Day 20 & 21 Bagan

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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 half-heartedly for local produce and generally having a great time interacting with the locals. Many times they ask such a small price for things it is impossible to bargain for a lower price. We had quite a few interesting conversations with horse cart drivers who were concerned because they were not visit and having difficulty getting customers. They told us many people thought it too dusty. They were optimistic though that as more tourists come to Bagan they would be able to continue making a living from a job many said they enjoyed.

We finally found our way down to restaurant street. It was probably a fifteen minute from our hotel. We hadn’t worried about it before as there were many good local places to eat closer to our hotel. The restaurants and shops here catered more to the tourist trade and most restaurants sold every food imaginable from local food to western. We had lunch at one of the restaurants that sold Nepali and Indian food. The food was good but we had certainly had better. The curries of Myanmar certainly deserve a mention. Each meal comes with of course curry and rice, but it is also served with many little bowls of different garnishes, for example chilli and salted dried fish. Each meal also has either an arrangement of fresh vegetables, or a salad, and of course the usual bowl of soup. Brown bean soup has fast become a favourite.

Looking around the actual town of Bagan was a great way to spend the last two days there. The people of Myanmar are very friendly, very helpful, and genuinely warm people. We had great interactions with many of them whether they were the hotel staff or just someone on the street. Many were genuinely interested in our country and in sharing knowledge and the beauty of their own.

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