Bagan Tour

Bagan Tour I had been told early on that no trip to Myanmar is complete without a tour of Bagan, this advice proved to be one hundred percent true. Even from afar as I approached Bagan from Yangon I immediately noticed that Bagan is much more intermingled with nature as far as the buildings are concerned. Bagan consists of Nyaung U airport, Old Bagan and New Bagan. I would be spending most of my time in Old Bagan because I really enjoy seeing the temples up close. Exotic pagoda peaks stretched just above the tree line for miles at a time as the sun rose, the mist drifting around the buildings made them almost look afloat. There were paved roads but they were narrow and I opted to travel throughout this beautiful place on a horse drawn carriage part of the way and rode a bicycle the rest of the time. I had studied up before coming to Bagan and discovered that the temples were over 1500 years old. These buildings eclipsed everything I had known in America by more than a thousand years which is truly incredible. There was still a lot of lush green here, sprawling meadows and trees encircled the temples. There was a dense feel to this place and I took it very seriously as I closely examined the stone architecture and detailed wall paintings present in the temples. I felt more like an archaeologist than a tourist as I appreciated in-depth the effort and artisanship which went into such wonderful architecture. While in Bagan I was a bit torn on what to see because I only had a couple days but among the first places I wanted to go to was Ananda. Ananda is one of the oldest temples in all of Myanmar and is certainly a place I found myself becoming lost in almost immediately. This truly may be the highlight of my trip to Burma, I have never found myself so immersed in a place with so many things influencing my thoughts and feelings at once. There is something mystical about this place and I knew it would stick with me. As I approached the Thatbyinnyu temple I was immediately reminded of a scene not from Asia but from Scotland or Ireland. The temple looked very much like a castle with spires coupled together in an almost Gothic fashion with large trees and rolling green hills. As I drew closer I of course saw the region’s native touches all about the architecture but I found it amazing that cultures so far away from one another could have so much in common. The temple has very elaborate stone carving all about the walls and was 2 stories tall with a Buddha statue on the second floor. The villages and paths leading me between the amazing temples in Bagan were pleasant and quiet places. Everyone either walked or rode bicycles with the occasional horse drawn carriage here and there. The locals were all extremely friendly smiling at me whenever I made eye contact. I found myself at several times throughout the day browsing around in local markets at the incredible pottery and jewelry made by local artists. Everything was very affordable and I bought a very nice bowl which also had a beautiful wood-carved stand to set it on. The last step of my travels through Bagan was a stop at a very homely looking placed called Kyaukgu Umin, on the inside there were various religious carvings and artifacts. There was a beautiful golden Buddha statue that I was told was made out of sand, alongside it were two of Buddha’s disciples. The area near the temple had a very good outdoor grill style restaurant that served exquisite food. While this place was not as elaborate as some of the other temples I had been to it had a very intimate feeling and left me with a feeling of having been somewhere that as inviting as it was mysterious.