Bagan, Myanmar

We were up early to catch the boat from Mandaly to Bagan, a 7 hour journey down the Irawaddy River...

 

These boats are used mostly by tourists who like the slow boat route down the river to Bagan. There are outside chairs to enjoy the view and blankets available to keep the morning chill away.

We alternated between inside and outside and enjoyed the leisurely trip...

Don had picked up an English newspaper which was quickly claimed by our seat mates and I enjoyed the noodles!

Some of the views along the river...

The river is used for everything including washing clothes and your buffalo...

The river is used for lots of commercial activity as well as river cruises...

When we finally arrived near Bagan the boat docked and we carried our bags down the gang plank. The first offer for transportation was this...

But we managed to find a taxi driver as the town of Bagan was too far way to go in a horse and cart! 

Bagan is one of the key tourists ares in Myanamar as it is an ancient city, from the 9th to the 13th centuries it was the capital of the Royal Kingdom of Pagan. The first kingdom to unify the regions that would later become the country of Myanamar. During the height of the kingdom there were over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries constructed with over 2200 still surviving and located across the plains. Some consider it a equal archeological site to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. 

As can be seen by these pictures everywhere you look the landscape is dotted with these structures both large and small.

In order to visit them as they are spread over a large area we rented a bike for a day which was the preferred way of getting in and around the temples and pagodas...

Don's shirt matches his bike!

Many of the pagodas still have the original Buddhas inside them...

As well as ancient murals...

 

Bagan is in an earthquake zone and has suffered many over the centuries with the last one in 1975 doing a lot of damage so there is some resignation work being done.

This statue is missing part of the hand...

There has been some controversy surrounding the restoration work as after the last earthquake the military government began the work in hopes that this place would be declared a UNESCO Heritage site which it should. However, the government did not follow the guidelines provided and used new materials instead of recreating the originals so there has been no designation which is a pity.

An example of this is shown by the new Buddhas here...

Some of the temples are huge and can be climbed to give great views...

And as everywhere we have been there is always someone trying to sell you something! At one of the sites the young people show up by your side giving you information about the temple and then as you are leaving wonder if you would look af their art...

He got me!!!

Besides the pagodas on the plains there are also big temples everywhere with markets outside...

These young women were leaning hard on Don to buy their wares.

In one of the temples there was a huge container where people climbed the ladder to throw in their money...

Offerings everywhere...

Ancient temples...

Ancient inscriptions...

Old Bagan is also a walled city with part of the walls still standing...

One of the entrances...

Some of the old wall in the background, but love the smiling faces of the women as they greet the visitor!

A few other pictures in and around the pagodas...

Children playing while their mother worships...

School children visiting the temple...

Besides visiting the temples and pagodas we also enjoyed Bagan as it is a small, dusty town that was welcoming to visitors. Lots of places to sit and enjoy our favourite beverage here...

And eat a typical meal which starts with a broth, then some type of meat or fish, rice, vegetables and curries. This meal in a local restaurant at the edge of town costs 2 dollars!

These young men were out at dusk collecting for the monks...

Sand painting is also popular here where they use layers of sand and glue made from the local wood...

Another local craft is laquerware which has a base of bamboo and then built up with layers of lacquer before elaborate designs are painted on. These young men were working in a little shop by where we stayed...

Bagan was a great visit for us, we got some onward travel planning done, saw the otherworldly landscapes and had some downtime before we hit the road again.