Halfway between the source and the mouth of the Irrawaddy, which cuts through Myanmar from north to south, lies the old royal city of Bagan.
More than 2,000 pagodas and sacred buildings crowd around 36 square kilometers. Looks really crazy. Especially from above.
Don’t miss a thing: One day in Bagan
Bagan is rightly considered one of the hotspots of Myanmar. You should plan to spend two or three days. Thus, it is also worth the fee you have to pay for your stay in the region, similar to Lake Inle. In December 2019 that was 25,000 kyat per person, i.e. about 17 euros.
By the way, a photo of everyone is taken and stored online so that the ticket inspectors in the area can compare this with the real person via QR code. That’s why you wouldn’t do yourself a favor by buying used tickets cheaply from departing travelers – this could turn out quite embarrassing. And yes, these inspectors actually walk around temples and viewpoints, so you should always have your ticket with you.
The best way to explore the area is by e-bike. Most accommodations rent directly, which costs between 5 and 10 euros per day. Things are relatively fast and fun. Hardly anyone wears helmets. So be careful and drive defensively. Logically, you don’t need to refuel, but you should keep an eye on the battery level. Especially if you continue to drive, for example from Nyaung U across the pagoda steppes to New Bagan. And driving in the dark should generally be avoided. Then you can have great fun with the small, noiseless mopeds – and discover all of Bagan on your own.
If you want to see as much as possible in a single day, it could look something like this:
6:00 Get up, swing on an e-bike, drive to the observation tower and look at balloons
The early bird shits on the worm – and instead captures the balloons with the camera. Unless he can’t or doesn’t want to pay the hefty $ 300 per person for the approximately one-hour flight.
At sunrise, the balloons travel across the pagoda steppes. This can be observed very nicely from many places in and around Bagan. Since most of the pagodas have not been climbed since the earthquake in 2016, another elevated vantage point such as the Nan Myint Tower is a good choice. Although it belongs to a luxury resort, it is also open to other tourists for around 5 €. However, you should really be on time for sunrise. And, as always, prepare for not being alone. There is always a little battle for the best photo location.
The view when the sun comes shining over the mountain range in the northeast and illuminates the early mist between the trees and pagodas is really worth it – with or without balloons.
10:00 After a quick breakfast at your hotel rush to the Shwezigon Pagoda in the Nyaung U district
The construction of the Shwezigon Pagoda in Nyaung U near Bagan began in 1059 under King Anawrahta and was completed in 1110 under King Kyanzittha. The pompous pagoda houses valuable relics and is a central point of contact for devout Buddhists. The gold leaf stupa is 49 meters high; as is the length of the lower terraces.
As in most of the large pagodas in Myanmar, you will not only meet tourists here, but also local large families with laughing, raging children, who are holding a kind of religious family day that you can hardly imagine in, let’s say, Christian churches.
13:00 Temples, Temples, Temples
Have a quick meal in between. Tasty and vegan, for example, at Kaing Shwe Wah at the Ananda temple. Incidentally, the last rolling snack is also Tripadvisor-certified. In this regard too, Myanmar is almost tourism-centric.
Whatever, by now it’s time to go see temples.
More temples.
And even more temples.
Scraping the Sky: The Thatbinnyu Temple in Old Bagan is the tallest building in Bagan at 61 meters high. It dates from the 12th century.
Another of Bagan’s great temples is the Ananda Temple, built by King Kyanzittha from 1091 to 1105.
Kings and queens from all over the world still meet up at Ananda Temple and get pictured for eternity. Or so… 😉
17:00 Trip to Old Bagan
Very close to the Ananda temple you enter Old Bagan through the Tharabar gate. The only surviving city gate is guarded by two ghosts (nats) in their niches: on the left Mr. Handsome (Maung Tinde), on the right Mrs. Golden Face (Shwe Myethna). If you want to bribe the protective spirits of Bagan, leave them a little offering – for example a rice bowl or a flower.
Ms. Golden Face 
Mr. Handsome
From the gate continue down towards the river, then keep right and you will come to the Bupaya Pagoda, which towers over the Irrawaddy – and offers a truly majestic view over the mighty river. Although it shines so violently in the evening sun that you can hardly look. Speaking of shine: the Lackwaren-Museum is located nearby. Lack is a big number in the Bagan region, everywhere there are small handicraft businesses with a showroom, where you can often be tasted with free tea when inspecting the small works and take a look at the workshop.
19:00 When the sun goes down
In December this is relatively early. And you should be at one of the magical viewpoints on time. Anyone who is out and about with the e-bike is constantly being approached by much faster kids who want to take you to the “one and only sunset view”. After some back and forth, I think we ended up at Sunrise Hill. Wasn’t Sunrise now and was pretty full of fellow tourists plus many locals and even monks, but still blatantly beautiful.
After that, grab something to eat and fall down dead on your bed. There is not much going on in Bagan in the evening, anyway. And if you don’t want to miss the next sunrise, go to bed early after a day like this.
Garbage-conscious Myanmar
What you can hardly believe of a Southeast Asian country: Myanmar is committed to environmental protection. At least when it comes to dealing with garbage and plastic. Again and again you come across small but fine initiatives like this one in Bagan:
