My Travels in Pictures

  • Exploring the World
    • Uganda – the Pearl of Africa
      • Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale
      • Queen Elizabeth National Park & the Kazinga Channel
      • Exploring Queen Elizabeth NP on land
      • Mountain Gorillas – Trek 1 – Habinyanja Family
      • Mountain Gorillas – Trek 2 – Oruzogo Group
      • Mountain Gorillas – Trek 3 – Muyambi Group
    • New York City – a small bite of the big apple
    • Kenya & the Great Migration
      • The Amazing Ololo Safari Lodge
      • Nairobi National Park – a treasure on the edge of the city
      • Sheldrick Nursery & the Giraffe Centre
      • A first glimpse of the amazing Masai Mara
      • A very full day in the Mara
      • A day in (and above) the Mara Triangle
      • Helicopter Day
      • Big cats and the Masai village of Andasikr
      • Saying khwaheri to the Mara and habari to Samburu
      • A very special day in Samburu
      • A photoshoot with Samburu warriors
    • Delhi & the Wildlife of India
      • A Walking Tour of Old Delhi
      • Exploring just a few of Delhi’s many monuments
      • 3 Days in Kazaranga
      • Satpura – in search of Sloth Bears
      • Bandhavgarh – Time for tigers!
    • Myanmar and the Alluring Irrawaddy
      • Day 1 – Yangon’s Circular Railway
      • Day 2 – Touring Yangon
      • Day 3 – On the Irrawaddy River – Bhamo & the 2nd Defile
      • Day 4 – Kyun Daw & Katha
      • Day 5 – Katha & Tigyang
      • Day 6 – Kya Hnyat & Kottet Orphanage
      • Day 7 – Kyauk Myaung
      • Day 8 – Mingun & the U-Bein Bridge
      • Day 9 – Mandalay
      • Day 10 – Sagaing
      • Day 11 – Shwe Pyi Thar & a Puppet Show
      • Day 12 – Magical Bagan
      • Day 13 & 14 – Back in Yangon
      • Heading home – a layover trip to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu
    • Cruising the Adriatic – a trip from Venice to Rome
      • Venice – Part 1 – a city like no other
      • Venice – Part 2 – exploring off the beaten path
      • Venice – Part 3 – On the beaten path
      • Slovenia – Vintgar Gorge, Lake Bled & Koper
      • Croatia – Plitvice Lakes from Zadar
      • Croatia – Dubrovnik
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • Malta – Valetta & the Three Cities
      • Malta – a road trip to the Blue Grotto & Marsaxlokk
      • Sicily – Taormina & the slopes of Mount Etna
      • Capri, Italy
    • Galapagos Islands – Central & East
      • Quito, Ecuador
      • Tandayapa Cloud Forest – Birds, birds & more birds
      • Galapagos Islands – Baltra & Mosquera Islet
      • Galapagos Islands – Seymour Norte & Plaza Sur
      • Galapagos Islands – Sombrero Chino & Rabida
      • Galapagos Islands – Puerto Egas & Bucanero Cove
      • Galapagos Islands – Caleta Tortuga Negra & Santa Cruz Highlands
      • Plaza Sur (Take 2) & Santa Fe
      • Galapagos – Punta Pitt, La Galapaguera, San Cristobal & NY Eve
    • Victoria Falls, Chobe (Botswana) & Cape Town – an African Photo Safari
      • Victoria Falls
      • Pangolin Better Wildlife Photography Course on the Chobe River
      • EarthArk Mobile Safari – Savuti
      • EarthArk Mobile Safari – Khwai Conservancy – Part 1 of 2
      • EarthArk Mobile Safari – Khwai – Part 2 of 2
      • EarthArk Mobile Safari – The Okavango Delta – Moremi & the Xini Lagoon
      • Capetown – Kirstenbosch & the Bo-Kaap
      • Cape Town – Muizenberg, Kalk Bay & Boulders Beach
      • Cape Town – Betty’s Bay and Stellenbosch
    • Falkland Islands, South Georgia & Antarctica
      • A trip to the end of the earth – Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica–Explorers & Kings
      • Ushuaia–Fin del Mundo
      • Ushuaia–Day 2
      • Waiting for my ship to come in…
      • Come sail away…
      • Day #1 & 2 – En route to the Falklands
      • Day #3 – West Point Island & Saunders Island, The Falklands
      • Day # 4 – Stanley–more British than Britain
      • Day # 7 – Right Whale Bay & Salisbury Plain–Kings, kings & more kings
  • Closer to Home
    • Fall Colours 2019
    • Sound of Light 2019 – Greece
    • Sound of Light 2019 – Italy
    • Sound of Light 2019 – Chile
    • Bonnechere Cave & Fourth Chute Falls
    • Fall colours, rapids & waterfalls
    • Casino du Lac Leamy 2016 Fireworks Finale
This post is part of a series called Myanmar 2018
Show More Posts
  • Day 1 – Yangon’s Circular Railway
  • Day 2 – Touring Yangon
  • Day 3 – On the Irrawaddy River – Bhamo & the 2nd Defile
  • Day 4 – Kyun Daw & Katha
  • Day 5 – Katha & Tigyang
  • Day 6 – Kya Hnyat & Kottet Orphanage
  • Day 7 – Kyauk Myaung
  • Day 8 – Mingun & the U-Bein Bridge
  • Day 9 – Mandalay
  • Day 10 – Sagaing
  • Day 11 – Shwe Pyi Thar & a Puppet Show
  • Day 12 – Magical Bagan
  • Day 13 & 14 – Back in Yangon
  • Heading home – a layover trip to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu

This day started earlier than normal, a group of us were leaving the boat at 5:30 am to watch the sunrise in Bagan.  We hopped on the coach for the short ride and soon noticed large numbers of Burmese walking along the side of the road in the dark.  Myo told us that since it was Saturday many people like to go for a walk, so why not go to see the sunrise?

