Myanmar in 8 Days: Part 2 – Bagan
Day 3 Bagan, Myanmar
HANDS DOWN, WE LOVE BAGAN SO MUCH WE DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN! We arrived in Bagan at around 5 in the morning and since we can’t check in our hotel yet, we rented a private car with a tour guide to take us around Bagan. Through our friends’ (RK and Meg) reco, we were able to book Min Thu (minthu.bagan@gmail.com) for a whole day tour at $50 good for 2 pax. Watching the sunrise the morning we arrived was an absolute highlight, big thanks to Min Thu!
Bulethi Temple is perfectly positioned to capture a beautiful Bagan sunrise and it’s possible to access the higher levels of the pagoda though it’s a bit of a steep climb to the to
If a hot air balloon ride is on your bucket list, make sure to book your ticket ahead thru https://www.balloonsoverbagan.com as this is immensely popular and the tickets sell out very fast. It’s quite expensive at $340 per person though so if you don’t have the budget don’t fret as they are equally as amazing to watch (and very photogenic too!) from afar as the balloons float over the temples.
Also, take note that the ideal time to visit Bagan is between November to February as this is the only time of the year that the famous Bagan hot air balloons launch.
After the scenic sunrise, our guide took us to a roadside noodle stall, which was selling Shan noodles, a famous delicacy of Myanmar. For only $1 per bowl, it was a perfect dish to officially start the day in Bagan with.
The next couple of hours were spent at exploring the temples, stupas and pagodas. Sorry for the cliche, but really there are not enough words to describe the beauty of Bagan and we just can’t help but gush whenever we talk or write about our experience. The incredible views are genuinely out of this world!
Walking around the Ananda Temple
Shwezigon pagoda, a gold plated pagoda built by the founder of the Bagan empire
Shwezigon pagoda
Locals of Myanmar with their face painted with Thanaka – a traditional sun block cream made of wood dust
After a chance to freshen up and relax at the hotel, we went for an afternoon sightseeing by horse cart (still part of the $50 deal we got from Min Thu) around the temples of Bagan.
Buddhist monks collecting alms from the locals
Sulamani Temple
Burmese mythical marionette puppets for sale along the road
Shwe Leik Too Temple
The sunset was beyond belief as well, it was the perfect way to end our day one especially after hours of hopping from temple to temple.
Day 4 Bagan, Myanmar
The following morning, we were up as early as 4:00. And the first order of business was to rent an e-bike just across our hotel. We hired a local guide as well to take us to another best spot for sunrise. Another day in Bagan, another jaw-dropping sunrise that we even had to pinch ourselves a few times to make sure we were really there!
Bagan King Palace Temple
Bagan King Palace
Thatbinnyu Temple
We spent the entire day seeing more temples that we hadn’t seen the day before with a rented e-bike. For us, the real adventure in Bagan came from driving on our own wheels, getting stuck in an extremely sandy dirt roads with a reward of finding yourself in a scenery of ancient temples.
Exploring Bagan by renting an e-bike for only $10 a day
After our heavy lunch in one of our fave Bagan restos- Queen restaurant, we went back to our hotel for a quick swim before heading out for another memorable sunset.
Queen Restaurant
Bagan Princess Hotel
Day 5 Bagan, Myanmar
For our last day in Bagan, we decided to go on our own with our e-bike and head to the famous Shwe Nan Yan Taw temple for sunrise. Call it a dream, or pure magic, every Bagan sunrise will really leave you spellbound and seduced. 
Our guide who takes pretty good photos too. You can contact him thru minthu.bagan@gmail.com
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