Blogs from Bagan, Mandalay Region, Burma, Asia - page 8

Well we got the wakeup call and made our way to the airport with a near miss into the taxi on a roundabout but as I said it was a near miss. The domestic terminal was a step back or two in time. The check in was all manual – the departure hall full to the brim with tourists -Oh No! Were they all making their way to Bagan? There turned out to be 4 flights waiting there and we were the last one called with the fewest amount of people- yippee! When I say called I really mean called- This was done by a steward holding the flight number up on a board and walking around. We seemed to accompany our luggage to the plane as it was wheeled out on trolleys by ground staff ... read more

For two days we had been constantly on the go, climbing pagodas, walking through the bush, and in and out of either a car or horse cart. Even though we had in no way seen anywhere near the three thousand pagodas remaining in Bagan our legs certainly thought different. For the next two days we decided to look around Bagan town itself. Over these two days we explored the local markets, bargaining half-heartedly for local produce and generally having a great time interacting with the locals. Many times they ask such a small price for things it is impossible to bargain for a lower price. We had quite a few interesting conversations with horse cart drivers who were concerned because they were not visit and having difficulty getting customers. They told us many people thought it ... read more

Another early start kicked off our final day in the ancient city of Bagan, with the alarm ringing off at the ungodly hour of 4.30am. I don’t do early starts, and this is the earliest one in a long time, but it was all for a good cause, the sun was due to rise over the temples within the next hour and a half. Half awake and barely coherent, we mounted our trusty bicycles, our derrières aching after consecutive rides on hard seats and with our legs screaming in agony. This was our last day, and witnessing sunrise over 800 year old temples isn’t something one gets to see everyday. With that notion our fatigue gave way to inspiration and determination. During our agonizing ride to the temple we visited the previous day, it began to ... read more

Bagan, the eighth wonder of the world. Arrival began as it had with our arrival at Inle lake, with a bus trek you’d rather forget, but can’t. I look at Liam sitting next to me, his eyes wide and face white. Every few minutes he pokes me, points out the window at a group of kids running along the edge of a cliff, strange packs of animals grazing dusty fields. The A/C is so cold we steal someone’s blanket to keep ourselves warm. So after an eternity, we pull into Bagan in the early hours of the morning, and are greeted by a hoard of friendly horse-carriage drivers that almost maul each other for our business. We pre-arranged what we thought would be a taxi, but turned out to be a wooden carriage being pulled by ... read more

Bagan... read more