Early start in Bagan

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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 rain, and I began to question if there was a god. It was still dark and raining as we started the climb up to the top of the temple. Feeling dog-tired and slightly miserable we reached the summit and found some prime real estate from which to view the coming spectacle.

Just by chance we had brought along some bin-liners, which we donned in an attempt to escape the rain. I tried to imagine the scene from a local’s perspective, and looking up at an 800 year old pagoda with two foreigners wrapped in bin-liners and armed with cameras at five in the morning, and came to the conclusion that as we view something in amazement, so shall we be viewed.

Half an hour had passed, and with that, a glimmer of light appeared and the rain had stopped, as if the heavens had awoken. With every minute passing, there was another dedicated tourist taking up a position on the pagoda with their camera at the ready. By the time we could see the first glimpse of the sun, the top tier of the pagoda was lined with people.

The sunrise itself was incredible, and probably trumped the sunset we witnessed the previous day. The crowd around us were viewing the whole show through lenses of their cameras, and as much as I also wanted to take many pretty pictures, I couldn’t let a once in a lifetime scene go by through a 1x2cm eye piece, so Liam and I found less crowded spot on the second tier to sit back and enjoy the remainder of the show.

There’s always a price to pay for great experiences, and after the sun had risen we realized that yet again we would have another arduous cycle back to the hotel upon which I would fall into what can legitimately be called a light to moderate coma. I would also like to state that at this point I’ve now grown a deep, festering resentment for bicycles.

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