Bagan and Mt. Popa

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Chan arrived this morning with a well running Town Ace! We weren't sure how much sleep he got but the vehicle sounded much better!

We 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 it!

After climbing back down Chan took us shopping for some fruit (4 papayas for 1000 kyat, or $1.25) and then we headed towards Bagan.

Bagan is an OLD city. From the 9th to the 13th century is was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan. During this time over 10 000 Buddhist monasteries, pagodas, and temples were built on the plains. There are 2200 still left.

There are 3 towns in the Bagan area: Old Bagan, New Bagan, and Nyaung U. Old Bagan. Old Bagan is where a lot of the temples are. In 1990 the government forced villages to move out of Old Bagan and they started New Bagan. Nyaung U is a nice, small, town with a good market. We tried to stay in Nyaung U as its the cheapest of the 3 towns but all of the guesthouses were full. We ended up in New Bagan instead.

Our first night at the Smile World Inn was terrible. We had no other choice. It was $20/double with no breakfast, no hot water and a very dirty room. We reserved and moved to the Bagan Central Hotel, just up the road, for the remainder of our stay in Bagan. It was well worth the extra $10/night. We had an amazing breakfast every day, hot water, a TV, and a nice garden courtyard to relax in.

We spent 3 full days exploring the temples of Bagan. On our first day we did what everyone else was doing: renting a horse cart and driver. The night before we met a nice, keen, fun driver and arranged to go with him and his friend. However, the next morning we were told that the 'nice' driver had to go and we got stuck with 2 drivers who weren't that pleasant. It was kind of disappointing to be honest. Be careful!

They took us around to a bunch of different temples and dropped us off for the the worst lunch in Burma.

For our last 2 days in Bagan we rolled with Chan. Chan is really the man! He was absolutely wonderful! He is SO informative and knowledgeable and kind. Not only did we explore temples but we also visited monasteries, markets, and tea shops. We revisited a few of the places that the horse cart drivers took us to and got way more out of our visit when we were wtih Chan. We saw things and climbed places that we didn't even know existed on our initial visits.

Chan would take us to the market in Nyaung U and tell us about many of the food stuffs being sold. We would also go to his favorite places for lunch (the best and cheapest food in Bagan!).

I really did love these moments on our trip. They made it extra special and extra fun!

(The temples we visited are listed below)

Dhammayasika Paya

Somingyi Kyaung

Nagayon

Abeyaden Pahto

Manuha Paya

Nan Paya

Ananda Ok Kyaung

Mahabodhi Paya

Bupaya

Gawadawapalin Pahto

Thatbyinnu Pahto

Shwegugyi

Gubyauknge

Wetkyi-In-Gubyaukgyi

Dhammayangi Pahto

Sulamani Pahto

Gubyaukgyi

Shwezigon

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