Asia Adventure 2016: Part 5: Bagan, Myanmar
Our Asian Adventure: 10 Flights. 7 Cities. 5 Countries. All in 2 weeks.
The next stop on our trip took us to Bagan, Myanmar!
Day 1:
- We arrived later in the afternoon on the first day and we soon realized that everything in Bagan closes pretty early (If you travel for the nightlife, Bagan is not the place to go). So we just settled in to the hotel and rested for our tour the next day.
Day 2:
- For our first full day, we scheduled a private tour guide to drive us around and take us to some of the interesting sites around the city. Our tour guide didn't have a website, but he was great & if you want to schedule a tour with him, his contact info is thirigm.unw@gmail.com.
- There are so many temples in Bagan, its hard to remember the names of each of the ones we visited (so many will not have links). But our first stop, we went to one of the taller/quieter ones to get a great view of the landscape scattered with temples.
- Next, stopped at Htilominlo Temple.
- Next, we drove to the Nat Taung Kyaung Monastery. This monastery was beautifully carved out of wood. The day we went, they were having a special ceremony where they had prepared food for all the monks, so all the doors/windows was open and tables were filled with local dishes.
- A short walk from there, was another small temple. This one gave us a great view of the river below.
- Next, we headed to Old Bagan (through the Tharabha Gate) to see the Shwegugyi Temple. There, we were able to climb to the roof and get another great view of the area.
- Afterwards, we stopped by Nathlaung Kyaung Temple. This small temple is the only Hindu temple left in the area (the rest have been destroyed one way on another).
- Before stopping for lunch, we hit up a few more of the smaller temples in the area.
- One of the great things about having a local guide is that they are able to take you to places that the locals go. For lunch, we were able to get a real taste of local Bagan food. We would've never stopped there on our own (or have been able to order), but it was an awesome experience.
- After lunch, we all took a short break. The weather there gets so hot, that its better to be inside during the peak sun times. But after our little siesta, were hit the road once again and stopped by the Ananda Temple. One of the cool things about this temple is two of the (many) Buddhas there will change there expression depending on how far away you are standing from them.
- Next, we visited the Dhammayangyi Temple, one of the largest temples in Bagan.
- After, we explored the Sulamani Temple. This temple had many beautiful murals on the walls. Many of the temples had been painted over with white over the years (local worshipers thought it looked cleaner and nicer), so it was nice to see a temple with a lot of the murals still visible.
- By the time we finished at the Sulamani Temple, the sun was starting to set. We drove ourselves to Shwe San Daw Pagoda to watch the sunset (a very popular spot, so it was fairly crowded). Sadly, there were a lot of clouds that day, so we didn't get to see much of a sunset. But the view was still great.
Day 3:
- Day 3 we were on our own. Our flight was in the afternoon, so we only have the morning to explore. We started by trying to rent an e-bike (the preferred travel method of tourists), but soon found out that its harder than it looks.
- We quickly opted for the classic man-powered bikes instead.
- It was actually really nice to see everything at a slower pace and be able to go on some more backroad routes. I'd definitely recommend it if you're able to ride a bike. Both the e-bikes and regulars bikes were rentable from our hotel.
- The first stop on our bike tour was the Lacquerware Museum in Old Bagan. The museum was super small, but free (and no pictures allowed). They had some nice pieces and near by was a small shop where you could buy some handmade lacquerware for yourself.
- Next, we biked to Bu Paya Pagoda. The pagoda was small, but pretty. And there was an excellent view of the river from the pagoda.
- On our way back to the hotel, we made one more stop at the Shwezigon Pagoda. From the outside, it didn't look like much, but the inside was super beautiful.
- Afterwards, we had to head back to the hotel so would could make it to the airport for our flight.
Visiting Bagan is super surreal. Its crazy to see the more than 2000 temples and pagodas scattered across the horizon. I'm super happy that I was able to get a chance to experience it for myself.
The next part of our adventure took us to another city within Myanmar, Yangon!
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Part 4: Bangkok, Thailand
Part 6: Yangon, Myanmar
