Surely Temples

Ok, I take back what I said about this country not being set up for tourists.  Bagan is full of tourists, tourists buses and people trying to sell tacky souvenirs.  But, it’s not hard to see why so many people flock here.  In an area of 26 sq miles, there are 2200 stupas, pagodas and temples.  The majority of these holy places date from 9th-12th centuries, and although an earthquake destroyed many of the original structures, some of the restored structures still contain 900 year old frescos.  Wind erosion has taken off their once fancy facades, and what’s left now is exposed brick.

We rented an electric scooter and drove around for two days, visiting several pagodas, exploring the ones that looked interesting.  We found quite a few temples with no at them.  It was necessary to remove our shoes at each pagoda, so we had to walk barefoot over the ground and chipped stairs.

We watched the sunrise over the temples shrouded in mist, while hot air balloons floated above.  And then hours later, we viewed the sunset.  Both events are prime times on the pagodas that have several stories, meaning we had to claim our spots an hour in advance.

At the end of the first day, the battery on our scooter died without warning.  We were lucky that it stopped near some police who called the rental company for us.  In the meantime, we got to listen to Burmese rock bands performing a concert next to where we were waiting for the company to arrive with a new battery.

We discovered and became addicted to “Burmese crack”, or dried tamarind flakes.  These little wafers of dried fruit come wrapped in tissue paper, and are unbelievably delicious.  Like Pringles, you can’t eat just one.  

---

Beer of choice: Mandalay