The ancient city of Bagan is truly a marvel that one could sit and admire no matter who you are or where your beliefs lie. Over two thousand Pagodas scatter the flat landscape around the Aye Yarwaddy River creating a truly epic sense of awe.
We stayed in a town called Nyang-U which is part of the Bagan region but is the newest town and where the main infrastructure can be found. It was full of great restaurants and market places; it even had a Weatherspoons, that did about the best burger you can find anywhere in Southeast Asia! A taste of home! The owner had lived in Bristol and had taken the recipe from a local pub near to a student house Lot's had lived in! Small world or what!
Our best day in Bagan was our second, which we spent touring the temples by horse and cart. Our lively horse was called "Rambo", who lived up to his name! The day started off with the guide taking us to a few of the less known Pagodas. These are looked after by people called "key holders", often ex-monks, who devote themselves to keeping up small Pagodas. They freely explain the rich history surrounding them which adds a more personal touch to the experience. They supplement this by selling small souvenirs, although travelling with backpacks makes it difficult to buy any!
After a tour of some of the smaller temples, we decided to grab some lunch. We found a vegetarian restaurant, which Nat was a bit sceptical about to begin with, although this was dumbfounded as it turned out to be an incredibly tasty meal. Unlike the Shan state, Bagan has similar inhabitants to the people of Yangon. There is less wealth per capita and traditionally eat more vegetarian food than meat. We ate a pumpkin curry and a spicy chickpea chapatti..scrumptious!
In the afternoon we visited some of the larger temples including the mighty Dhammayangyi temple just outside of Old Bagan. Even though they have not been preserved as well and you cannot go to the top of them due to structure instability, collectively they almost seem more impressive than the temples of Angkor Wat. The risk of a snake falling on your shoulder at any moment, the pigeons flying above your head and the monks praying silently gave the temples a rustic charm about them. More often than not, we were the only ones wandering around these magnificent structures. Seeing these temples with no other tourists around really allows you to appreciate the unique history surrounding the region of Bagan.
As we climbed the last temple of the day, the surrounding landscape started to open up before our eyes. From the top your view spread over miles and miles of flat land, and hundreds of temples next to one another. A perfect way to end the day and see the magnitude of beauty yet to be discovered by the outside world.
That night we had our first taste of Mongolian and Nepalese cuisine. Unlimited chapatti's and rice, along with flavoursome curries and pita breads filled with spicy vegetables made for an excellent end to our time in Bagan. Last stop, one day in Mandalay before we fly back to Thailand. We will miss Myanmar, and more so, it's people. The friendliest and most helpful we have met on our trip so far. We urge anybody who is coming to South East Asia to visit this country now, before the world fully discovers it!
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