http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Burma , Mandalay Region , Bagan en-us Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:00:19 +0000 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:00:19 +0000 Inle Lake and Bagan are Burma39s top two tourist attractions and constitute 2 corners of an almost equilateral Golden Triangle between either northern Mandalay or southern Yangon. You39d expect this frequentlyplied route to boast an abundance of comfortable and efficient tourist buses. Unfortunately our bus to Inle Lake from drizzly Mandalay ranks as one of the worst journeys either Chris http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-785986.html Bagan has more than 3000 temples these are known as stupas. I was given some real gold leaf but noone can touch itIf the Gold does not crumble then i might show and tell it if we find a safe place to keep it. We went on a horse and cart of road it was bumpy but fun The stupas were built by kings in the 11th and 12th centuries but some were damaged by earthquakes.There was even a tremble th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-779434.html The Plains of Bagan are dotted with pagodas temples and monasteries in every direction. If one were to turn back time a thousand years history buffs would discover Bagan at the centre of the Pagan empire which unified the country for the first time and set the stage for what has become modern day Myanmar. During the height of the empire there were over 10000 religious sites proving to be an i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-777307.html Bagan 2125 JanuaryThe sun was setting as we landed at Nyaung U airport Bagan. It says a lot about how unspoilt Burma is that the airport at one of its main tourist attractions is so tiny there are not even any baggage carousels and the entire departure lounge consists of two smallish rooms. Our flight from Inle Lake had travelled via Mandalay as there are so many flights every day in Burma http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-773422.html Bagan 2125 JanuaryThe next morning we decided to take the other mode of transport in Bagan that seems to be very popular the bicycle. I haven39t ridden a bike since I was about ten and C since he was 15 which weirdly was at the same time but consistent with popular saying it turned out to be easy. The only time I have attempted to ride in the past few years was when I went to visit m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-770536.html 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 ca http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-768447.html 12 January 2013After a long day on the Irrawaddy river with a boat full of older package tourists we arrive in Bagan to a fanfare of taxis busses horse carts and begging children. The first thing we notice is the dust. It is as fine as talcum powder pink talcum powder and is all pervasive. Sinuses ho The second thing we notice is the beggars always a sign that someone has been there befo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-767028.html In Burma they love their temples. In fact that39s probably the understatement of the year. It39s like saying that McDonalds sell the odd burger or two. The golden stupas are EVERYWHERE. On tops of hills deep in caves perched on rocks. Anywhere is fair game and it39s rare to find a hill or mountain without a temple on top. Imagine a conversation between a group of Buddhist architects http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-764217.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-764187.html Instead of writing two separate stories of these two days it is easy to write one large one. On the first day we used a car and driver to visit the pagodas further out of NyaungShwe and New Bagan. On the second day we saw many pagodas by horse and cart. It was very hard to keep a record of all the places we visited so I will just talk about some of the more impressive and the Pagodas of Bagan o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-762816.html 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 dont 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 derrires aching aft http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-758247.html This day has an interesting start it begins with a faceoff between me and the communal squat or what I prefer to call the fetalposition toilet. Its essentially a toilet without a seata ceramic hole in the ground. Ive come across these toilets many times before in Thailand however back then I had always managed to avoid using it for anything other than number one. This time was differen http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-758111.html http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-757941.html Bagan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-756852.html Burma has really captured our attention. Weve spent 16 nights and 17 days exploring and feel like we have seen a good bit of the country. We are told it has grown leaps and bounds politically with the country starting to move away from 50 years of strict military rule. This may be reflected in the recent visit by President Obama and earlier in the year by Hillary Clinton sure signs that thing http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-756687.html My dream came trueI saw Mt. POPAArrival in Bagan was really tricky because it took about 20min. and 5guest houses to find available room but luck stuck and I had lovely single in the Motel. I set the alarm at 7 25hours more and went to sleep. But before I started to think about how very tired of travelling great news for my mum and friends who want to have me closer I am and how long can http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-750410.html Pasamos 3 das y 3 noches aprovechando el tiempo al mximo para visitar el enorme complejo de templos de Bagan que fue capital de lo que ahora se conoce como Myanmar desde los siglos IX al XIII y que actualmente cuenta con ruinas de ms de 2200 pagodas stupas y monasterios esparcidos en un rea de 104 km.Todos los das nos despertbamos muy temprano para ver el amanecer desde algn tem http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-744161.html Arriving at a new place in the middle of a night is never nice. For one thing you are still half asleep and for another you feel much disoriented about where you are and what you are doing there. It is also a time when your common sense may be switched off for a while and you are more likely to agree on some room or rickshaw or simply any other fare that normally you would not. We had no choice th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-722419.html BaganBagan was once the capital of a great civilization dating from 849 AD to 1287 when it was believed to have been destroyed by Kublai Khans Mongol army. At its height it was a mighty city as is evidenced by the THOUSANDS of archaeological sites still remaining. Over 2 000 temples dot the plains by the banks of the river Ayeyarwady. There is an old and new Bagan. Old Bagan is the former si http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-714161.html Chan arrived this morning with a well running Town Ace We weren39t sure how much sleep he got but the vehicle sounded much betterWe headed towards Bagan but first made a detour to Mt. Popa. Mt. Popa is an old volcano. We hiked up Popa Taung Kalat a 2400 foot volcanic plug with a buddhist monastery and the home to 37 nats spirits on top 777 steps and a lot of monkey scares later we made i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay-Region/Bagan/blog-708846.html