Beautiful Bagan - A Land Beyond Your Imagination

[ by Stian ]

Thanks to google for providing me a really nice
shot of the sunset in Bagan;)

Bagan is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan, the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day. Bagan is located in the earthquake zone and has suffered more than 400 registered earthquakes since 1904, which has caused immensely damage to many of the temples. In the 1990's the military government started restoration of some of the old temples, but the work has been condemned by historians and heritage managers / preservation architects from all around the world since they used modern material and did not pay attention to the old architecture. Because of this the city of Bagan has not been assigned a world heritage site by UNESCO as of yet, even though the majority of the temples are still not restored at all.

Present-Day Bagan

Today Bagan consists of three villages: Old Bagan, New Bagan and Nyaung U - the latter two located south and north of Old Bagan respectively. In the early 1990's the military junta decided that most of the inhabitants in Old Bagan had to move to New Bagan, and only the religious, the monks, where allowed to stay behind in Old Bagan. This whole process happen in the middle of the night and no one had been informed ahead of time – to make this traumatic experience worse it was a night when it rained heavily. The people were forced to leave their homes and move to New Bagan, even though they had no accommodation to check into at the new place.

Arriving Bagan

Arriving Bagan was a very different experience. We arrived at 3 am and we literally felt like we had arrived to an alternative parallel world set hundreds of years back in time. At the bus station we had the choice of taking a taxi to our hotel or to take a horse and carriage. Well, there were plenty of horses waiting at the bus station and almost no taxis so we chose to do the authentic way of horse and carriage, even though this ride would take about 5 times the time compared to a taxi. The ride to the hotel was though wonderful – on the way we passed many many pagodas and temples, that were lit up in the night, and the streets were completely empty. Only once every now and then there was a motorbike passing us. The roads felt very long, and there were no commercial street signs or cross sections with lights or any other modern equipments to see anywhere. It really did feel like we were placed in a middle of a Hollywood production movie set, set in British empire time.

Sky Palace Hotel

Since there are no official hostels in Myanmar we had to go for hotel accommodation once again. Since WiFi in Myanmar is the slowest ever it was impossible to search for hotels so we got our very friendly staff at Clover Hotel in Yangon to do the booking for us. They made a reservation for us at Sky Palace Hotel for one night – and since we would be arriving as late as we would then they even let us have the first night for free, wiiiiii!!!!! Sky Palace Hotel is located in the New Bagan and is a VERY nice hotel. It opened it's doors only a year and a half ago, so it's modern, clean and offers free breakfast, free WiFi and even a really nice pool area. It felt like it was a bit too good to be true to be honest. The rooms are spacious and the beds are really comfortable as well. This was set for a perfect holiday experience:)

First Day In Bagan

Since we arrived late we had a very slow start the first morning. Or at least some did. I was up at breakfast time together with Kjetil and we both got our breakfast, and then I went for a morning swim, which was very nice. A few hours later the three others decided to join us as well. We stayed for a few hours at the hotel just relaxing and enjoying our time by the pool.

Sunset the first day.

Eventually we decided that we couldn't stay by the pool the whole day so we had to get moving. One of the staff at the hotel functioned as a «taxi-driver» and took us to one of the nicest temples in Bagan were we would be able to see the sunset. The climb to the top of the temple was extremely steep, even for me, but when finally at the top the view was one of the most amazing I have ever experienced in my life. There were pagodas (also called stupas) as far as we could see – and the area between each pagoda is untouched and had no sign of commercial interference. It really really did feel completely unreal in every way. Being able to experience a place like this is priceless – and we really do hope that it will stay like this forever, cause it was perfect in every way.

Pushy saleskids

One backside of this place was that this was the first place we experienced pushy salespeople. So far in Myanmar we had not experienced this. Worst thing of all was it was solely the kids who were pushy, praying on our consciousness in every way. Most were selling postcards in a roll of 10 for only 1000 kyats, though if you purchased from one of the kids they all would run up to you and beg you to purchase from them as well. It was very annoying to be honest. They did though quickly spot the «weakest» link among us...

