Now that there is a direct flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia, Angkor Wat is no longer the 'new, new thing'. Bagan in Myanmar is the place to go. Putting aside the politics, Myanmar is a traveler's paradise. There are daily flights from Bangkok to Yangon, formerly Rangoon, and 5 star hotels dot the countryside.

After a quick overnight in Yangon, we caught a 50 minute flight on Yangon Airways' AR 72-210 prop jet to Bagan. Acknowledging the international appeal of Bagan, the airline color codes the flights to eliminate language problems. We were on the pink flight. In true Myanmar fashion, our 7am in-flight breakfast was potato chips, éclair and puff pastry!

Billed as "the best archaeological site in south east Asia", Bagan was founded in 849 A.D. It became the capital of the first unified Kingdom and the first multinational Union of Myanmar in 1044 A.D. Approximately 25 square miles of open land, sited on the east bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River, covered by 5,000 mysterious and magnificent stupas and hollow pagodas of a bygone era, make Bagan one of the wonders of the world. Today it is a premier archeological site that offers a rich heritage from a 12th century empire.



A simple, clean, efficient airport was our introduction to Bagan. We drove along a hot, dry landscape of neatly kept homes and fields to the Bagan Hotel. Managed by an expat German whose home for the past 25 years has been Thailand, the Bagan Hotel maintains a high standard of quality while keeping a character unique to its location. Adjacent to the river and the national museum, the hotel is inside the archeological zone. A magnificent temple stands outside the hotel entrance and a classic stupa is the focal point of the outdoor restaurant (see below). Only in Bagan would you begin your day with a cup of coffee and a breakfast buffet in the shadow of a 12th century temple.



There are too many stupas, pagodas and temples to see in one visit. With the help of our guide who accompanied us from Yangdon, we selected the prime spots for sunrise, sunset and mid-morning touring: Shwezigon Paya, Gubyaukgyi, Htilominlo, Anada, and Manuha Pagodas. It was worth the 5am wake-up call to climb the three sets of steep, narrow stair at Mingalazedi temple to sit on the high terrace and watch the sun rise. Joined by a dozen twenty-something backpackers from France, Italy and Korea, we reverently waited for the dawn. As the sky turned from black to light gray, whispered words of anticipation in five languages flew around the terrace and we all quietly faced the east, cameras ready. We sat in stunned silence as the most magnificent huge red orb popped up from the horizon. A brilliant red circle in a clear blue sky, between 2 spires of temples. As the sun rose, our silence was broken only by the sound of camera shutters and zoom lenses. In the distance we could hear 3 clear tones of bells being rung to welcome the sun.

Sunnset at Shwesandaw Paya was a different experience. We got an early start up the five dizzying sets of stairs to get a prime spot to watch the sun go down. As we sat on the terrace in silence, we were horrified to see four 25-passenger buses pull up and drop off middle age tourists who complained loudly as they climbed the stairs to join us high off the ground. Now we know why there were no young travelers at this temple. We felt that the sunset was merely predicable, perhaps due to the noisy atmosphere.

Driving to Mount Popa the next day provided us with one of the many rewards of two people traveling with a local guide. We passed through a small village at the onset of a festival celebrating three young boys who were being initiated as novices to the monastery. It is a Myanmar Buddhist tradition that young boys around age 7 spend time one to two weeks at the monastery as novices. The local festival to celebrate their initiation draws everyone from surrounding villages for a day of music and free food. The structure in the photo below was put up just for the occasion.

A parade of young women carrying umbrellas, culminating with the parents carrying robes and alms bowls for their sons and the boys on horses riding like a prince (Buddha was once a prince on horseback) snakes through the village and countryside.

Western foreigners are still rare in this village, so as we stopped to watch the festival, we (Tim!) become the center of attraction.

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We next flew to Mandalay, staying at a beautiful hotel with a room overlooking the golf course, swimming pool and tennis courts and looking onto the Mandalay Hill. In the morning we visited the Mahamuni and Kuthodaw Pagodas and the Shwenandaw Monastery.

After a morning of culture, we (Jane) indulged in some shopping for the renowned puppets and tapestries made in Mandalay. Since this tired Mr. Tim, we rested over a traditional Myanmar lunch at our guide's favorite restaurant. Little did we realize that the traditional lunch included no less than six dishes each. Lunch, including drinks (see below) was $1.25 each!

The evening took us to Mandalay Hill for sunset and then to a local Myanmar BBQ restaurant which was our driver's choice. The manager of the travel agency we were using was in town, so he joined us at the restaurant just to make sure that we were pleased with the service. Quality control and continuous improvement in Myanmar! How could we complain when there was a cooler in the van with bottles of cold drinking water and the Myanmar version of handiwipes for our feet and hands.

The next day we took a 20 minute flight to Heho where we were met by our driver who would take us to Pindaya Cave. We sped down the narrow road until we came near a town that was hosting the weekly market. All of a sudden we were in the midst of women balencing huge packages on their heads and ox carts filled with produce. We immediately adjusted our itinerary and joined the crowds gong to the market.

Market day is a weekly event, so the stalls were filled with produce, meat and fish. But it wasn't all the basic necessities. We were curious when we saw all sorts of people handing over money and darting into a dark hut. It turned out that there was a 12" TV inside and they were selling admission to watch a Chinese video. We were even more intrigued when we saw two very small huts into which only men were quickly slipping through the door. We couldn't stop laughing when we went inside and saw that it was a karoke bar, complete with the words to assist the singers! As the only foreigners at the market, we had acquired a trail of people who were examining our clothes and craning to see whatever we were interested in when we stopped to look at the goods for sale at a stall.

We got to Pindaya Cave in the afternoon. It is a natural limestone cave stuffed with more than 8,000 Buddha images from the 18th century. The town was getting prepared for their annual festival, so we were able to hear the musicians practicing and see the pagoda umbrella being painted.

We stayed that evening at an incredible hotel on Inle Lake. Inle Lake is known for its "one-legged fisherman". They wrap one leg around an oar and use the oar to pole along the lake. Our 30 minute boat ride to the hotel included a perfect sunset, getting us to the hotel in time for an incredible dinner. The hotel owner is a Frenchman married to a Myanmar women.

The village life is centered on the lake. The farms actually float on the lake, growing tomatoes, beans, mustard, watercress, etc. Even still, the religion was not forgotten. Below are young monks we heard chanting in their classroom.

Back to Yangon for our final night in Myanmar. We spent about three hours at the Shwedagon Pagoda watching the swirl of people in this most religious of sites.

As we watched the sun set, we noticed that we were drawing a large crowd. After watching us for a while, two men came up and asked if Tim would join them in a photograph. They were with a large group of people who came from the southern coast near Myeik. Our guide explained that they had never spoken to westerners and were very excited about having their picture taken with us. Twenty minutes, dozens of pictures later, and after a lot of laughing and giggling, they waved good bye.

Our visit to Myanmar was not at all what we expected. We just seen enough to know that we want to visit more. We have already made plans to return in January.