hui's monologue : Myanmar Trip 2014

Myanmar Trip 2014 - Part 2 (Bagan)

For Myanmar Trip 2014 - Part 1 (Yangon), click here.

Bagan Day 1

We arrived in Bagan via the overnight bus at around 5.30am. We were woken up by a fair amount of chattering outside of the bus. There was a crowd of drivers out there who wants our business, yelling "Hello!" or "Good morning" hoping to get attention and eventually some business.

It was really chilly in the morning so it is highly advised to wear a jacket before you leave the bus.

We got a cab driver to drive us in. On the way into Old Bagan, we were asked for a US$15 toll per head - in return we got a ticket to the Archaeological Zone. Remember not to throw this ticket away because you will need it when you visit some of the main Pagodas.

We arrived at our home for the next 2 days - New Park Hotel at around 6ish am and the hotel wasn't ready to check us in. So we sat around and waited till about 7.30am.

Our room! It was simple but clean. At least it didn't have funky spiders in the room like the star rated hotel I experienced in Ubud about 2 years back.

The sun was up by the time we settled in and unpacked some stuff so we headed to find some place for breakfast.

As it was too early for most restaurants so we settled for somewhere local.

It reminds me a little of mee rebus in Singapore. the gravy is thick and slightly salty with plain rice noodles and some fried fish. The serving was tiny though! We barely felt full from the meal but we didn't have time to order another serving as our transport has arrived!

There are various forms of transport you can use explore Bagan - from vans/cars, motorcycles, electronic bikes, bicycles to horse carts. Our entire day of transport was hired at a fee of US$35.

By the way, we did a quick check with our research and realized he had overcharged us by US$10!

Bagan is a lot drier and hotter compared to Yangon - most of the roads are sandy and the air mostly dusty. It really fits its entire image of a historical site! There are over 3,000 pagodas in Bagan - so it is impossible to see them all. While most drivers are familiar with the famous sites and where they should bring you, it is still good to do your own research so you maximize the time spent (and of course the buck you spent for your transport).

It's going to be an endless stream of photos of Pagodas up ahead. Just warning you :)

As you can see, Bagan has very flat terrain. Honestly I've never seen anywhere with such flat terrains! This is also the very reason why hot-air balloons is one of the more popular options here as it allows you to see the entire Bagan (probably all 3,000 temples?) in a glance. But it was too pricey - almost US$400 for a 45 min ride! So we took the cheapo way - explore it on our own.

Flat terrain aside, you can probably tell from the photos by now that Bagan is a sandy and cloudless place - yes which translates to it being scorching hot as well. Half of the time I wished we could just hide in the temples! Haha. Obviously that didn't happen because there are so many places we have to go!

If you can, bring a UV umbrella along, or at the very least, a really large hat to avoid getting too much heat.

Most temples have stores outside which sells your usual tourist souvenirs. I would loved to buy some but on the account that we are kind of backpacking this time round with no check-in luggage, I killed off that idea right from the start.

Sand paintings are one of the more common items sold along the road side stalls and some of them are really pretty!

This is the only "temple" that doesn't have any statues inside - it's pure solid structure made out of bricks. Weihao and Phyllis were determined to climb up for a view but I was tired from all that heat.

Which explains why I'm right at the bottom here looking up at them. Hahaha.

Views from the top:

We went back to our hotel by late afternoon for a short nap and also a much needed escape from the sun.

Our driver came to pick us up at around 5 pm so we could catch the sunset at the famed Shwesandaw Pagoda. Tourists can have the option to catch sunrise/sunset at this place but you will have to wake up really early to catch the sunrise (read: 4am) so we being the sleepyheads that we are, chose sunset instead.

As this is one of the "must dos" in Bagan, huge crowds are expected.

If you are terrified of heights, this activity may be frightening for you. The steps are very steep and the step handles are not the most stable ones around. Throw in the crowd and it can become very scary for folks who are afraid of heights.

