Bagan

Bagan is one of Myanmar’s top tourist destinations, due to its high concentration of old temples.  Accommodations are split between the 3 towns of Old Bagan, New Bagan, and Nyaung-U.  We stayed in Nyaung-U as we had read that it was 2^nd closest to the temples, there were many restaurants nearby and the market was located there.  After staying there, I think we made the right choice.  While it was further from the sights than Old Bagan, the convenience of walking to find food was worth it.  

One of the more heavily restored temples - Ananda Paya

We had read that the major temples could get busy with many tour groups, but we did not experience any of that.  Most of the time we were the only people at the temple.  Perhaps this is a benefit of travelling on the shoulder season when the temperatures hit a feels-like high of 40C!  The only times we did experience very minor crowds was at sunrise or sunset, as there are specific temples with good east/west views that attract people.  Honestly though, I wouldn’t consider the people we encountered as crowds.  At most there were 20-30 people.  There was enough room to walk around and it was easy to take photos with no one else in them.  

 Sunrise!  Cannot remember which temple this is from...

The most popular budget way to get to Bagan is by night bus from Yangon.  The journey takes about 9.5 hours on an air conditioned bus, including 2 short stops.  Per google maps, it’s about a 622km trip.  Considering that Myanmar is not known for its infrastructure, this is a pretty short trip!  The problem with night buses is that they arrive in Bagan at 4:30am.  While there was someone at our guesthouse to let us in, our room would not be ready until 12pm.  So we had 7.5 hours to kill before we could rest.  We decided to take advantage of the fact that we were awake and go watch the sunrise from a temple.  Having just arrived in town we didn’t really know where we were going.  Street signage is minimal, but with a map, compass, and flashlight, we found the temple.  

Sunrise!

The neat thing about Bagan’s temples is that you are allowed to touch them, and climb up a couple of them.  It’s a very different experience from lets say somewhere like Chichen Itza, where all the stonework is roped off.  I know the rationales for safety and preservation, but it is nice to do hands on exploration.  Perhaps in the future it will change.  

The temples have narrow ledges for walking on.

As mentioned earlier, Bagan in late September is HOT.  The first day there we rented regular bicycles to get around.  The pros of pedal bikes are you can get around the sandy roads and explore off the beaten track easily.  The major con is that it is just too hot.  That first day in Bagan I got heatstroke and it was a terrible experience.  I was super nauseated, had so much muscle cramping, and eventually a fever.  K kept on forcing me to drink water, which was the treatment, but also was the last thing I really wanted to do.  After a cold shower, 2L of water, and a good long sleep in an air conditioned room, I was finally on the mend.  

Exploring temples by pedal bike.

After that experience, we smartened up and rented an e-bike.  Ebikes are electric bikes that are super zippy.  K was the driver and I rode on the back.  Using the e-bike we were able to cover much more ground without perishing in the heat.  The major downside of the ebike is that you cannot travel on sandy roads very safely.  The back wheel spins out and you end up crashing.  We crashed into a bush, and we met other tourists with major bruises from ebike crashes.  

Newly restored Buddha among fading ancient frescoes.  I really loved the frescoes!

 

Due to the heat in Bagan, we adopted the strategy of waking up at sunrise and sightseeing, then coming back to the guesthouse at midday to rest in the shade, before heading back out in the relatively cooler evening.  We used this strategy throughout the rest of our trip.  By the time we hit Mrauk U, we were going to sleep around 7-8pm and waking up just after 5am!  

  

Finally, a big shout out to Golden Myanmar Guesthouse in Nyaung-U.  The staff where was very helpful and informative.  We ended up booking the rest of our domestic transportation through them, which included 4 internal flights and 2 bus trips.  Every booking went smoothly and according to plan!