Bagan, Myanmar
On Friday (23 March) my extremely uncomfortable bus from Mandalay arrived in Bagan after dark, 10 hours after we left. Right before we entered the town we stopped at the admission ticket office where foreigners are required to pay the $10 fee for the Bagan sites which again goes directly to the government. I somehow - through many shenanigans - managed to avoid paying this fee as well, although all the other foreigners on the bus had to pay it - about half tried really hard not to pay it. It was the most difficult government fee for me to avoid in Myanmar. After checking into my guesthouse - which asked to see my non-existant admission ticket - I had dinner close by and then called it a night.
Saturday (24 March) began my 3 day temple seeing blitz of Bagan. Bagan, the most famous site in Myanmar, is famous for its approximately 2700 still entacted temples built between roughly 800 - 1200 A.D., many of which have been reconstructed or refurbished. The temples of Bagan are suppose to rival the temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I rented a bike and just road off down the main paved road, ducking off on little side dirt roads whenever I saw a temple in the distance that looked interesting. Many of the temples have tight little stairwells inside that lead to a viewing platform on the roof and nice views. It was quite hot in the afternoon, probably around 40 C although it was a dry heat. I had a late lunch and then went back to my guesthouse to rest a bit before heading out again to watch the sunset from atop one of the temples - a very popular pasttime in Bagan. In the village of Nyaung U where I was staying, there are a couple of streets with a fair amount of restuarants geared towards the masses of tourists ('masses' by Myanmar standards). I was eating dinner that night at one of those restaurant and I had just ordered my food when I looked across to another table and saw a vaguely familiar face. I went up to confront the familiar face and it turned out to be an Australian guy, Paul, whom I shared a dorm room with in Moscow over 7 months ago!! We had chatted a fair bit during our stay together in Moscow and I had remembered his name and where he had gone next. Paul had headed west after Moscow into eastern Europe, and of course I headed in the opposite direction. He had long since finished that trip, returned to Australia, and was now out on another short trip (1 month). Paul was quite the character - which is one of the reasons I remembered his name and face 7 months latter - very boisterious, around 50 years old, with a thick Australian accent. Of all the places to run into someone you've met before, this happened in Bagan, Myanmar, albeit it was a popular restaurant. Saying "what a small world" seems a bit cliche since when you are traveling the world seems quite big. I joined Paul, his brother (who was working in Myanmar), and another friend (a girl also working in Myanmar but from Seattle.....) at their table for dinner and we reminisced about our times in Moscow. Really strange.
Sunday (25 March) I rented a bike again and rode around all day seeing temples. I had lunch at the same restuarant as the day before because its run by the nicest family and has good, cheap food. Their 10 year old son speaks nearly perfect english and was eager to chat. I watched the sunset from the top of a crowded temple - but with nice views - and quite preferred the sunset from the night before where I was alone. Due to the haze in the distance the sunsets in Bagan where not that great, but the views of the temples were.
Monday (26 March) I rented my trusty bike for a third day of temple exploration. I got a flat at one point and had to ride back into the village to have it repaired. Although it was another hot day, I plowed on through the day without much of a rest as it was my last there. I had a quick rest late in the afternoon at my local lunch stop where the owner presented me with a small painting - for my loyal patronage?? I had found a great - and I thought at the time, unknown - temple to watch the sunset earlier in the day, but the hordes showed up when I returned at dusk! That was a disappointment as I thought I would be alone.
Tuesday (27 March) my bus back to Yangon wasn't leaving until the afternoon so I just wandered around the village during the morning as I was a bit templed-out at this point. Although the temples of Bagan were amazing and they rivaled the temples of Angkor Wat in scope, in my opinion they didn't rival the temples of Angkor on an individual temple level. The Temples of Angkor Wat are much larger and more stunning - and also more crowded. My last bus ride in Myanmar left Bagan at 3 PM and was extremely uncomfortable again, although not the most uncomfortable. It was an over night bus but I got not a wink of sleep and arrived exhausted in Yangon around 5 AM, 15 hours later. I slept in the taxi on the way to my guesthouse.
Saturday (24 March) began my 3 day temple seeing blitz of Bagan. Bagan, the most famous site in Myanmar, is famous for its approximately 2700 still entacted temples built between roughly 800 - 1200 A.D., many of which have been reconstructed or refurbished. The temples of Bagan are suppose to rival the temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I rented a bike and just road off down the main paved road, ducking off on little side dirt roads whenever I saw a temple in the distance that looked interesting. Many of the temples have tight little stairwells inside that lead to a viewing platform on the roof and nice views. It was quite hot in the afternoon, probably around 40 C although it was a dry heat. I had a late lunch and then went back to my guesthouse to rest a bit before heading out again to watch the sunset from atop one of the temples - a very popular pasttime in Bagan. In the village of Nyaung U where I was staying, there are a couple of streets with a fair amount of restuarants geared towards the masses of tourists ('masses' by Myanmar standards). I was eating dinner that night at one of those restaurant and I had just ordered my food when I looked across to another table and saw a vaguely familiar face. I went up to confront the familiar face and it turned out to be an Australian guy, Paul, whom I shared a dorm room with in Moscow over 7 months ago!! We had chatted a fair bit during our stay together in Moscow and I had remembered his name and where he had gone next. Paul had headed west after Moscow into eastern Europe, and of course I headed in the opposite direction. He had long since finished that trip, returned to Australia, and was now out on another short trip (1 month). Paul was quite the character - which is one of the reasons I remembered his name and face 7 months latter - very boisterious, around 50 years old, with a thick Australian accent. Of all the places to run into someone you've met before, this happened in Bagan, Myanmar, albeit it was a popular restaurant. Saying "what a small world" seems a bit cliche since when you are traveling the world seems quite big. I joined Paul, his brother (who was working in Myanmar), and another friend (a girl also working in Myanmar but from Seattle.....) at their table for dinner and we reminisced about our times in Moscow. Really strange.
Sunday (25 March) I rented a bike again and rode around all day seeing temples. I had lunch at the same restuarant as the day before because its run by the nicest family and has good, cheap food. Their 10 year old son speaks nearly perfect english and was eager to chat. I watched the sunset from the top of a crowded temple - but with nice views - and quite preferred the sunset from the night before where I was alone. Due to the haze in the distance the sunsets in Bagan where not that great, but the views of the temples were.
Monday (26 March) I rented my trusty bike for a third day of temple exploration. I got a flat at one point and had to ride back into the village to have it repaired. Although it was another hot day, I plowed on through the day without much of a rest as it was my last there. I had a quick rest late in the afternoon at my local lunch stop where the owner presented me with a small painting - for my loyal patronage?? I had found a great - and I thought at the time, unknown - temple to watch the sunset earlier in the day, but the hordes showed up when I returned at dusk! That was a disappointment as I thought I would be alone.
Tuesday (27 March) my bus back to Yangon wasn't leaving until the afternoon so I just wandered around the village during the morning as I was a bit templed-out at this point. Although the temples of Bagan were amazing and they rivaled the temples of Angkor Wat in scope, in my opinion they didn't rival the temples of Angkor on an individual temple level. The Temples of Angkor Wat are much larger and more stunning - and also more crowded. My last bus ride in Myanmar left Bagan at 3 PM and was extremely uncomfortable again, although not the most uncomfortable. It was an over night bus but I got not a wink of sleep and arrived exhausted in Yangon around 5 AM, 15 hours later. I slept in the taxi on the way to my guesthouse.
posted by Dustin at 4:12 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home