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Published: December 24th 2012
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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 overall. The only word that I can think of to describe the whole experience is awesome. We had previously seen the temples of Angkor Wat that were so impressive. I think the pagodas of Bagan are truly as impressive. The earthquake of 1975 had caused much damage much of it still evident and due to the structural weakening of the pagodas and stupas climbing to the top of most has been forbidden. This puts a strain on the few that are available as most people want to see a sunset over Bagan from a high vantage point. We experienced our sunset on the first day with a couple of hundred other people but the overall experience was still brilliant. What
to say about the sights we witnessed. The ancient frescos and carvings displayed such workmanship that we were often lost for words. At one of the Pagoda complexes we were fortunate to be shown around by a very knowledgeable man who just took pure pleasure in sharing the stories. He identified many of the carved figures and told a little story about each. He particularly loved the friendly ogre. Unlike the temples of Angkor the carvings in Bagan are done in a type of stucco. The buildings are constructed of fired bricks and then stuccoed with a limestone mixture. This has meant that due to time, erosion, and earthquakes a lot has been destroyed. Most of the pagodas we saw were constructed during the 13
th century when Bagan was at its height and it was subsequently invaded by the Mongols. We learned that during the 13
th century only 4 colours were used to paint the frescos – white, black, red, and yellow. Any paintings that had the colour green, the buildings were either constructed during the 15
th century or the frescos at least were painted in the 15
th century. Over time the walls have been attacked by what can only
be described as graffiti, some of it modern but also graffiti that is now centuries old. Often the artwork that has not been restored is darkened by century old smoke. After 1975 earthquake UNESCO helped restore and clean some of the pagodas but no longer plays a part and the restoration has been taken over with funding by private individuals and the Government of Myanmar. This has meant that there are no real rules to restoration and some buildings have been made to look new. Bad practice has also meant some of the frescos have been lost forever due to improper cleaning practices. The sheer number of remaining stupas etc is amazing in itself. But the mind boggles when you realise this is only a small percentage of what was built during the 13
th century. It would be possible to talk about the Pagodas of Bagan all day but no amount of words can do justice to what we saw and experienced, only going to see for oneself can do that. The Oh described it as a Kinder surprise, cause you never knew what you were going to find on the inside.
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