BAGAN, MYANMAR

Our friends who recently visited Bagan sent us the picture above. From that point on we were sold. We knew it had to be a place we visited in Myanmar.

Bagan is filled with thousands of pagodas and stupas dating back to the 12th century. It's incredible place. While exploring the temples is a delight, the best sight is from above. Either climb up one of the tallest pagodas or explore the area from a hot air balloon with Balloons Over Bagan.

We stayed at the Hotel @ Tharabar Gate, which was a wonderful hotel filled with lush gardens and an inviting pool in Old Bagan just steps away from many temples. I am sad I really didn't take any pictures of the hotel grounds.

We had only planned to be in Bagan for 24 hours. As soon as we arrived in Old Bagan, I was already wishing we had booked an extra day or 2 there. There is so much to see and it would have been wonderful to see it at a slower pace to allow us to truly take in all of the magnificent views.

Our day of sightseeing started off with a bicycle tour with our young tour guide, Gaga. He took us to a nearby temple called Thatbyinnyu Pahto, Bagan's highest temple, just near the old city wall.

After a quick bike ride around Old Bagan, we met up with our "hired" tour guide at the hotel. We had also arranged a driver, since the temperatures were around 100F. The air conditioned car felt so great after visiting each temple.

Unfortunately Balloons Over Bagon was not operating in the month of April due to the high winds, so we asked our guide to take us to temples we could climb to see the views of Bagan from the top. For our first stop, he took us to a temple called Buledi for it's great views.

We could have spent all day there admiring the vast landscape littered with ancient temples.

After Buledi, our guide took us to the Mani Sithu market, a local market in Nyuang U, which is one of the the main towns in Bagan. It was a bustling market, but an intense experience as a tourist. Beware of the many beggars if you are not planning to buy anything.

After the market, we headed to the beautiful, golden Shwezigon Paya.

Before heading back to our hotel for a mid-day break, we stopped at another temple to see some amazing frescoes.

If you travel to Bagan during the summer, it's best to start early, take a mid-day break (when the sun is the hottest) and then head back out in the afternoon. End your tour by watching the sunset at the top of one of the tallest temples. The Lonely Planet Myanmar guide provides some really good suggestions for best sunset spots.

We headed back to our hotel mid-day for an afternoon massage and some rest. While Eric napped and M read, Whit and I headed to the swimming pool for a cool dip.

Around 2pm, we headed to Green Elephant for lunch, which is a wonderful restaurant along the Ayeyarwady river.

 

Later that afternoon, we visited Anada Pahto, one of the largest, most preserved temples in Bagan, which was built sometime between 1090 and 1105 by a former king.

When we were in the Ananda Pahto, we could see a storm approaching in the distance. We couldn't leave Bagan without climbing to the top of Shwesandaw Paya, arguably the temple with the best views of Bagan. We rushed over to Shwesandaw.

When we arrived, rain drops were beginning to fall and lightning was striking in the distance. As most people were heading down the temple, we headed up. It may have not the smartest decision, but the views from the top were unreal.

It was a magical experience. The rain held off just enough so that we could enjoy the views.

We ended our day at our wonderful vegetarian restaurant called Be Kind To Animals The Moon before heading back to Yangon early the following morning.

What an incredible town. I will always hold a special place in my heart for Bagan.