Bagan, previously known as Pagan, sits in central Myanmar and to the southwest of Mandalay. This ancient city boasts one of the world's most remarkable archaeological sites, making it a must-see destination in Myanmar. So stunning was our sunset picture that it was featured in Jetstar magazine, underlining the beauty of this place. Let’s go!
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How to get there:
- Booked Online for Yangon to Bagan or Fly directly to Ngaung U Airport
- By Bus: Aung Mingalar Bus Station to Bagan Shwe Pyi High Way Bus Terminal
- JJ Express Night Schedule: (Last trip) 20:00-5:30
- Bus Fare: 25 USD / 30 SGD per pax
- Bagan Compulsory Tourist Entrance Fee: 25,000 Kyat
- Taxi to main town Nyaung U, catch the Sunrise and transfer to Shwe Nadi Guest House. Taxi Fare: 30,000 Kyat
1. Rent a Horse Car
- Horse Car Whole Day Tour Price: 25,000 kyat - 30,000 kyat
There are more than a thousand structures to visit in the city it wasn't called "Land of Thousand Pagodas" for a reason. Our guide made sure we went to the famous and beautiful ones in the area.
2. Shwe San Daw Pagoda
We started the trip early in the morning with the JJ Night bus express from Yangon to Bagan (Ngaung-U). Upon arriving in town we hired a taxi to send us to the nearest pagoda to see the sunrise. The drive to the sunrise area was less than an hour. I'm not 100 percent sure what's the name of the pagoda but I'm guessing it's in Shwe San Daw Pagoda. Climbing up inclined stairs at dawn wasn't really a good idea. One slip means total damage not just only to yourself but to the person next to you. We made it to the top along with a bunch of tourists with the same agenda. I always try to avoid the crowd, look around and find my sweet spot even if it means going a bit down the pagoda. As the light fills the dark sky with shades of red, orange and yellow we stand in awe at its magnificent beauty. It was our first sight of Bagan, a temple town they call it. The sunrise was a splendid way of welcoming everyone to its architectural beauty infused with nature's explicit radiance. We stayed longer as planned, ate some crackers and stared at the horizon before getting down the pagoda. Good thing the driver was still there waiting for us.
We took our breakfast, shower and rested for a few hours then we proceeded to our next pagoda hopping.
3. Shwe zi gone Pagoda
Careful
While we were enjoying a moment of tranquility, two girls approached us and offered a flower with three sticks of incense. I was a bit puzzled by the gesture. They requested us to place it near a small Buddha on the wall. Subsequently, they unexpectedly asked for money, which I declined. To my surprise, one of the girls revealed some paper currency from her pocket, trying to sell it to us. Politely refusing, we left our spot and hurried to a nearby shaded location. Before entering the pagoda, two girls guided us from the entrance, requesting us to remove our shoes and attach handmade butterfly pins to our shirts. We thought it was part of the pagoda's welcoming gesture to tourists, but soon realized it came with a price, leaving us both overwhelmed with confused smiles across our faces.
4. Wetkyi Inn Village
We bought two paintings for the price of 30,000 kyat. The artist himself was there and his name was Moon. He added sand to his art which makes it unique compared to the ones sold in the pagoda's market. I was drawn to it immediately, thought of my mum's collection at home and bought it right away. Moon also showed us around the temple, and the rooftop and took our pictures. He laughed as we skipped and hopped from the hot stone floor, running like kids to the cold temple floor to take a look at a proud picture he had just taken and of course back again to get another awesome shot. The warm weather plus the lava stone floor was nothing to him. After having a conversation about his city and bargaining with his paintings we proceeded to our horse cart with our driver named Chin Lai who patiently waited for us with his all-time buddy named Rambo, who carried all the load to stroll us around the city.
5. Htilominlo
A large temple towering three stories high and built on red bricks. There's a lot of souvenir shops here but then I've already purchased a painting at our previous stop.
6. On the Road
Open your eyes to the beauty of Bagan. Drink lots of water, wear summer clothes, bring your cap, wear your sunglasses and be polite with the pagodas and temples you go into, last but not least show your appreciation with a big smile to the local people.
7. Bu Paya
A pagoda was built near the Ayeyarwady River. The small pagoda was said to be dedicated to the God of Storms. It's a different view on this side of the road as you can see a wide expanse of the river while below the pagoda there are a lot of fishing boats in different arrays of colors. There were also a few vendors selling a variety of stuff outside the pagoda for food enthusiasts.
8. Mahabodi Pagoda "Indian Style"
The last pagoda for that morning was an Indian Inspired Pagoda named Mahabodi Pagoda, it looks lost and at the same time where it belongs. Chin Lai told us it's the only one of its kind in Bagan. He also suggested we meet his friend to have our first Thanaka Face Painting after visiting the Pagoda. I was more excited about the face painting than visiting another pagoda so we had a quick peek inside and sat on the chairs for a few minutes.
9. Thanaka Face Painting
It turns out that his friend's place was just right beside the Mahabodi Pagoda, a small hut run by a friendly Burmese lady. Thanaka is a yellowish-like paste made from a whitish-yellow ground bark. It's a traditional routine for Burmese to have their face painted every day, mainly used as a sunscreen and as a cosmetic product which keeps the skin cool, tightens pores and is even used for skin disorders. I thought at first it was a religious act, like for Indians they placed dots or a small line on their foreheads after visiting the temple. It's amazing how each culture differs from one another. I'm lucky to experience both cultures in my lifetime.