Marion has a heart of gold and she really has a hard time letting the kids down so when we met up with Marion she was sitting between 5 kids chatting. When the rest of us joined her she gave us the whole life story of the group. Four of the kids turned out to be siblings as well. She also told us that the postcards cost 1000 kyats each, so she had purchased 5, and given them 20 000. She admitted at the same time that math is not her strongest side. Haha, she is the sweetest ever;) Even Sissel ended up buying a set of postcards, and paid 5000 ks. But there is a reason for everything they say and Marion getting in touch with these kids would turn out to be a blessing for the all of us.

This blessing I have chosen to write a separate entry about, so check out the next entry by myself if you like to get to know about how it all turned out:)

Dining at The Queen

This first night our taxi-guy suggested a very nice restaurant for us to dine at called The Queen, which is located close to the village of Nyaung U north of Old Bagan. The Queen was a very very nice restaurant and we got served amazing food. I had Chicken Curry with Black Bean Sauce and it tasted GREAT. It was so great that I had to repeat it two days later - haha. It was a three course traditional Myanmar meal and we only had to pay 4000 kyats for it – that is about 4-5 US dollars. It's unbelievable how cheap the food can be sometimes. Though even in Myanmar we've noticed that if you choose to buy international food you get lot less value for the money you spend, so even here you should stick to the traditional food – even though the traditional food takes way longer time to prepare sometimes. For example, a slice of white bread with cheese, and no crust or vegetables, cost as much as a whole meal consisting of fried rice, chicken, vegetables, a soup and even sometimes desert. It's crazy.

After the dinner we dropped by a some wood-carvers shops just across the street from the restaurant where we took the opportunity to observe the wood-carvers perform their talent, and wow what a talent they had. There were wood carvings of large statues and figurines which were really really nice. We did not have much time at this point so we did not have time to look thoroughly and to purchase anything at this point, but we did return two days later and at least Marion got some souvenirs from here.

Temples of Bagan

The second day in Bagan will probably end up being one of the days during our whole year which we will remember the best, cause we had many many wonderful impressions this day.

The day started off with us doing a sightseeing tour with the same «taxi-guy» as the previous night. We noticed that when we were about to leave, the kids from last night were waiting just outside our hotel waving at us, which was a very sweet and surprising gesture. Our driver took us to some of the most beautiful temples in Bagan. Among them Dhammayangyi Temple, which is the largest temple in Bagan, and the Ananda temple, which is one of the most famous and most beautiful temples in Bagan.

There are different styles of temples in Myanmar. First of all we have the pagodas which also are called stupas, typically with a relic chamber inside, which are very prominent because of its shape. The highest tower, the so called stupa itself, is round shaped and pointy – and its often gilded in gold and dressed with a decorated «umbrella» at the very top. The famous Schwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is a typical stupa, and so where the Mingalazedi which we visited the first evening here in Bagan for catching the sunset.

The other types of temples are the hollow temples, which are squareshaped and either one-faced or four-faced. If one-faced then there is one entrance which leads to a Buddha statue. Most of the temples around here seem to be of this kinds. The four-faced temples have four entrances each leading to the four different Buddhas. Inside the hollow temples there are three set of corridors embracing the inner section where the Buddhas are located. The temples, which main features were the pointed arches and the vaulted chamber, became larger and grander in the Bagan period and are mostly used for meditation, devotional worship of Buddha and other Buddhist rituals.

There are also five-faced temples and so called hybrid temples around as well. Though we didn't see many of them.

The temples are amazing and the statues of the Buddhas are really beautiful. I really just fell in love with all this unexposed culture right away. It really feels like everything is taken out of a Hollywood movie production. The best thing of all is that its free to visit all the temples as well, even though our driver said that we would have to purchase a 10 USD ticket for the whole area to explore – but we did not see any ticket stand so we never obtained a ticket as of what I know.

