After such a great introduction to Myanmar in Mandalay, I was sad to move on, however I looked forward to what I would be seeing in Bagan. Mandalay seemed to be unique due to its lack of tourist infrastructure, and its incredibly friendly residents. We never found people pushy and everyone was incredibly genuine.
We headed towards the bus station early, excited to see what JJ Express, the “most luxurious bus company in Myanmar” had to offer. We found the bus station, noticing that we were the only westerners there, walked in to the office of the bus company, and handed them our tickets. They looked hesitantly at our tickets and started asking each other some questions that we couldn’t understand.
Okay, we thought, maybe there was just a booking issue or the ticket number didn’t match one in their database. Two people chatted, and eventually three, and eventually five after the walkie-talkies were taken out. They seemed confused. We arrived half an hour before our bus so we assumed that it would be figured out quickly.
I asked the woman working behind the counter what the problem was. She understood my question, but waved me off. Fifteen minutes later I asked the same question again, and she waved me off again, telling me to wait thirty minutes. I then noticed a board listing the day’s departures, and it didn’t include ours.
Time passed, and eventually, thirty minutes after we were scheduled to depart, we were told we should be ready to go. Finally, I thought, I could sink into my plush leather seats, hit the recline button, and enjoy a movie with complimentary tea as I zoomed towards Bagan (or so the company’s literature explained). After being moved around the bus station in the back of a pickup we were dropped off near an old, run down bus, and told that it would take us to our destination.
We walked into the bus confused. After being promised a luxurious, first class trip finding ourselves in a bus with no legroom (as in Bryden couldn’t sit behind another seat) and people sitting in the aisles on stools was unexpected.
The trip went quickly, however, and a few hours later we were in Bagan. We checked in to our hotel, rented some small electric bikes, and headed towards a lunch spot where we could plan our day.
Bagan was the old capital of the Pagan Kingdom, a middle-ages kingdom which would eventually unify the region and constitute modern day Myanmar. Bagan is known now for being a beautiful region full of thousands of temples and large plains. Our plan would be to see as many of the temples as we could.
After eating we headed out towards some dirt roads. We spent the rest of the afternoon riding around on small dirt paths, climbing up through temples and pagodas and enjoying the beautiful scenery. We eventually found a temple with a great view looking over the plains, so we sat down on top of it and enjoyed a spectacular sunset.
As much of a pain as it was to get there, Bagan has been great so far. Although it is known for its temples, and not much more (as the rich history of the region is not easy to learn about while there), we have already found that we will have enough to do to fill the three days we will be spending here. This sunset was one of the best I have recently seen, and I think that the coming sunrises and sunsets will continue to be spectacular.
Tomorrow we will possibly wake up early, or sleep in, and then spend the day getting to know the area better, and hopefully learn more about its history.