Bagan has quite an interesting history, now most famous for it's 2000+ Buddhist monuments (temples, pagoda's, stupas) in a small concentrated area called Bagan's Archeological Area (that's as exciting as that name gets!) in the world, many dating back to 11th and 12th centuries. There were actually more than 4000+, but due to earthquakes, erosion from wind and rain, and the Ayeyarwady River, it is now in these couple of thousands.
Old Bagan is where most of the ornate sites are such as Ananda Temple (1091!) and 12th century Dhammayangyi Temple. Now, normally I try and make an attempt at noting a monument and then maybe some pics and facts, but when you have thousands of them and your "plan" consists of wandering aimlessly and when you see one that looks interesting, pull over on your bike, walk around, take some snaps and off you go, needless to say, any attempt had remarkably failed. Alas, that is what you do here, the best plan is to have no plan. Having been to most of South East Asia, I was reminded of Angkor Wat, Cambodia with the vastness of it and the hidden surprises, but also of Laos, sleepy Laos, where the town is small, rustic with dirt roads with pot holes, lots of stray dogs (that seemed mild enough), and of course the laid back nature of the people, of which many wear the local attire of the longyi's for men and woman in traditional dress, both with this gold powder/mask on their faces, men, woman and kids, but kind of caked on. There is also a seemingly Vietnamese influence (personal observation) with the pointy hats they wear, but there's can be more rounded or even wide like an umbrella, I guess I associate it with Vietnam, but who knows which one first or at the same time? That's what makes Myanmar so special, you can see the influence of so many different countries. I loooooved the people and couldn't help taking some local life pictures!
Interestingly, Bagan is NOT a UNESCO world heritage site because it is said that some of the temples have been rebuilt in an un-historic way and not preserving as best as it could. A true shame because having that support will truly help them. I last heard it is still in contingency. We shall see!
Random notes/tips:
- Yes, there is a "foreigner's fee" of $25USD for a 5-day unlimited pass to all the temples. I saw a couple try to argue this, but really, that is not a lot of money and it really helps maintain this complex area. It is not checked at all the temples, mostly the big most popular ones, and even then you can get it (i got mine at the airport).
- Push bike vs E-bike? I did both! The push bikes are quite dumpy and as mentioned, mine got a flat tire and had to call my hotel to replace it (which on a side note, most ALL hotels have options to rent them, and if not, they are a dime a dozen to find. Push bike was 1500 kyat for the day and e-bike 5000 kyat, totally cheap and reasonable). I liked it because you have time to look around and admire the surroundings more. The road is relatively flat, so it was fairly easy. The e-bike are super easy to ride, eco-friendly and easy to navigate and you obviously can go further. The main thing to check is that it has a full battery, which most of them are charged over night. I went around the whole day and didn't use even 3/4, but was going a bit on the slower side. It was a nice combo to do both, but I guess the convenience and ease of e-bike is hard to let up! I also loved it how to rent it you barely have to write down your name and they were like "bye! Have fun!" No helmet, no credit card deposit, nothing! I love the trust and simplicity of things around here (for now). Below are different modes of transportation!
- Around town and out and about, one can wear shorts and tanks, etc. BUT it is respected to cover shoulders and knees in the temples and pagoda's. Yes, they are shy and quiet and don't confront, but it's better to be respectful. I visited early Nov and it is hot and humid and rainy, but brought a shall with me as well as a sarong i brought from Thailand so was easy to cover up if needed. Comfy shoes of course is nice and sandals MUCH easier as you take them on and off do much. I wore gym shoes as got first a blister and then skin irritation from the bandaids from the stupid fit flops in Singapore, so was stuck with gym shoes, but alas, all worked out!
- Sunset/sunrises: That is the BIG thing here, usually the first thing people ask. So the rain gods decided that I haven't had enough of rain living in Dubai and it was time to show me some cloud and rain, actually, am okay with that as it is a change from the constant sun. I had booked hot air balloon and my 2 mornings the winds were too strong so had to cancel and the 3rd day had to leave early to catch my bus. I opted to go back to bed as had to wake up at 4:30am both mornings for 5-5:20am pick-up, and as sunrise is around 6:00am, it was a bit tight to get there. Of course technically could have made it, but it really was so grey and cloudy, don't think would have seen a sunrise anyway. And really, these weeks have been quite active and felt more the need to catch up on sleep! Sadly, same rain and clouds for sunset. Although got tips to find ANY temple or pagoda that had a view (or steps to get a view), both evenings ended up at the all famous yet all worthy Shwe San Daw pagoda.