Mural Gallery

Our driver also took us to a mural gallery temple as well which depicted a lot of ancient murals which were pretty amazing. Our guide at this temple was a small old monk that had the most funny voice ever – so it was a real pleasure to experience this. Though the salespeople just outside of this temple were to pushy and they just annoyed me, but of course the girls had to get something as always, haha;)

Original Lacquerware Work Shop

We were as well taken to an original lacquerware work shop. Here we got the whole process of making lacquerware explained, and what a huge process it is. To make one cup takes many weeks – and some of the biggest items could take as much as between a year and a half and two years to complete. Of course we noticed that the prices in this shop was WAY higher than the products Sissel and Marion had purchased for the lacquerware products while in Yangon, and we were then told about the «copy»-products which are not real lacquerware and which is of way worse quality. Also a main difference between the two versions is that the original lacquerware is engraved, while the artwork on the copy-products are just painted. We got to see the staff in action while making lacquerware – and how it's done during all the processes and we were really impressed to be honest. We had not expected this to such hard work. We felt that we had to purchase something from this shop as a courtesy for having been explained the whole process and gotten access to the work-area. Since it was so expensive here I could only allow myself to buy a card-deck-holder for 18 US dollars, while Sissel went for a shot-glass, which probably really is an egg-glass but we prefer shot glass of course, haha;)

While we were waiting outside the lacquerware work shop we got green tea served along with some mixture of spices which we should eat and then combine with the green tea. The mixture consisted of spicy ginger, pickled green tea leafs and roasted peanuts – together it tasted really good, and it was a very different experience for sure.

Meeting the kids

At 11 am this first whole day we met up with the kids from the evening before, as planned, and had a wonderful coffee time at their house. We were even invited back again for dinner later that evening as well, an invitation we accepted of course. The impressions were massive and we loved every moment of it. Read more about the details surrounding this day in my next entry ;)

Second Whole Day In Bagan

The second whole day in Bagan we solely spent with the kids we had gotten to know the two days before... This day was as well full of impressions, all of wonderful ones, but we were as well suddenly faced with an ethical dilemma to consider – which did cause some discussion between all of us which challenged our consciousness. The next blog entry explains it all, remember;)

Last Day in Bagan

The last day in Bagan we had arranged for a tour to a place called Mount Popa. This tour would take place before noon, but the most important part of our schedule of the day would be the decision we had to make considering a request made by the family we had gotten to know so well the days before, so it was to become yet another day full of impressions in every way.

Mount Popa

Mount Popa is a steep hill with a temple structure on top of it. Though this temple is a place of worship of both the ancestors as well as of Buddha, so it differs in many ways from other temples in Bagan. On our way, our taxi-guy, the third one while in Bagan, made a stop at a street Distillery, where they made peanute-oil and some kind of alcoholic spirits. We also passed many houses, obviously belonging to even poorer people than the people of Bagan. There didn't seem to be a village close by either so these houses were not connected with normal «infrastructure», well it seemed like it was very far to the next mini market and to restaurants and so on. So when we passed these houses the kids almost run out in the streets shouting at the car, almost aggressively, and some even threw stones after the car. I asked our driver what the kids wanted, and he told us that they wanted money and that this was the way they tried to obtain it. Well, I was actually kind of put off by this, so it was the completely wrong way to go, if so.

Finally at Mount Popa we passed the Mount Popa Village. This whole village is located in the hillside and is mainly one long street with shops, restaurants and monasteries. The way to the temple, located on the top of Mount Popa, was preceded by 777 steps. Also we were told to watch out for the monkeys along the steps, cause they could be fierce. We immediately noticed the monkeys at the beginning of our climb, and yes they were crazy as expected. Though these ones seemed way tamer than the ones we had seen previously while in Thailand and Malaysia. The monkeys were sitting in the stairs, climbing all of the place and seemed unaffected by the people. If you were carrying fruits of any kind in a plastic bag, then you had to expect that they would try to steal it from you, haha. The monkeys actually eat everything it seemed like. One of the monkeys stole Kjetil's Coca Cola, which was a funny thing -and I even got a photo of a monkey eating potato chips, haha.

Along the steps to the top there were a lot of souvenir shops, so even though the «climb» was narrow and the steps many, it didn't feel very hard or long, cause there were so much grabbing our attention on the way, especially the monkeys. As in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur there are a lot of monkeys here, cute ones as well. A problem with monkeys is that they pee and they poop on the steps. Which is not really a problem in itself, had it not been for the fact that footwear is strictly prohibited at places like this. So we had to remove our shoes and walk bare feet. It turned out that a lot of people at this place was making a living of by cleaning the steps as people walked by, of course depending on peoples generosity by donations (since they did not get paid otherwise or their efforts). I had not brought any money, but Sissel gave this one guy 1000 Ks, and when he thanked us we noticed his mouth was full of blood.

