Bagan - A Magical Place

When our flight began its descent into Bagan, we couldn’t believe our eyes, it was so surreal. Temples and pagodas filled the landscape for miles, some glittering in gold, some towering like a majestic cathedral in the middle of a corn field, some pure white in stark contrast with the green of the forests. Bagan is an ancient city that thrived from the 1st to 13th century. It covers about 20 square miles and contains over 4000 pagodas, temples and monasteries. Many have been restored but the majority remain in their ancient state as farmers worked the soil around them.

Flying into Bagan--it took our breath away

We were picked up by Koko our guide and immediately we were immersed in the history and magic of this Unesco designated world heritage site. We saw Buddhas of all colours shapes and sizes. Everywhere you turned was a pagoda (a solid conical structure often covered in gold paint) or a temple (where you can explore the interior and its Buddhas). The larger and more important ones unfortunately attracted the most tourists but our visit was always worth the crowds. We quickly got used to wandering pagodas and temples in bare feet as is the tradition (but resulted in very dirty feet by the end of the day!)

To save us from “pagoda” overload Koko took us to the local market to introduce us to some of the unusual produce. He also took us to a lacquer workshop, which, although somewhat touristy, was very interesting. I never knew that bamboo was the foundation for creating lacquerware items. We saw how the bamboo was split into ultra- thing strips and manipulated into shapes. Then it is covered 6 times with the lacquer paint. After each layer it is stored in the cellar for 2 weeks. As well, painting the designs on the surface is a painstaking and long process. The young workers sit on mats in a large, non-air-conditioned room and work on one step of the process all day. Brutal conditions by Western standards but they all seemed happy (for the tourists?). We purchased a small beautiful plate—at inflated prices no doubt! 

Making lacquerware--painstaking repetitive work

At the end of our tour Koko took us to a pagoda that is famous for sunset viewing. The pagoda is a solid structure with 4 levels accessed by very steep staircases on four sides. There are no railings up and none around each level—huge potential for accidents and something you’d never see in the western world due to liability issues. Koko told us that there has never been any tourist accident as the power in the pagoda protects all! Watching as the sun set as it shed its light on the hundreds of pagodas, making them glow red, brought tears to my eyes. There is no place anywhere in the world like Bagan—I believe it is one of the world’s top man-made wonders and I feel so lucky to experience it.

Waiting for the sunset on top of a 1000 year old pagoda

Our second day in Bagan was even more spectacular (can you tell I love this place?). It was one of two “free” days of the tour and we decided to connect with a highly-recommended horse-cart driver for the day. Min Thu and horse-cart #54 met us outside our hotel and we set off to explore the wonders of Bagan at a much slower pace. Min Thu was a very-soft spoken young man with excellent English (and an economics degree and a ton of historical knowledge). As the horse plodded along dusty roads and farmer’s paths, we learned much about the town and its people.

But the highlight was when he deviated from our Pagoda agenda to introduce us to his neighbourhood. He took us to his home where we met his family and saw how they lived. We wandered the dirt streets and he introduced us to neighbours who were out in front of their homes cooking afternoon snacks on wood fires. We were offered a sweet rice cookie at one place and a deep-fried tempura vegetable at another. Interacting with the local people was priceless and a highlight of our trip so far.

Min Thu and family

Min Thu, one of hundreds of horse-cart drivers in Bagan, is trying very hard to make a good living in the tourist industry and relies on word-of-mouth recommendations (although apparently he has just launched a simple website). We will certainly do our best to spread the word and wish him well.