Article and photos:Le Thang
So it took about 6 hours for the early bus from Mandalay with many peaceful and quiet scenes along the way. Myanmar weather generally has a big difference in temperature, cold at night and hottest in the mid-afternoon, then gradually cools down when the sun disappears behind the mountains on the horizon.
I woke up very early, around 5am, the sky was still sparkling with stars and quite cold. Of course, I had surveyed everything necessary since the afternoon before, when I first arrived. Wrapping a scarf around me to keep warm, I went to the meeting point, with the dawn blazing over the layers of sacred towers.
Bagan is located about 150 km southwest of Mandalay, on dry land, on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River. Bagan, formerly known as Pagan, was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, which existed from the 9th to the 13th century AD, with an area of about 25 square miles, and the existence of about 13,000 temples, pagodas, and stupas, built from the mid-11th century to the late 13th century. The temples and pagodas built during this golden age marked the beginning of the new Buddhist tradition of Myanmar. Bagan today has about 2,500 such stupas (temples, pagodas). An earthquake occurred in 1975 and further, the Mongol invasion in the 13th century destroyed many of the magnificent structures.
I read about Bagan like that. Actually, I did not want to learn about such things in detail. I came to Bagan to explore and take pictures, to get as many pictures of this mysterious land as possible, and I am starting to realize those wishes.
I climbed up to the top floor of the temple, which was chosen as the best place to watch the sunrise in Bagan. I arrived before dawn, but I was surprised to see that the place was already packed with people and photographers. Although I knew that this was a popular spot for photographers, I was still surprised and had a hard time finding a suitable place to wait for the sun to rise.
I remember the wait was long, the place was completely silent. Maybe I was concentrating too much, or it was the same all around me, and I rarely heard anyone talking. It seemed like all eyes were on the horizon.
I arrived in Bagan with a strange sense of excitement. Bagan was the place I was most looking forward to on this trip. The excitement probably stemmed from the appeal of what I had read, and more so from the pictures I had seen. Wandering and wandering with vague thoughts, flocks of birds flew one after another across the sky that was gradually turning red. I was almost silent when the round sun emerged from behind the ancient Dahmmayan Gyi Phaya temple. Somewhere there was a buzz of admiration in all kinds of languages. And then there was another sound that replaced that buzz, the sound of shutters of all kinds of cameras racing to open.
The dawn of the land of fire is truly extraordinary. Mysterious, splendid and wild. The enchanting charm is reserved for the fire of the sky, emitting a brilliant light that gradually spreads in the morning mist, passing through each field, each tower and gradually covering the whole of Bagan in golden color. The morning mist immediately follows the sunlight, wherever the sunlight spreads, the mist covers it. In a moment, the entire Bagan territory can only be seen with treetops and large and small towers rising in the morning mist. Everything is drawn into layers that lead the viewer's eyes far away to the horizon.
The dawn of the land of fire is truly extraordinary. Mysterious, magnificent and wild. The enchanting charm is reserved for the fire of the sky, emitting a brilliant light that gradually spreads in the morning mist, passing through each field, each tower and gradually covering the whole of Bagan in golden color.
I had seen pictures of Bagan, heard stories from people who had been there, about hot air balloons flying in the fiery sky. It seemed that not everyone who came to Bagan had the chance to see them, even if it was simply the service of a Western travel company. I didn't think about the balloons either, all the fascination was focused on the dawn and the mysterious towers, but I was lucky, perhaps, when the sun was still shining. Far away to the north of Bagan, mixed in the green mist, round, hazy balloons appeared. One, two, three, and more, I realized they were balloons, and it was wonderful to see them for the first time in my life, in such a wonderful place. It took a long time to count all the balloons, there were thirteen of them, gradually flying towards the center of the field of towers. Looking at us, it was like an invasion, a marvelous invasion.
The balloons began to fill the air in the admiration of the people around me. The atmosphere became bustling, no longer as quiet as when waiting for the sun to rise. Some flew high to observe the wide view, some flew close to the ground, flying past the towers. The people on it did not know what they thought, what they saw, but it was probably very interesting. And maybe they did not know that they were exploring the wonder and accidentally creating another wonder, extremely interesting.
