During my time in Myanmar, I had heard the most incredible stories and anecdotes of Bagan. The town, and its surroundings, are even listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It was clear that I had to put it on my to-do list while travelling through Myanmar and so be it. Arriving in the early evening was the perfect preparation for a weekend full of discoveries.
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| Representing Belgium |
Day 1: Driving around Bagan by car
My first day in Bagan, I got to join three retired friends, two australians and a Kiwi. Together we shared a taxi which drove us around Bagan's outskirts. "The Bagan Archeological Zone, defines as the 13x8km are centered around Old Bagan, consisting of Nyaung U (where my hostel was & the best place to stay) in the north and New Bagan in the south, lies in the vast expanse of plains in Upper Burma on the bend of the Irrawaddy River." (Thanks Wikipedia). New Bagan is a town in the south of this territory which was only built in the late 1990's as the government didn't want to endage the archeological sites due to increasing population. In reality this resulted in the immediate and forced eviction of about 10.000people to a newly built town. If people refused, they were shot. It was that simple.
Nowadays Bagan's one of Myanmar's top destinations as around 3000 temples, of estimated over 10.000 in the 'golden days', are located in this small area. What's astonishing is the fact that only 50.000-200.000people are estimated to have lived here during these golden days, which means that almost everyone who was important got his/her own pagoda (=temple) built. It is interesting to see how similar, but yet different, all of these pagodas are as they were built in a timespan of early nineth century A.D. until late 13th century A.D. The earliest temples even have some Hindhu-influences, as this was the religion people had here before buddhism was enforced to them by one of the many kings of that era. Shiva and other gods of Hinduism are actually shown in the earliest temples.
We also visited a small village, located in the area, where they were currently installing the poles to let electricity reach the town. Civilization is coming, if you want it or not... The local school received us gladly and we got to see youngsters from 5-12years sing the national anthem proudly (and forced?). After a quick lunch in a local restaurant, and a nap in the hotel (it's 39°C here, cut me some slack), we continued our way through a dozen more pagodas before finishing our day by looking at an amazing sunset over the Bagan region.
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| Sunset over Bagan |
For dinner I discoverd a small restaurant, serving cuba libres at €0,80 and enjoyed my evening talking to the restaurant owner about developing his business etc. A great end to an incredible day.
Day 2: Absolute freedom on an e-bike
My second day in Bagan, I did what so many tourists do: go around without a guide, discovering hidden temples and enjoying new and incredible sightseeings every few metres. For a mere 5000Kyat (less than €5) I rented an e-bike -that's right I rented a electric motorcycle!- and went around the Bagan area for the day. It was great to feel the wind blow through your hair and the sun burn on your skin while driving through this magnificient, almost un-earthlike, scenery and stopping wherever I wanted.
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| The e-bike |
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| Temple Nr. 801, my own private temple |
I did end up at some lost and forsaken places, had to make some 180° turns as I was lost, but did manage to find some abandoned temples and other in great shape but without any tourists or souvenirs stalls next to it. In the afternoon, and as I was getting enough of all the pagoda-hopping, I decided to just stay on the main road and came by some nice sights as well before heading back to Nyaung U to catch my night bus to the next destination: Inlay Lake!
It's funny how one of the best, and most touristic, places in the whole of Myanmar only give me this little to write about. I guess you just have to live it to know what it is. I will let the pictures do their work. Oh, 1 tip: don't ever step into a temple with your shoes on...
safe travels_
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| Myanmar school |
posted from Bloggeroid
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