing.  Well, almost.  She still ended up buying a few souvenirs from her, anyway.

How do they do this!?

Myanmar is still adapting to the influx of tourists.  As such, there are very few controls, yet.  So, climbing up a pagoda to get a better view is still possible.

Just be careful!  There are no guard rails and probably no ambulance that will come and take you to a hospital.

Myanmar lacquer-ware is very impressive and very intricately etched.

Our horse cart driver took us to one shop that makes lacquer ware.

After seeing how it is made, we had to buy a piece.  Of course!  Still have no idea if we got completely ripped off or if we bought the "real stuff".  Whatever. Even though we spent a half day's budget on a bowl that we might have bought for a dollar, it still looks nice. 

Granny selling the most appealing food we saw in Myanmar.

This was one of the few paved roads.  Getting to most of the temples meant taking a dirt road.  A little dusty, but it has to beat doing it in the rainy season.

Crawling out of one of the tiny and unlit passageways leading to the top of a temple.

Since we didn't get hurt riding our bicycles back to the hotel after dark, it was well worth seeing a sunset.

In and among the temples, normal life goes on.  Tourism is changing Bagan rapidly, but right now it seems decades behind the rest of SE Asia tourism.

No tour buses on this road, yet.

They have definitely figured out that tourists buy stuff.  So, there are plenty of souvenirs to buy at all the big temples.

Interesting fact.  Every single one of the structures in these pictures has a Buddha inside the doorways.  Just about every one of these has a door on each side.  So, four Buddhas, minimum, per pagoda.  Your average temple is good for few dozen Buddhas.

Crazy-scary puppets for sale.

Bagan's version of a commuter bus.

Maybe, this one was the biggest temple in Bagan?

Yes, that is a Buddha behind Kassie through the doorway.

We met this nice family on our final night trying to catch the sunset.

This time we played it much more carefully and chose a sight we knew we could get back from before it got dark.  Also, we took our rented electric scooter that had a headlight.  Interestingly, we rented the scooter for a whole day for about $5.  It was brand new and they never asked for our name, deposit, passport, or anything.  

Nice headgear on our impromptu sunset guide.