Blogs from Bagan, Mandalay Region, Burma, Asia - page 11

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Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan March 20th 2011

Myanmar Part 5 This 'blog' is the fifth (and last) describing our time in Myanmar (Burma to some). If you missed earlier 'episodes' in this series, you can find #1 here , #2 here , #3 here , and #4 here . As posts in the previous 'episodes' noted, when in Myanmar, we had the 'trouble' of very slow internet speeds. Given this, we were unable to add pictures to the previous 'blogs' in this series. Interestingly, when we were at the Yangon airport, we were able to access the internet with very fast speeds. It appears that v... read more
Thatbyinnyu Pahto
Refurbishment
Tharabar Gate

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan March 3rd 2011

Bagan, an ancient capital of several kingdoms within Burma, home to some 2,217 pagodas. One of the big four destinations in Burma, if not THE destination. The plan of attack was to spend a few days here exploring the temples and its surrounds mostly via bicycle. And that’s pretty much what happened. But for starters for a mere I believe $16 a night I perhaps stayed in one of the nicest hotels that I’ve stayed in over the past few years travelling. A wicker orientated roundhouse with futons, air con, en suite shower, shitter and minibar, oh and lights! Not to mention breakfast and a SWIMMING POOL! Which was going to become a sublime treat when the mid-afternoon heat kicked in. Arriving around 4pm’ish we opted to head straight to the pool as opposed to ... read more
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Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan February 26th 2011

I caught the bus from Mandalay to Bagan at 8am and for the first time there were more tourists on the bus than locals. After a couple of hours we stopped for a toilet stop in a small town while the driver and his assistant changed a flat tyre. Four hours later along a bumpy road we arrived at Nyaung U which is where most people stay to see the temples of Bagan. Found some accommodation for $10 a night, had something to eat, and then had a look at a large temple complex in town. On the way back to my hotel I ran into Jessie and Hilary, my Canadian friends who I had spent quite a bit of time with the previous couple of weeks. That night we caught up with each other at ... read more
Bagan
Bagan - sunrise
Bagan

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan February 5th 2011

One of the reasons we left a day later from Yangon was so that we could take a ferry boat from Mandalay to Bagan on the Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy) river, which was apparently a beautiful trip (not to mention more comfortable than taking another bus!). It left at 6 am so we could see the sunrise on the boat just before floating by the famous hillside temples of Sagaing. Our boat was full of package tourists which was a bit of a shame as they seem to be a lot more demanding ("I have to pay 500 kyats for hot water??pff..." Uhm lady, you're on a boat, maybe you should be happy you can get hot water!). But of course, there were normal people too :) We enjoyed the views from the deck where we had to ... read more
Sulamani Paya
Our guide in Thabeik Hmaung
Sunset from Dhammayazika Paya 3

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan December 17th 2010

04/12/2010 - 08/12/2010 From Hsiphaw I took the train to Pyin; from there I took a local pick up bus back to Mandalay. From Mandalay I took the overnight bus to Bagan. I didn't have good experience yet with the myanmar buses, but this was even worse..midgits wouldn't even be comfortable I arrived around 4 pm so still on time to grab a bike; I cycled to Shwesandaw pagoda to watch the sunset. This pagoda is the most highly recommended one, cause you get a good overall view over the hundreds of temples (all together there are more then 4000 temples, stoepas,etc) Whereas siem reap temples were more interesting of the stories behind it and the detailed carvings, Bagan for me was more about the amazing views on the countless temples and the mystical atmosphere. Highly ... read more
day overview
biggest temple in Bagan
golden boedha

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan December 7th 2010

With its faint searchlight trained on the muddy banks of the Irrawaddy, the ferry eventually found the jetty for Nyaung U in the darkness. The riverbank was alive with a bustle of touts and families greeting their friends and relatives after the long trip from Mandalay and the village’s en-route. We caught a small taxi into the main town after paying the unavoidable government fee of $10 to visit the Bagan Archaeological Zone. Nyuang U is located a couple of miles from Bagan but it is where the majority of the budget hotels are situated. The hotel we had booked was a small Chinese run establishment but it was clean, comfortable with a wonderful hot shower to boot. The next day we set about exploring Bagan and chose to do so by horse cart. These rickety ... read more
Bagans Smaller Temples
Old Lady in Bagan
Bagan

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan November 25th 2010

Mandalay bus to Nyaung Oo normally takes 7 hours but given the road situations here and the decrepid state of our bus it took longer. At the chaotic bus station in Mandalay we waited for half an hour for the bus to arrive, 4 other backpackers aside from us were on it, the bus is old and a/c was not that strong, we are sweating bullets and the seats does not recline very well and is just generally uncomfortable. Connor opened a crack in the window only to be told to shut it by the bus attendant,fresh air is better than the vinegary stale air smell inside, Connor read his book while I tried to sleep. We broke down 2 times and thus set us back a couple hours, had a dinner break which we took ... read more
Thanksgiving day
Bagan
Bagan

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan October 14th 2010

A few years ago Bagan locals were forcibly removed from their homes and made by the government to move a few miles down the road. What had been up until that day peanut plantations overnight became a "town" without shade or accompanying infrastructure. We went with some trepidation but again the Burmese strength of determination was demonstrated and the locals have made the best out of an abominable situation. Bagan itself is truely breathtaking however we wanted to make sure our visit was much more than just the temples. Aung San Suu Kyi said that she did not want tourists that came to Burma just to take photos, so more than ever we spent time talking to as many people as possible about their daily lives. A typical conversation would start as follows; Where are ... read more
taking a break
thanaka
buy my postcards!

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan October 12th 2010

September 19 The guesthouse guys are supposed to put my breakfast in a bag and wake me at 3am for the 4am bus to Lake Inle. At 3.15 my own alarm goes off, then the GH guys are yelling at the door saying the bus is here, and luckily I am organized because I think I am ready in ten minutes (including shower). I haven’t slept well because the electricity went off and that meant no fan. My breakfast in a bag is four bits of bread and a banana. Board bus and wedge myself into tiny space. Two obnoxious Russians get on and have tantrums until they get the best seat by the door. He spends most of the journey sticking his horrible deformed feet out the window. Two New Zealanders on the bus hate ... read more

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan September 27th 2010

Early morning arrival in Bagan, very hot. Checked into hotel the Thiripyitsaya on the banks of the Irrawaddy, beautiful villa on waters edge. Our first stop was to visit the local market which our driver assured us was like a real live colourful painting, it did not dissapoint.Relaxed for a while watching locals fishing along the river bank. Time then to hop on board our horse drawn cart for a tour around Bagans famous pagodas and temples. Sheer mind boggling to see . Beautiful red bricked structures of all shapes and sizes. Our driver gave us a very good description of the different designs and styles used . Bought a beautiful book of photos from Bagan Maung Maung , a Burmese photographer, who has his gallery at the north gate of Ananda Temple. Back to our ... read more
Like a real live colourful painting
Thatching
Smoke Break




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