At the viewing point the atmosphere wasn’t the serene and peaceful setting you would imagine for sunrise.  People were playing music, there were vendors selling food & souvenirs – it was a party!

Eventually, the sun began to rise…

And then the hot air balloons took to the sky…

It was part magical and part circus.  Well worth getting up early for!

After breakfast we headed to a small market area in Bagan.  The market sells the usual food, handicrafts and longyis but here they will custom make one for you.  I was fascinated by these beautiful old chinese sewing machines…

Scooter parking…

Picking up the groceries

The next stop was the Shwezigon Pagoda, one of the most important shrines in Myanmar.

Food offerings to Buddha – who knew he likes Cheesies?

Monks are supposed to relinquish are worldly goods so they shouldn’t have phones, but we saw many that did.  Times have changed, even in Myanmar.

One of the very large chinthe’s protecting the corners.  Someone has left an offering of water (it was hot!)

More flowers and food offerings…

After the pagoda we visited a lacquerware workshop; the process of making it is very intricate and time consuming.  The process starts with a woven bamboo structure.  The lacquer, the sap of the Thitsi tree combined with charcoal powder, is applied to the structure.  The item must be allowed to dry 2 weeks before the next coat of lacquer is applied.  In all, it takes 18 coats of lacquer and can take 6 to 9 months for a single piece.

The last layer of lacquer is wiped on the surface by hand, without mixing in any charcoal powder.  The sweat of the hand combined with the lacquer gives the shine.  The design is carved on to the surface and the colour, (red, green or yellow), is applied using the juice of the Neem tree.  Everything used in the production of a lacquerware item is completely natural and biodegradable.

Carving the pattern into the lacquerware

The lacquerware items are extremely strong and can hold hot or cold items.  Horsehair is often woven into the bamboo structure before the first coat of lacquer is applied.  This gives the piece much more flexibility (it’s almost like plastic) than the ones without.  Horsehair pieces are more expensive than the traditional ones.

Weaving the horse hair into the bamboo structure

The resulting items are beautiful and very expensive.

After lunch we headed to the Bagan Archaelogical Zone to see some of the 2,300 temples still standing, including an unscheduled stop to walk around some of the ruins.

Ananda, “the most beautiful temple”, was built around 1105 in the Mon style.  It sustained heavy damage in the 1975 earthquake but has been fully restored.

In the centre of the temple is a cube and facing outward from each side of the cube is a Buddha figure.  These 9.5 metre tall figures, made of solid teak, represent the four Buddha’s that reached Nirvana.  Two of them are original while the other two, destroyed by fire, have been replaced.

The picture above and below are of the same Buddha figure.  From a distance (photo 1) the figure is smiling.  From a closer vantage point (photo 2), the facial expression changes to a more somber one.

The massive Dhammayangyi temple was built by King Narathu from 1167-1170, hoping to gain merit after assassinating his brother to seize the throne.  Unfortunately for him, he was murdered before it was completed and his next life was probably much less favourable than he had planned!

The brickwork, thought to be among the finest in Bagan, requires constant upkeep and restoration.

Beautiful marrionettes hanging from the trees at Dhammayangyi

To top the afternoon off, we were treated to an oxcart ride through the area.  Our own parade!

It was very bumpy going, I’m amazed that I actually got any pictures in focus!

It was a lot of fun, people were taking our pictures and shooting video of us as we rode along the roads.

There was a time where people climbed the temples to watch the sunset at Bagan.  In the interest of public safety, that is no longer allowed.  A 60m viewing tower has been built at one of the hotels in an attempt to replicate the experience.

the Nann Myint viewing tower

It was chaos up there, maybe more crowded because it was Saturday.  While the sun was setting, rather than fight the crowd, I was on the south side capturing photos of the temples bathed in the light of the setting sun.

And then the North side…  In the yellow light of the setting sun, the two similar sized and shaped temples make you think you’re seeing double…

You can see so many spires from this vantage point, too many to count.

Patience does have it’s reward.  Finally the sun set, the people left, and the sky and the clouds lit up for a beautiful end to our day.

 

Related

  • Avalon
  • Bagan
  • Balloons
  • Irrawaddy
  • Myanmar
  • OxCart
  • Sunrise
  • Sunset
  • Temples

Related Posts

  • Day 10 – Sagaing

    December 27, 2018February 23, 2019
  • Day 9 – Mandalay

    December 26, 2018February 23, 2019
  • Day 8 – Mingun & the U-Bein Bridge

    December 25, 2018March 17, 2019

Post navigation

  Day 11 – Shwe Pyi Thar & a Puppet Show
Day 13 & 14 – Back in Yangon  

One thought on “Day 12 – Magical Bagan”

  • Dad February 27, 2019 at 4:56 pm Reply

    Again we really enjoyed you travels

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Recent Comments

  • Joyce:

    Thanks for sharing your wonder experience and the photos
  • Joyce Benham:

    Thank you and keep those photos coming ...amazing
  • Kathy Preston:

    Thanks Joyce - this trip was with Wild-Eye .
  • Joyce Benham:

    Wow you certainly got a trip of a life time
  • Joyce:

    Wow what a great series of photos of the mountain

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