Bagan

Bagan sits in central Burma, and is without question one of the most incredible places I have ever been. It is the Angkor Wat of Burma. No worded description, no series of pictures, can truly do justice to the magnificence of Bagan. Literally thousands of temples, ranging from 10 to over 300 feet, dot the 26 square mile dusty plain. Three small towns (Nyaung U, Old Bagan, and New Bagan) comprise the surrounding territory, but nothing much goes on in town besides eating and sleeping.

Many question why Bagan is not a world wonder. It may have something to do with the fact that UNESCO funds have been used to hurriedly build new temples, or renovate crumpling ones, with parsimonious designs that clash with the original style. Burma’s richest man, billionaire Tay Za, built the Bagan Viewing Tower in the eastern part of Old Bagan (called the “government surveillance tower” by locals) and charges $5 to go to the top. Visitors have to pay $10 to be able to visit all of the temples, and though this money is supposed to go toward the maintenance of the area, there are many skeptics to this claim.

It seems to me to that, as far as the temples of Bagan are concerned, the trend of Burma’s generals and cronies has been to capitalize on short term profit opportunity, rather than prioritizing long term preservation. I believe it is for this reason that Bagan’s temples are not regarded in the same vain as other important religious sites.

Sara and I arrived in Bagan at 4:30 in the AM. We were taken by horse drawn carriage to our guest house, but since it was too early to check in we left to watch the sun rise from a viewing platform atop one of the temples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterward we slept for much of the day, needing to catch up on sleep after a rocky overnight bus. That evening around 6 we traveled by horse to Shwesandaw Paya, the most popular sunset viewing spot in Bagan. Though it was cloudy the view did not disappoint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a surprising number of tourists there (we hadn’t seen any in Yangon) and we arranged to meet up for dinner with several people. We had dinner at the Silver House in New Bagan with David, Kate, Sarah, and Michael (Americans) and Brian (Canadian misfit).

The next day Sara and I rented horrible bicycles to explore the temples. Visiting the temples of Bagan is nothing like Angkor Wat – there is no English signage whatsoever, no guides, no knowing when certain temples were built or renovated. It’s all very DIY.  Plus, there’s no one around. It is inevitable that a flood of tourists will descend upon this terrain in the coming years so I’m pleased to have seen it now in it’s (almost) deserted state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did spot some tourists at some of the larger, more popular temples, along with the inevitable swash of hawkers and merchants. Guidance from locals, I had no doubt, would come at a price. I accepted help once from an older woman who led me to a viewing platform around midday. She said “no money” before I agreed to be led through the passage, but afterwards she grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me (almost literally) to her shop, where I caved and bought a couple of bracelets.

After several hours of exploration in the heat Sara and I were exhausted and stopped for lunch at a local eatery with no name, but simply called by locals “the place.” We were served an enormous amount of food. Feeling about 5 months pregnant afterwards I sought refuge at the nearby shmancy Therabar Gate Hotel, which was totally empty. We relaxed, had some beers, and I went swimming for a while in their infinity pool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For sunset we returned to Shwesandaw Paya and met several interesting people with whom we later convened for dinner. The most interesting of the bunch was a traveling duo, fellas who go by the names of John and Joe. John is from the UK, living in Russia as personal advisor to a Russian billionaire. He knows like 10 languages fluently. He started his own NGO out of college that was eventually absorbed by the UN, and then worked in the nuclear weapons division for a while. You know, that old story. Joe is an Australian immigration lawyer with a fondness for innuendo. A very bright, entertaining duo. I urge all who meet these men to invite them to dinner without delay. Also with us were two charming French ladies – Morgane and Elodee, as well as Kevin, a Stanford-bred venture capitalist on his way to Harvard Business School. An interesting dinner table to say the least.

The next day we left early in the morning for Kalaw aboard a most unpleasant 8 hour bus ride. From Kalaw, Sara and I linked up with David and Brian (from dinner the first night), as well as two Belgian gents named John and Paul. The six of us trekked 60 km through Burma’s rolling hills, villages, and farmland over 3 days en route to Inle Lake. More about this adventure coming soon!