Temple at Mount Popa

When arriving to the temple at the top we were not that impressed, except from by the amazing view. The temple seemed very commercially affected. People had attached lots of money on the Buddha statues and of the statues representing their ancestors. One of the «holy» rooms looked just silly cause it housed a statue of an ancestor, and just in front of it there was a bed, with Hello Kitty bed lining, haha. The biggest attraction seemed to be this most adorable girl in her red dress and her father/brother/male guardian, who was a very handsome guy (in my eyes). The girls just loved the little girl with the most beautiful smile in the world – and as always they were not able to let her go, so the male companion of the child had to carry her away, that is - away from Sissel and Marion:)

Beautiful People, Poor Dental Hygiene

Since I have arrived to Burma I have found the Burmese people to be the most beautiful I have ever seen look wise. I just find their color of their skin, their hair and especially their eyes very beautiful. The girls are very cute and the guys are very handsome. The only thing part that does not seem to be in good shape is the dental hygiene. Almost every Burmese person has a horrible dental condition, and most teeth seem to be rotting. Even the kids we got to know had several teeth that were in rotten condition, which really is sad. This is though the case in this country where there literally is almost no health care service for it's inhabitants. So you do feel sorry for the kids when you see them like this, cause I am sure it must hurt at times. If there is any country in the world I would have liked to have adopted a child from then Burma definitely would be my top choice.

Final Meeting with the Kids

When back at the hotel we had dinner and then met up with the kids and their families for the very last time. We had made a decision that hopefully would help the family in the upcoming year so we were pleased with ourselves and would now be hoping for the best. It was said to say goodbye, but also reliefing cause even though it is a joy to hang out with people like these kids and their families it does take a huge effort mentally to cope with the huge differences between both cultural aspects and general standards of living.

Luxury Ride to Yangon.

We chose to take the bus back to Yangon, but this time the VIP bus. The ride to the bus station was anything but VIP though. We were picked up at our hotel by the most horrendous vehicle ever. The 5 of us were literally squeezed into the back of a pickup truck, and little did we know at first that we would be joined by two more persons. We had NO space to make any movement at all. So when the driver told us two more would join us we literally thought he was joking, and we just laughed it away. You can imaging how shocked we were when we realized he did not joke at all. Well well, so we had a VERY genuine and intimate Myanmar transportation experience at the very end, leading to our VIP bus. We had noticed that the local transportation is extremely crowded and sometimes people even have to step out and push the bus if it's overloaded, read to heavy, when riding hills. It sure looks crazy in every way, haha.

Finally at the bus station and when getting into the bus I was AMAZED. Wow, what a bus. The ride with the VIP bus was definitely the best bus ride I have ever experienced. The seats were amazingly comfortable, reclinable and made of leather. Last but not least, they were spacious. Of course the A/C worked perfectly, and we got blankets for sleeping with. There were service-staff on board and we got served hamburger and drinks on the way. I had absolutely no problem sleeping and I did feel rested when I woke up in the morning. It was just amazing in every way. The best thing is that it cost only 18 000 Ks one way. Only 3000 more than the way way way worse bus option. So the ride back to Yangon was a perfect one, and very relaxing indeed:) It was a perfect end of our Myanmar experience, though not a very representative one of the country itself;)

PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!

Sissel, Marion and Kjetil in their horse and carriage arriving Bagan:)

Loads of beautiful temples lit up at night were our first impressions of Bagan.
This is the Shwegugyi Temple.

Sky Palace Hotel, OUR hotel - Nice one right:)

Kjetil got an other new friend:)

Norwegian couple, and parents of my future colleague at Lungeovervåkninga:)

Sunset at the Shwesandaw Temple

View of the Dhammayangyi temple

View of the Ananda temple.

The stairs are steep;)

Thatbyinnyu temple at night:)

Htilominlo temple, I think...

Dining at the Queen Restaurant

Chicken Curry with black bean sauce, as well as scrambled eggs,
chili, onionmix, vegetables and tomatosalad. Probably some of
the most amazing I have ever had. Only 28 NOK.