After the sun set, all it took was around 30 min for the entire area to become really dark. As most places do not have street lights (except for the areas where hotels and eateries are), we were eager to head back to our accommodation.

And that ends our first day in Bagan!

Bagan Day 2

We started the day early. No more hunting for breakfast as the hotel provides them - albeit super simple food items like fruits, toast and a sunny side up.

The driver came early at around 7.30am (essentially life in Myanmar seems to start and end early - pretty healthy I say!). It will be a fairly long ride today to Mount Popa where there is a temple perched up on a mountain, 777 steps away.

We drove past a crowd of villagers and apparently they were undergoing some agricultural education that's provided by the government - this is to ensure they preserve the land and soil while growing their livelihood.

We stopped by a hut-like structure that seems to be showcasing/educating tourists on something. Turned out they are a tour group from Singapore! What are the odds? It was nice to hear some Singlish for sure!

They were showcasing the production of peanut oil :)

Our journey was interrupted by a herd of goats - big and small. Terribly adorable.

As the car starts to climb - it also means Mount Popa is in our proximity!

Mount Popa! That's the temple right there :)

Before you ascend the steps, you will have to take off your shoes and pay US$1/1000Ks for a locker rental. They will give you as well a pack of wet tissue. KEEP IT. You will need them to clean your feet when you return.

Trust me, your feet will be dirty and let me tell you why:

There are monkeys all over the steps and the entire temple. I mean the entire mountain. Although locals have been employed to keep the area clean (wiping and shoo-ing the monkeys away when necessary), these are wild animals after all. They will poop, eat and litter as and when they like.

So yes, back to previous point. Your feet will get dirty so keep the wet tissues handy.

Way to the top wasn't as bad as I thought! Granted 777 steps sounded very daunting but we were up and down within an hour - mind you - we took a pretty long time up there taking photos and also taking in the amazing view up there.

There were plenty of rest stops so you can catch your breath and also enjoy the view at the same time. Just got to be alert for any monkeys attempting to get near you because they think you may have food. So keep your camera safe and don't hold any bags that may look like food.

We were glad we came up here because well - it's kind of like being on a hot air balloon! Thanks to the flat terrain, we have a far and clear view of Bagan. We were able to spot a few temples and Pagodas hidden out in the forested areas as well!

It started to get really hot (around 10ish am) so we decided we will start moving down. We all had muscle aches the next day, if you were wondering.

Bought some fruits and a bag of banana chips on the way back. They were so yummy! But heaty as well - which explained the onset of a mild sore throat the day after for me.

School children on their way home for lunch before going back to school for lessons. Schools does not have a canteen that provides food like in Singapore or most countries.

We headed back to Nyaung U, where our hotel is and settled on a quick lunch at a place with proper wifi. Turned out many places in Bagan has spotty wifi :(

It was our last day in Bagan so we thought we will continue to explore the city in a different form of transport. We voted for e-bike!

As we rented it in the afternoon - with only 6 hours left before we had to return it at 8pm - the store owner gave us a US$1 discount at US$4 to rent the bike. Dirt cheap!

They were such a joy to ride in! We got to ride them on public roads and little back-end sandy routes into the Pagodas and it was so so fun. Granted that it is a bit scary to ride alongside the motorcycles, lorries, buses and cars which are clearly much faster than you - but stay alert and you will be fine.

We didn't want to be riding in the dark (although the e-bike comes with headlights) as these are road conditions we are not familiar with and didn't want to lose our way back to the hotel. By 5pm we decided we should make our way back to Nyaung U.

And of course we had to make a pit stop at the night market!

We rode back in time before the skies turn dark and went to A Little Bit of Bagan for nice Indian dinner!

Food was very yummy and they were fairly cheap ranging between US$4-5 per dish. We gave them the dragon fruit we bought earlier at the market for them to slice it up for us as well.

We went back shortly to quickly pack up our stuff as we have to wake up in the wee hours to catch the day bus to Mandalay.

This post wraps up our 2 days in the hot and dry city of Bagan. Next up, Mandalay!