Today was a half day in Bagan! I started the day at 5:30a.m. I was picked up at my hotel, in Yangon, and made my way to the airport for my flight to Bagan.
I arrived in Bagan at about 8:30a.m. Found my ride and guide and went to my hotel to check in. I'm staying at the Aureum Palace Hotel in Bagan. The hotel is right in the Bagan Archeological Zone. It is surrounded by all of the temples. It is pretty amazing that I'm so close to all of the temples. Plus, it's a pretty swanky place. Nice to have a little luxury in the middle of all of these ancient temples.
After checking in to the hotel, I found my guide and driver again and we started our day! Bagan is an archeological zone with over 2000 temples and is more than 1500 years old. The temples represent different architecture depending on the ethnic group. There is Indian style, Myanmar style, etc. It is a pretty amazing place. I think today we climbed three different temples to get a better view of the surrounding area, and visited many, many more temples. And, it was only 1/2 day of touring. It's an amazing place that I've always wanted to see. So, I feel very fortunate to be here.
After touring a bunch of temples we had some lunch at a local place. So good! After lunch, the tour for the day was over and I was dropped back at my hotel. It was HOT here today. I think it was well over 100 degrees and there isn't much shade around the temples. So, after a sweaty morning, what better way to spend an afternoon with nothing to do than sit by the amazing pool here and do some swimming. That's exactly what I did this afternoon. Swam, laid in the shade, read and napped. It was great. Just what I needed.
Tonight I went to a tower the hotel built. It is about 13 stories high and is supposed to have an excellent view of the sunset. It's very hazy here now because of the humidity and the heat. So the sunset was not really spectacular, but it was nice to be up so high and get a view of the entire area and relax with some whiskey. Yup, they served whiskey at the top. I spent an hour just hanging out and watching the sunset. It was a great end to the day. Then some dinner and now blogging!
Tomorrow I will get a bike and tour by bicycle. I have the option for an electric bike and a regular one. Part of me wants to take a regular one, but it's going to be so hot that, in the end, the electric one won out. After touring more temples, I will go to the New Bagan Town and have a river cruise. I'm really looking forward to that. Until tomorrow, thanks for reading...
Temples at Bagan. Bagan, Myanmar
Temples At Bagan. Bagan, Myanmar
Temples at Bagan. Bagan, Myanmar
Temples At Bagan. Bagan, Myanmar
Temples and Horse Drawn Carriage at Bagan. Bagan, Myanmar
Buddha Hands. Bagan, Myanmar
Local Woman with Neck Rings. Bagan, Myanmar
Sunset At Bagan. Bagan, Myanmar
Pool at my hotel. Just what I needed this afternoon. Bagan, Myanmar