After a rough few days in Yangon and still scarred from my bus ride, I hopped on a flight to visit old Bagan, an ancient city home to over two thousand, three hundred temples scattered across forty miles.
Bagan was nothing short of amazing.
I could have spent weeks here and not touched everything that this city has to offer. There are so many temples, and each temple is vastly different than the last. I couldn’t wait to get started.
Since many of these temples are grouped in one large area, e-bikes are a common way of getting around. I tried walking around on my first day, but the many packs of stray dogs all around Bagan made this impossible. Stray dogs are common throughout all of Southeast Asia, but I believe the main difference here is that the dogs here are not as accustomed to tourists and were hostile to non-locals. With that in mind, I booked a tuk-tuk to get the lay of the land with plans to rent an e-bike for my following days here.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
My first morning, I woke up with a start thinking my hostel was on fire. My room smelled like a bonfire, my head was killing me, and my eyes were burning.
My hostel was not on fire, but it seemed like the rest of the country was. Trash burning is very common, and during the dry season, so are wildfires. The smoke was so thick the morning that when I woke up, it was hard to see much of anything. There were no fire close by, but the smoke was aggressive.
With my allergies in full blast, I powered through it the first day, but the smoke gave me a horrendous headache that stuck with me for the rest of my time in Bagan, so I didn’t get to see much else.
I hope someday I have the chance to visit again (though perhaps not during the dry season) as this city has so much more to offer. However, I crammed a lot into that one day, seeing eight amazing temples.
Manuha Phaya
Built in the year 1067, this temple is known for it’s large, reclining Buddha.
Myazedi Pagoda
The temple is most notable for being the namesake for the Myazedi inscription, the oldest surviving Burmese stone inscription at almost one thousand years old.
Gu Byauk Gyi Temple
The paintings on its walls are believed to be the oldest in Bagan. The front of the temple features inscriptions on its four pillars, each in a different language, which were crucial in deciphering the ancient language of Pyu.
Gawdawpalin Temple
This gu-style temple took 24 years to build, has 4 entrances, and was built for the purpose of Buddhist meditation.
Bupaya Pagoda
The original one thousand, eight hundred-year-old structure built overlooking the Irrawaddy River was destroyed along with many other temples in the 1975 Bagan earthquake. It was completely rebuilt in 1978.
Thatbyinnyu Phaya
The tallest of the pagodas in Bagan, this structure clocks in at 21 stories high. Much about the original history and purpose of this temple is still a mystery.
Ananda Temple
One of the most notable buildings in Bagan, this one thousand-year-old temple is one of the most beautiful and well-preserved in Old Bagan.
Shwesandaw Pagoda
The tallest stupa in Bagan features five terraces and can be seen from quite far away. It was built in 1057 AD.
That’s eight of over two thousand, two hundred temples visited in Bagan. Many more are just waiting to be explored.