Absorbed in the flight path of the balloons, I and probably everyone else had forgotten where the sun was. When the balloons flew into the center of the ancient tower field, the sun was already shining brightly in the sky. The entire space was covered in sunlight, mist covered the field, mixed with dust from the cars running on the red dirt roads.
I saw a solar eclipse when I was a child, and to this day, after more than twenty years, I have never seen it again. And it was amazing that I got to experience it again, by balloon, in Bagan. Luck piled on luck, it was unimaginable that a balloon flew across the sun, just enough to cover the sun and create an eclipse for about ten seconds, a short time but extremely amazing.
I left the tower, wandered all day in the fields, through dusty roads leading to different temples. I stood in front of giant temples, saw tourist cars pulled by horses and cows with extremely unique shapes. When the sunset began to fall on the Ayeyarwady River, I went to the tower to watch the sunset marked on the tourist map. A local girl led me up the tower through tiny roads. I was there, watching the sun gradually set behind the mountains to the west. Bagan sunset is not like dawn, very quiet and peaceful. It is not difficult to see in each person present here the regret when the sun sets, because of the wonder that the sunlight brings to the fiery land of sacred towers.
Bagan sunset is not like dawn, very quiet and still. It is not difficult to see the regret in every person present when the sun goes down, because of the wonder that the sunlight brings to the land of fire of sacred towers.
I left the tower when the night had fallen. Bagan still has many wonders. The giant and ancient pagodas, the clear Ayeyarwady River with the rustic life of the Myanmar people, the famous traditional lacquer handicraft village and the people and monks of this strangely peaceful land.
And I still have one more day, for Bagan.
More information:
+ Means:
- You can get to Bagan from Yangon, Mandalay by domestic airlines. In addition, there are trains and buses with prices ranging from 8 - 10 USD, equivalent to 8,000 - 10,000 Kyats.
- The waterway route from Mandalay to Bagan on the Ayeyarwady River, there are two types of boats with duration of 9 hours and 17 hours equivalent to cost of 40 USD and 10 USD
+ Getting around in Bagan:
There are many options for getting around Bagan, including bicycles, electric bicycles, ox carts, horse carts, etc. Try everything if you can, but the most convenient is probably the electric bicycle. The service here rents for about 10 USD/bike/day. The cheapest is a bicycle, about 3 USD/bike/day.
+ Cuisine:In Myanmar you basically eat traditional food. There are some good Western and Chinese style restaurants.
+ Hotel:There are resorts and budget hotels, with different prices. The cheapest is about 35 USD/night for a room that can accommodate 2 to 3 people. Alternatively, you can rent a bed on the porch to sleep for 7 USD/night.
+ Places to visit:
- There are about 4,000 pagodas in Bangan. Famous ones are Shwezigon pagoda (built in the 11th century) in Nyang U, Ananda (11th century), Thatbyinnyu (12th century), Shwegugyi (11th century) and Shwesandaw (11th century) – a beautiful place to watch the sunset in Old Baga.
- Other activities you should not miss in Bagan include: visiting lacquer workshops; going to the local market; having dinner at Nanda restaurant (7-10 USD) to watch string puppet shows; going to Popa peak, an ancient volcano 40km from the center of Bagan - the birthplace of the Nats who bless the people of Myanmar.
- Sightseeing by hot air balloon. Costs about 350 USD/person for a flight of about 2 hours. Quite expensive, but if you can afford it, you should consider it.
+FewOther notes:
- Take off your shoes, sandals and socks when visiting temples and areas where shoes are not allowed.
- When giving money, gifts or anything to others, you should give it with your right hand or with both hands to show politeness.
- You should wear pants that are longer than the knee and shirts with sleeves, not revealing the chest, stomach, or back when visiting temples.
There are some places where filming and photography are prohibited, you should pay attention to avoid trouble.
