BAGAN
Bagan is a former Burmese capital - Myanmar's closed borders and limited openness to Western tourists has left the site relatively obscured and not listed among other must see Southeast Asian locations. During the 9th through 13th centuries thousands of temples were built in the area as an offering to gods. What the Bagan temples lack in size (compared to Angkor Wat) it makes up for in quantity with over 2,000 temples remaining. A handful of temples are large and have Buddhas and other religious motifs carved inside. The sites obscurity and volume of temples means that throughout your visit you will have entire temple complexes to yourself. It's such a unique experience to climb and freely walk among temples without another person around.
The early morning is an ideal time of the day to sit on top of a tall temple and watch the sunrise catch the temples below. If you decide to view the temples on your own, electric bikes are available to rent in New Bagan. From New Bagan the temple area is “L” shaped so I spent the previous night charting a course that would zig zag back and forth to the main temples. At the sunrise temple there were around thirty other people who had climbed the steep narrow steps and were positioning themselves for the perfect photo. I prefer sunsets over sunrises and wasn’t expecting too much - the sunrise turned out to be just ok…probably not worth waking up three hours earlier than needed - but the early wake up had other benefits. After watching a few hot air balloons lift off I circled back to Old Bagan and had several large temples all to myself. No crowds at temples would be a common theme and the main selling point of a trip to Bagan.
With over 2,000 temples in Bagan it's impossible to try and see them all in a two day period - I certainly tried but I focused on the main temples and a few clusters in outlying areas. Given the volume of temples and how few tourists visit Myanmar it’s not difficult to be alone with five temples all to yourself. Of the 2,000 temples, there’s about twenty that have significant “heft” to them. You could easily spend thirty minutes to an hour at each of these temples first walking along the outside, then taking stairs to the top, and then walking around the inside. Most of the temples have Buddha statues along four walls inside the temple. While the temples follow a similar architectural pattern, especially with the “steeples”, each one has a different variation and this is particularly the case when you walk inside.
Under the hot sun you may need to take a midday break back at the hotel. I left for a second round of Bagan temple viewing late in the afternoon. The afternoon and setting sun changes the colors of the temple from a dull brown to a shining caramel color. I went through some of the smaller temple complexes south of Old Bagan. As sunset was approaching a kid approached me and took me to the top of a random temple. We went through a stairwell inside the dark temple that I would have missed had I not had a temporary guide. Once we reached the top of the stairwell we scrambled across the brick roof to the top of the temple for an unobstructed sunset view. Once it was dark I headed back to New Bagan and had a local rice dinner.
The next morning I slept in but took a different mode of transportation to the temples once I woke up. I decided to run along the road in the morning before it became too hot. This allowed some freedom to cut through some underbrush and find temples that did not have road access. Some of the temples are surrounded by thorns and bushes and its a bit of an effort to find a clear path to the pagoda area.
The early morning is an ideal time of the day to sit on top of a tall temple and watch the sunrise catch the temples below. If you decide to view the temples on your own, electric bikes are available to rent in New Bagan. From New Bagan the temple area is “L” shaped so I spent the previous night charting a course that would zig zag back and forth to the main temples. At the sunrise temple there were around thirty other people who had climbed the steep narrow steps and were positioning themselves for the perfect photo. I prefer sunsets over sunrises and wasn’t expecting too much - the sunrise turned out to be just ok…probably not worth waking up three hours earlier than needed - but the early wake up had other benefits. After watching a few hot air balloons lift off I circled back to Old Bagan and had several large temples all to myself. No crowds at temples would be a common theme and the main selling point of a trip to Bagan.
With over 2,000 temples in Bagan it's impossible to try and see them all in a two day period - I certainly tried but I focused on the main temples and a few clusters in outlying areas. Given the volume of temples and how few tourists visit Myanmar it’s not difficult to be alone with five temples all to yourself. Of the 2,000 temples, there’s about twenty that have significant “heft” to them. You could easily spend thirty minutes to an hour at each of these temples first walking along the outside, then taking stairs to the top, and then walking around the inside. Most of the temples have Buddha statues along four walls inside the temple. While the temples follow a similar architectural pattern, especially with the “steeples”, each one has a different variation and this is particularly the case when you walk inside.
Under the hot sun you may need to take a midday break back at the hotel. I left for a second round of Bagan temple viewing late in the afternoon. The afternoon and setting sun changes the colors of the temple from a dull brown to a shining caramel color. I went through some of the smaller temple complexes south of Old Bagan. As sunset was approaching a kid approached me and took me to the top of a random temple. We went through a stairwell inside the dark temple that I would have missed had I not had a temporary guide. Once we reached the top of the stairwell we scrambled across the brick roof to the top of the temple for an unobstructed sunset view. Once it was dark I headed back to New Bagan and had a local rice dinner.
The next morning I slept in but took a different mode of transportation to the temples once I woke up. I decided to run along the road in the morning before it became too hot. This allowed some freedom to cut through some underbrush and find temples that did not have road access. Some of the temples are surrounded by thorns and bushes and its a bit of an effort to find a clear path to the pagoda area.
That Byin Nyu:
Dham May Ang Yi:
Mahamudi Temple:
Gaw Daw Palin Phaya:
Bupaya Area:
Chariot for the day and more temples:
And a lot more temples. Temples at sunrise. Temples at sunset. Temple clusters. Individual temples. All sorts of temples.
For additional Bagan photos see FLICKR ALBUM.