Welcome to Myanmar's Disneyland of pagodas (credit to our friend Liron for the term), the beautiful and breathtaking Bagan! It was the ancient capital of the Pagan Kingdom where over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were built between the 11th and 13th centuries. With over 2200 surviving temples and pagodas, spread around 42 kilometers of vast plains along the Irrawaddy river, Bagan is still not a UNESCO site but for me, a passionate temple enthusiast, it is without a doubt one of the most unique and beautiful place I have seen.
We started our journey to Bagan with a comfortable second class night bus from Yangon (16000 kyat) and reached Bagan at 04:30. The bus terminal is located at Nyaung U and after some essential bargaining we jumped in a cab with our friend Fab who me met in Hpa-an (3000 Kyat per person, 10 minutes) to New Bagan. On the way we were stopped at a checkpoint to pay the 20$ "tax" or entrance fee to visit Bagan. In New Bagan where we found that the guest house we wanted to stay in was closed and would open in an hour or two. So without wasting time we hired Bagan's famous e-bikes (electric bicycles that are more like electric scooters, fun and easy to ride) for 5,000 Kyat for the day, left our bags there and headed to Shwesandaw pagoda just in time to watch the sunrise. We were rather tired after the long bus ride (and it was 5am!) but it was worth the trip.
When we came back we found a nice room at Bagan Beauty guest house (20$ with AC), run by a lovely brother and sister. After a shower and short rest we rode out on our e-bikes to explore Bagan's endless pagodas and temples, stopping to eat a big breakfast at Yar pyi vegetarian restaurant. It is easy and fun to get lost among this infinite picturesque playground. Everywhere you look is another charming temple and whatever trail you will follow will reveal another captivating ancient sanctuary , and at times you will feel like you alone are uncovering a hidden gem from a distant past. Around midday it was getting unbearably hot so we took a break to cool off and nap in our room. Bagan is located in the middle of Myanmar's "dry zone" so during the day the sun hits you hard, but at least it is not as humid as other places in the country. We started our journey to Bagan with a comfortable second class night bus from Yangon (16000 kyat) and reached Bagan at 04:30. The bus terminal is located at Nyaung U and after some essential bargaining we jumped in a cab with our friend Fab who me met in Hpa-an (3000 Kyat per person, 10 minutes) to New Bagan. On the way we were stopped at a checkpoint to pay the 20$ "tax" or entrance fee to visit Bagan. In New Bagan where we found that the guest house we wanted to stay in was closed and would open in an hour or two. So without wasting time we hired Bagan's famous e-bikes (electric bicycles that are more like electric scooters, fun and easy to ride) for 5,000 Kyat for the day, left our bags there and headed to Shwesandaw pagoda just in time to watch the sunrise. We were rather tired after the long bus ride (and it was 5am!) but it was worth the trip.
Well-rested from our nap we ventured out again on our e-bikes later in the afternoon only to find out the hard way that the batteries were running out (the guy assured us it will last for the whole day, but I guess it was also our fault for not checking them) and we got stuck in the middle of the road. Fortunately a nice local passer-by noticed our distress and stopped to help. He called the e-bike place for us and they were amazingly efficient and quickly sent a guy with new batteries. We made it just in time for sunset, and I must say it is quite a serene, almost dreamlike experience to see the sun set over this magical scenery with enchanted temples and pagodas as far as the eye can see.
In the morning that followed we hired a taxi through our guesthouse (38,000 kyat for the day ,1.5 hour ride each way) with our new friends the lovely Diego and Jentsu (sorry if I misspelled the name!) who we met in Yangon, to visit Mount Popa, a 1500m volcano and an important Nat pilgrimage site. We took of our shoes and climbed the 777 steps that lead up to the summit. On our way up we we encountered some cheeky monkeys and an exceptionally clever one stole my water bottle and drank from it like a boss. Aside from that you will also be stopped by many locals washing (or pretending to wash) the stairs and asking for donations. Once we reached the top we were rewarded with beautiful panoramic view of the area, and we looked around the interesting shrines dedicated to each Nat
Returning to Bagan we had a nice lunch and relaxed until the afternoon. We rented e-bikes again (3,000 kyat for a bigger bike that can carry 2 people, for 4 hours) and headed with Diego and Jen to Pya-tha-da Pagoda to see another cloudy yet mesmerizing sunset. As the sun was gone quickly behind the clouds most of the other tourists were leaving so we had the place for ourselves for the few moments of light that were left. In the morning we said our goodbyes to this amazing place and continued on our journey, heading to Kalaw.
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| Mt. Popa |
- Shwe leik Too- a small temple with a staircase that goes up to the roof.
- Pya-tha-da Pagoda- good sunset point with less tourists.
- Shwesandaw Temple- popular for sunset and sunrise and can get pretty crowded, sunrise is the better option.
- Ananda Temple- the most famous temple in Bagan and for a reason.
- Paya Thone Zu- beautiful and quiet and the surrounding area is very nice.
- White pagoda- gives Bagan a different color
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