- Tip: Pretty much EVERYONE visiting Bagan goes to Shwe San Daw pagoda for its' fab views. Yes, definitely worth it and you get an amazing view, but just be aware you will be sharing that view with hundreds of others, and it is chaos getting there with all the tourist buses, touts, and everything in between. The afternoons generally have great lighting, so one day I somehow ended up there on the way to another less crowded one, but then found out it was under construction and ended up there. The other day went there in the afternoon and got great pics and then was peace out by sunset. Of course didn't plan well to have an Option B for sunset viewing, but again, it was so cloudy that even while getting back to the hotel, could see there was no sunset. So my tip is to find a "high" pagoda, many are off the beaten path a bit, and save that for the sunset, and go to the popular ones in the afternoon. Pics below are from 2 different days :-)
My great e-bike (although was a bit uncoordinated and it fell on me and still have a bruise. D'oh!)
- Hot air ballooning: Expensivo! $395 for Oriental ballooning and I think it was $350 for Balloons Over Bagan! Needless to say was a wee bit disappointed for the weather cancellations, but also a bit relieved to have that "extra" $. But on the other hand, it is THE thing to do and when I look at pictures from friends, others, and online, truly does look magical and breathtaking. We always try to make ourselves feel better when things don't work out, so mine is the $$, but really was envious of those that got to go up and fly away!
- Places to Stay: Simply put, you can find super cheap hostels to uber expensive luxury hotels/guesthouses. Old Bagan is more on the high end of things, New Bagan has a mix, and Nyuang-U, where I stayed is more "happening" as it more a mix of local life and hotels, and has a fab range of eats from again local to more "expensive," meaning dishes for a couple of dollars to $5-$10.
Bagan to Inle Lake:
Note to self: listen to the right person. One friend had said that distances are quite large in Myanmar and best to fly everywhere. Another one was more or less backpacking and said the buses are quite fun experiences. I decided to fly to Bagan from Yangon and then Inle Lake to Yangon and do what I thought was supposed to be a 5ish hour bus ride from Bagan to Inle Lake. How wrong was I! It is more like 7ish hours, but we'll get to why that is not often the case later. Traveling is all about unexpected adventures and taking things as they come, so instead of arriving to Inle Lake relaxed and ready to explore, I arrived more than 10 and a half hours after departure with a severe headache (migraine probably), barely made it to the room and vomited, and went to bed at 8pm after a hot shower and drinking lots of water, and slept like 10 hours. On a side note, interestingly, my body can't seem to take long bus rides anymore. Within the last year on buses (Ethiopia and Serbia), I was reading during the ride and blamed it on that. This time just spaced out and/or listened to podcasts, but yet somehow my body just doesn't take it! Could blame dehydration, but lesson learned. Oops, I digress. Anyhoo, the trip took me back to backpacking days as among 10 of us, I was the only one above 30 y/o, without a backpack (had a small rolling suitcase), wasn't traveling for a month or more, and was willing to spend more than $10-$15 on accommodations (gasp!). Ahhhh, those good 'ol days. But love the community atmosphere and sharing of backpackers, some will fight or try their hardest to save a dollar or less, but then will share their food and give away things. But anyway, the VIP buses are $20USD compared to my $15USD and talking to people, their experience was completely different, their seats could recline, it was Arctic A/C so they were given blankets and it seemed relatively comfy. My experience was these god awful dirty seats that for sure didn't recline, we had open windows and when we asked for A/C it was a mild putz of cool'ish air, then quickly forgotten and went back to open windows. Also the sliding door to get out actually was broken so you could only open the door from the outside or from the window, NOT safe! I still am amused by our crazy driver, he extended the dreadful trip by a good 2-3 hours by stopping to get that green leaf red tar thing they grossly spit out (his teeth were totally rotted) at least 3 times, and each time lead to 15-20 min of him chit-chatting with people. Or how he just stopped for tea, stopped to meet his father, stopped to pick up fruit to give to a check point agent, stopped for "us" to eat, although we were 10km away to Inle Lake and all of us wanted to just get there, spent 30 min on his phone and then ate in 15 min, while all of us just sat there and grumbled at him. Who knows why he stopped the other times. Seems he was taking a self road trip and just happened to carry a few tourists on the ride. Heard similar stories from other travellers, but not as bad as hours. Haha, all funny experiences in hindsight. The thing is you just have to let things be, and again...
Tip: Spend the extra few dollars on VIP buses! Or spend even extra money (should be around $100USD) to fly! Lol.
Met another couple that took a train to Bagan from Yangon, and their 8 hour journey took 12 and let's say we had a good banter on who had the worst experience. Am still laughing at their sleeping cart (and them!) being full of grass hoppers and bugs.
On a random side note, thought to end Bagan with this sign, even in Myanmar!!! Lol
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