Favorite Memory
The lady then rubbed the thanaka bark in a circular smooth stone and added a few drops of water it produce a liquid paste. The liquid paste was then applied to our faces: both cheeks, nose, forehead and chin. My friend had the leaf design which she drew using a small stick while I had the brush strokes with the use of an unused toothbrush. The paste had a cooling effect, it was even better when we used the fan to dry the paste on our faces. I had to close my eyes for the relaxing, cold effect it had on my skin. After being exposed to the sun for the whole morning it was such a wonderful feeling. We kept on laughing as I brought along my foolishness with me, she was almost done with my face painting when I accidentally touched it so she had to rub in another paste to cover it up.
It was sad to say goodbye to such a warm, hospitable lady, I'm overwhelmed by the friendly gesture she has given to two strangers in her homeland. This is the kind of experience which makes traveling more rewarding, it's not just about what you've seen but more about the connection you've felt with strangers who don't even speak the same language as yours.
10. Authentic Myanmar Food for Lunch
Afterwards, we proceeded to a small open-air eatery for an authentic Myanmar meal. We ordered Chicken with vegetables, fish curry with two plain rice plus watermelon and lime shake, and it came along with three side dishes: beans, salad and tofu with tomatoes.
We have this small map of Bagan which serves as our guide to which places we've been to.
11. Tharabas Fortress Entrance "Gateway to Old Bagan'
I love this mark it makes me feel like I'm entering a different world. An ancient city built centuries ago with intricate architectural designs, which clearly shows man's intelligence way before the dawn of technology.
12. Shwegugyi Temple
In this temple, we didn't do much we just walked clockwise, saw some kids playing around and viewed the highest temple. We learned this interesting fact from our first pagoda visit in Shwe San Daw Pagoda where a guy approached us and offered a tour around the temple. We politely said no as we're not big fans of following a person going from one place to another. Let's just say we want to take our sweet time in every corner we find pleasing to our eyes. He said we have to walk clockwise around the temple and in pagodas to keep the religious landmark to our right, and to follow their custom, manner and etiquette in Myanmar.
13. Colorful Umbrellas - Shwegugyi Temple
Check out their cool umbrellas in different colors. If I'm not mistaken they're all handmade from scratch. I saw these colorful ones while roaming around in Shwegugyi Temple.
14. Thatbyinyu Temple
The moment we arrived in this temple a young teenage girl approached me right away. She said I looked beautiful which always brings a smile to my face, I mean who doesn't want to be called beautiful right?! It could have been a sales technique because she was able to persuade me to buy the postcards she was selling. At first, I hesitated to buy the postcards, so we went inside the temple first and made our clockwise tour. When she saw us making our down the temple she ran and smiled. She's a student and on weekends she sells postcards to tourists to finance her school needs. I was quite surprised when mentioned she knew about "Dyesebel", a popular drama series in the Philippines, and even made a fish gesture to symbolize the mermaid in the TV series. Eventually, I bought all 10 postcards, I had the feeling she was genuinely friendly, it was a perfect gift for my colleagues. It is lightweight, a perfect souvenir to buy for a backpacker and the pictures were an amazing series of shots in Bagan.
15. Ananda Temple
Chi Lai insisted we drop by this temple as it is one of the most beautiful temples. He said what makes it special is that inside the temple the Buddha seemed to be smiling to all his visitors.
16. Dhammayangyi Temple
It is considered the largest of all the temples in Bagan. We walked clockwise inside to continue the practice, saw dangling puppets dressed in different ways and had a few drinks outside the temple.
17. Traditional Burmese Puppets - Dhammayangyi Temple
These were hung in the trees when we were in Dhammayangyi Temple. Thou they're not dancing yet along with their master they seemed to come alive with every swift of the wind.
18. Exchange glances with a Stranger
I've found this guy along with his other biker friends catching up on us. We both took shots of each other, shouted a few greetings and off we went our separate paths. I was laughing like a little kid seeing her favorite mascot for the very time. I love meeting strangers this way. Riding a bike was definitely faster,you can go and stop anywhere you want but I've realized renting out the horse cart with a local is another unique way of seeing the place through someone else eyes. Chin Lai shared a few of the stories of the places we've been to, I may not remember all of it due to my poor memory but I will always know he has shown Bagan to us in a different way. He didn't introduce the place as a tourist attraction or one of the best archaeological sites in the world, instead, he showed it as his home and he was glad to share it with us.
19. Sulamani Temple
My favorite temple is the Sulamani Temple in the late afternoon, the temple looked gloriously beautiful with the orange light. Chin Lai suggested we skip the sunset in the pagoda due to the cloudy day. However, we saw that the weather was fine and when we came to Sulamani Temple the orange light painted the temple in such a radiant glow. We hopped and skipped with excitement as we knew the sunset was going to be epic. We took a few jump shots from here and there and off we went our clockwise routine in each temple and waved our plea to Chin Lai to see the sunset.
20. Bulethi Pagoda
- Start the day watching the sunrise and end the day watching the sunset.
Lastly, the picture that made us famous – just kidding! We were featured in Jetstar magazine, and we are thrilled to showcase the beauty of Bagan, a true marvel in Myanmar, to the world.
The sunset was truly spectacular, enchanting, and unforgettable, just as it always is. Positioned at the ideal spot, we captured the perfect moment and cherished in our hearts one of the most incredible sunsets we have ever witnessed.
Do you want more adventure?
If you still have one more day to spare why not go to Inle Lake and see for yourself the balancing act of rowing a boat with one leg.
Where am I going next?
My next adventure is Surfing in the awesome waters of Sri Lanka.
If you still have one more day to spare why not go to Inle Lake and see for yourself the balancing act of rowing a boat with one leg.
Where am I going next?
My next adventure is Surfing in the awesome waters of Sri Lanka.
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