Bagan, Myanmar

January 4-6th

Heads up, this is another long post. But for good reason! One of the most fascinating places I’ve been on this Earth- the culture packed into this ancient town was insane.

Bagan is filled with temples, stupas, and pagodas. Many of which have unrestricted access and ask only for offerings, and many you can climb up and around with little to no supervision.

Our big splurge for the trip was the sunrise balloon ride. Which cost about as much as all of our domestic flights combined. Was it worth it? 100%.

We had reserved it for our second morning there to give us some time to explore ourselves and get a sense of what we’re looking at from above. There are a couple recommended ways to get around the the temples per lonely planet- hire a taxi, go on foot, rent a bike or motorized scooters, or by horse-drawn carriage. We obviously opted for the 4-legged option and it was the very best. Our guide’s name was Shan-shan and his kindness and knowledge were only matched by his polite shyness. He even had a photo of his beloved horse on his phone lock screen. We loved it. He gladly took us to the more off the beaten path temples, but still hitting the big ones and giving us tips and things to look at around each.

It was slower going than usual, but the journey of wandering among the red dust and trees and temples on a shaded pull-cart felt like we were a part of a different century. It is also requested that you remove your shoes before going into any temple, which made the mangy backpacker in me scramble around with Mowgli-esq joy.

Bagan is also not just for tourists- locals and school groups from all over the country make trips. As a result, perhaps there more than anywhere else, people were fascinated by us. We probably got stopped at least 10 times per day by teenagers who wanted photos with us. Usually individually, and then with the whole group, which took some time 🙂 For some from rural regions it was likely a rare glimpse of a foreigner, which served as a stark reminder of just how isolated this country has been for so long. We always obliged, and usually made them take a photo with one of our cameras as souvenirs for us. It was ticklingly funny.

We also opted for a slightly pricier boutique hotel in New Bagan that had a pool. With temps in the 90s all day, it made for a super refreshing mid-day break. Highly recommended!

The next morning, it was time for our balloon flight. There were probably about 20 other balloons from a few different companies that went up all at once, which made for quite the surreal group experience at dawn. Once we were up, the views were breathtaking. That perspective is really the only way to get a sense of the massive valley and sheer number of ancient temple structures throughout the region. I seriously contemplated a career change and basically harassed our pilot for his life story and how he came to be a balloonist. It was basically, “I met some guys in France and they taught me”. I’m not ruling that out.

The rest of the afternoon, we opted for the motorized scooter option. Which was equally epic. We cruised around to a few more temples, got lost on purpose, and then made friends with a local restaurant when Brittany’s broke down and we decided maybe old school pedal bikes are the way to go.

On our last evening we found yet another way to hire a man to take us on a boat at sunset with beers. We motored up there with about 100 other boats (mostly romantic cruises) and then floated back down as the sun did the same. It was another smashing success. I love traveling.

Bagan: Otherworldly

Burmese baggage claim

Shan-shan’s secret spot- the roof of an old monastery away from the pre-dawn tourist crowds at some of the larger temples. Shot with Brittany’s better camera.