Bagan Myanmar (Burma) | Travels in Southeast Asia

Feb 22

When you first see the ruins and temples covering the landscape in Bagan, Myanmar, there is a magical feeling that is hard to describe. Bagan is the spiritual center of Myanmar (once known as Burma), and full of rich history. There are currently 2000-3000 temples, pagodas, and monasteries still standing where over 10,000 were originally constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries. Between the ancient ruins dotting the landscape and the horse drawn carriages, this rich archaeological city feels like a fairy tale land forgotten in time.

We traveled to this destination primarily to update our visas for Thailand. If you stay more than 30 days you need to either apply for a special visa or cross the border and return. We decided to go for adventure and check out this country we had only recently heard about. Because they just opened to tourism in 2012, it was a little challenging making travel arrangements and getting a visa to enter the country, but it was worth the effort. Sandy Ko at www.intrepidtravels.com was a great help. Not only did she get us booked, but stayed in touch through email with updated flight information.

Unsure what to expect we only booked three nights and with travel time in the country, we only had one full day to explore. Now that we’ve experienced a little, we’d love to return some day and explore more.

These little electric bikes were the perfect way to get around for the day.

We enjoyed two nights at Bagan Thande Hotel. The hotel was built in 1922, but recently renovated. The room was comfortable and we enjoyed delicious food served in the outdoor restaurant under the 100 year old Acacia tree with a beautiful view of the Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy) River.

Local farmers were working in the fields outside our room each day. They were in the field when I got up both mornings and put in long days in the hot sun working the field by hand.

During the hottest part of the afternoon we saw several villagers taking a break from the heat to bathe and do laundry along the river.

This little guy was happy to show us what they were using for bait, fishing with homemade poles and corks made from chunks of styrofoam.

Most everyone in Myanmar paints their face with a yellow past called Thanakha. It is used as a sun block and to cool and refresh the skin.

We rode our bikes a little further to visit the market and nearby village. There never seemed to be a problem finding someone who spoke English, and we enjoyed talking with people along the way.

I love having conversations with people and learning about their culture, but we soon found out this led to a sales pitch. We were bombarded with villagers hoping to make a sale. After making a few purchases we became overwhelmed by the vendors who would not take no for an answer. Seeing poverty first hand is always difficult to handle, and a stark reminder of how blessed our lives are. One of the toughest situations for us in Bagan were the young children selling items outside the temples. It was amazing how adept very young children were at this process. Having so much, and seeing them with so little, we really wanted to help, but it quickly becomes evident you can’t buy postcards from them all. They are very persistent and it is heartbreaking to see how desperate they are.

Bill and I were sitting having coffee, talking about how to handle these situations, when a kind woman tapped me on the shoulder and said I should take my camera over to capture two little owls in a tree.

All because of these cute little owls, we quickly became “bosom mates” with Helen from Australia. She was a joy to talk to, and what we learned from her was just what we needed to hear. When Helen travels to these impoverished areas she always takes a suitcase full of clothes, tennis balls, and other items to hand out to children along the way. It was like a light bulb went off in my head! When traveling to Nicaragua with Compassion International last year, we had done just that. Not sure why I never thought of doing the same thing on my own. We’ve already started thinking about how we can make this happen in our next travels.

The highlight of our time in Bagan was the morning we got up before sunrise and rode our e-bikes a short distance from the hotel to watch the sunrise.

The climb up the long flight of stairs was quite an experience, but even more scary going back down.

The view from the top as the sun began to rise was amazing, but nothing prepared us for the incredible sight of all the hot air balloons floating over the temples and ruins. We decided right then, we have to return to visit more of Myanmar someday and take a sunrise balloon ride – what a perfect place to cross balloon ride off my bucket list!

Traveling in this country is a little different than going just anywhere. For example you can only use fresh crisp US dollars, the internet is shaky, and they have a sort of “dress code”. In general it’s not appropriate to wear shorts or short skirts. In fact the men and women in the country all wear a long wrap skirt which I found to be quite comfortable. You especially need to remember to remove your shoes and wear a long pants or skirt when entering the temples.