Bagan

February 2016

Bagan, in central Myanmar, is a massive archeological site with thousands of very old (11th century and older) pagodas.  Many of the pagodas have been restored as they are still very much a part of the life of the people who live here.  The site is possibly the single biggest tourist attraction in Myanmar, although it was fairly quiet when we were there.  Still we did see several hot air balloons, their baskets filled with tourists, floating over the site.

We stayed in Bagan for four days, touring the site on a rented an electric motor scooter.  Our pink ‘lady bike’ enabled us to get around comfortably in the stifling heat.  And sometimes we’d just spend a little extra time in the cooler insides of the temples, pretending to admire the stone work, or to offer up a prayer to a particular Buddha.   

Our other choice could have been to take one of the horses and carts that trot tourists around.  But given how hot it felt to us, we couldn't imagine how hot it must feel to those poor horses.  So we stuck with the 'pink lady'.

It’s impossible not to be impressed, indeed overwhelmed, by the sheer scale of Bagan.  And by the incredible stone work, beautiful proportions and symmetry of its buildings.  Hard too to imagine the people who designed and built these structures, so very very long ago.  I can’t help but compare them to our contemporary citadels – the concrete, glass and steel towers we erect to our god – the almightly dollar – and wonder if any of what we have built will last even a tenth of the time that these structures have endured, so stately and serene.

 

Although there were many many representations of Bhuddha, the smiling gold Buddha spoke most loud and clear to me.  Must have been the lazy, half asleep smile - a reflection of how I frequently felt in the sweltering heat.  

It was fun to see that the site is used for wedding photos.

And frequented by families and kids.

We found a great restaurant for dinners - excellent food, and a wonderful 'free' puppet (marionette) show that we saw not once, but twice.  And it was just as good the second time around!  

For more information on Bagan go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagan