Inle - Bagan

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Pouring rain today, T2 picked us up at 8am to take us to Heho airport, 1hr drive, interesting on dirt roads. OHS is not something that exists here saw road workers working on steep cliffs with a Jack hammer and no support at all. Arrived in plenty of time for our flight, very wet which is unusual for this time of the year. Said goodbye to T2. Our plane K7 - 264 was supposed to leave at 10.20am, with no power for most of the time. Flight left 40 minutes late and we arrived at Hotel Royal Bagan after Lym and the driver Coco picked us up, called at the bank for change and Lym will pick us up in an hour giving us time to settle in.

Stupa 1 Gubyaukgyi with amazing Mural Paintings, done in the 13th Century, it was a pity murals have been removed by soldiers of the German army up the wall to as far as they could reach and quite a lot of damage by a Quak in 2016, major 6.8 lasted 2 min on the 24th Aug. The fields we were travelling through where peanuts and sesame which is grown at this time of the year.



We then had lunch, (Saigonday-Beautiful) at a traditional cafe in a place we would never had found but was really nice and a great experience with the locals, we ordered corn, curried pork, goat, and it came with other dishes plus the rice which is included with all the meals.

11th century, Ananda Temple with the smiling Buddha, housing four standing Buddhas and is in a cruciform with several terraces leading to a small pagoda at the top covered by an umbrella. The temple is said to be an architectural wonder in a fusion of Mon and adopted Indian style of architecture.

Lym was full of information re: Bagan which was really interesting " Began was founded with 19 villages by Pyu people in 2nd AD.


• Historical period started in 849 AD, when they built the Palace Wall.
• Bagan golden age was started in 11 AD to 13 AD
• Founder of 1st Myanmar, Emperor succeeded on the Bagan throne on 1044 AD - 1077 AD and introduced Buddhism into Myanmar
• He is also known as King 42nd among 55 Kings of Myanmar, during his reign he converted religion into Buddhist whithin the whole of Myanmar.
• Another powerful king succeeded in Bagan, Emperor on 1084 - 113 AD. He was in charge of the Royal Army during the reign of 42nd king, he also built a lot of temples in Bagan and good relationships between Mon and Burma.



Swim in the pool and both exhausted so ordered from the room service ham and cheese toasted for dinner, we are doing a lot of walking on this trip and slowely becoming fitter with good healthy food for lunch we could afford to have a toasty and with swimming we are feeling pretty good.

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Photos

Bagan and O'Connors
The lush green and the pagoda's were a surprise, considering most pictures we had seen of red dirt.

Gubyaukgyi
Mural paintings dating back to the 13th Century.

Frescoes in the Gubyaukgyi
Coud see where the Germans have removed frescoes during World War 1, the hope is these will be returned back to Myanmar.

Hindu influenced
The work in decoration of the temples was very impressive and it has lasted since the 13th Century! Including earthquakes that are starting to cause some problems for the temples of Bagan.

Lunch at a local Restaurant
We ate very well in Myanmar and this meal was the norm with so much you could add to the main meal.

Smiling Buddha
Up close does not smile but after stepping back the facial experession changed.

Ananda Temple
The guide new the best spot for a good photo of the Temple.

Alotawpyi Pagoda
Photo Shoot from a field of sweet peas of the Alotawpyi Pagoda

Mural inside the Pagoda
This was behind locked gates but Lym managed to get my phone inside and took the photo for me. Hard to believe these frescos are 11th - 13th Century.

Htilominio Pagoda Buddha and Umbrella
Buddhist Synod held in India by King Ashoka in 300 BC. His 24 year reign marked the beginning of the gradual decline of Pagan dynasty.

Royal Bagan Hotel
Very popular with the backpackers, clean and comfortable with a good restaurant.

The pool at the Royal Began
This was really good to cool down in and was a short distance from our room which was really good with plenty of towels supplied.