(If you’re just here to see pretty pictures, you want this post instead!)

I arrived in Bagan at 4.00am and was brought to the hostel on a recommendation by the taxi driver. I should have known better by then than to listen to the taxi drivers, but hey, I was totally shattered, and he said it was a good place to meet people.
Actually, it looked really nice, so I checked in and was offered a bed on the rooftop until morning, or invited to join in with the sunrise tour, starting in a few minutes!
Other than the facts that I’d hardly slept on the bus, was totally wiped out from walking and cycling, wasn’t really wearing the right stuff, hadn’t showered in 2 days and didn’t have a clue what I was going to do all day and I’d never ridden an e-bike before, I couldn’t see why not, so I signed up.
About 10 seconds later, another equally shattered guest (introducing himself as Thijs from Amsterdam) rolled out of a taxi and was also easily persuaded to join us.

We bargained the e-bike fees (worked out as about $2 for the day, including free laundry, which is hilarious), joined “Akira” from Japan and scooted off after the guide into the cool, dry air – a refreshing change from the mugginess of the rest of Myanmar. Bearing in mind it was pitch black when I arrived in Bagan, you can imagine that climbing a pagoda to watch the sun rise over this unique landscape for the first time is quite an experience:

If you ever come to Myanmar, even for a day, come to Bagan and watch the sun rising. And setting. And watch it doing everything in-between.

Returning to the hostel in time for breakfast, the group of us that had watched the sunset decided to spend the entire day using the e-bikes to take us from temple to temple. Another chappy from Japan joined us, making 4 lads on e-bikes ready to storm Bagan:

We soon discovered the structures come in all shapes and sizes; stepped or smooth, round, square, rectangular, brick, stone, tall, tiny, climbable, ruined, recently restored and even one that leant disconcertingly and was affectionately nicknamed “temple Pisa”.

Seeing as I took so many, I’ve collected all of my “generic temple” photos here. It includes a few sunset pics so it’s worth a glance!

Although it wasn’t raining, the sky was pretty cloudy and the day’s heat grew, with dust swirling as winds picked up. It left me feeling constantly coated in a thin layer of clay-like mud, and stained everything like cacao powder.
We stopped off at a couple of major pagodas, the most impressive of which was the Schwezigon (almost the same name as the one in Yangon, though actually not as extensive or well-kept):

Bagan is also famous for its laquerware, so we stopped at a family run workshop. The owner took us on a proud tour of the modest factory, showing us the various stages in the process of creating the ornaments and tableware, which overall takes around 6-12 months depending on design and quality. Everything from start to finish is done by hand, and all the ingredients are entirely natural. Except perhaps the turpentine that they use to wash their hands when done…

I would have loved to bring something back with me, but had horrible images of the delicate bamboo and clay splintering and filling my bag with expensive dust, so abstained. Perhaps next time.

We stopped for a great home-made lemonade over at the river-view hotel, which looks out over the Aryewaddy river:

Lunch was a quick-stop for noodles. When you’re in a photographer/explorer/adventurist playground, food is the last thing on your mind. It’s incredible out here in the wild, where you have your electric bike, no speed limits, no restrictions on where you can go, and no rules except taking off your shoes when you enter a temple. It’s hard to imagine growing tired of this place. Also, monks eat lunch too:

At one moment, I was fortune enough to witness a local placing gold leaf onto the Buddha:

Traditionally, the Buddha statues are made with stone, marble, brass, or even iron, and then it’s down to the local people, monks and pilgrims to coat them in gold.

On the way back I took a rather cross-country route and ended up finding a great pagoda to climb up and watch the sunset from. It wasn’t too impressive, due to cloud cover, but the next day it was incredible! You’ll have to head over to my feature post for the photos!

Back at the hostel, Thijs, Akira and I signed up to a day-trip to Mt Popa, a nearby pagoda on a hill with phenomenal viewpoints and resident monkeys. We persuaded two girls to join us (Sabrina and Clara) and after a “sensible” number of drinks at the hostel bar we retired for the night, prepped to leave early. This would be my last day in Bagan, so to end the post, here’s a few photos of me really, really having a great time!: