My mum and I spent only a day in Bagan. It was my first time there and I wanted to make the most of it with the limited time we had. We arrived by flight in the morning. It was a very comfortable flight. I don't know what type of plane it was, but it flew low enough that I could make out farms below on the ground. I imagined farmers were just getting ready for their day.
A random roadside temple. I clicked this picture as our tuk-tuk jiggled through the roads of Bagan. Everywhere you turn, a pagoda.
Myanmar is a dusty place. Even from up in the skies it was evident the amount of soil degradation that was happening there. I could make out clouds of dust blowing about, rivers stained permanently brown, and the lack of tree cover. I suppose the hills are more forested, but the plains are little more than dust bowls. This was confirmed two days later when I travelled overland by train from Mandalay to Yangon.
I spent the hour lazily watching the turbines of the plane. It was almost meditative, setting a tone for my entry into Bagan. The descent into Nyaung U airport (Bagan's nearest airport) was spectacular. On one side were the distant hills of the Pegu range and on the other side was the red sun rising over Bagan's stupa covered plains.
Even from up there, I could make out the distinct glittering tops of some pagodas. My first impressions of Bagan were of awe at the scenery from above and a feeling of shivery excitement that I was going to an ancient and deeply revered place.
The airport was small and we got through the security check quickly. Surprisingly, there were very few foreign tourists on the plane. Just mum, myself, and another couple. Everyone else were Burmese. We got off the tarmac and into the terminal in less than two minutes. We were ready to exit the airport in 10 minutes!
Just as we were leaving the airport, a lady, who looked like she worked there loudly chased after us and blocked our path. We were surprised and also nervous at this sudden intrusion. She gestured to the tourism counter and kept repeating "buy ticket, buy ticket" and herded us to the counter. It dawned on me that she wanted us to purchase the entry ticket to Bagan. I was surprised at her rudeness and her constant sighs of annoyance as I fumbled with digging out my wallet from my backpack. Till then, I had found Burmese women to be very mild mannered and friendly. I was taken aback by her pushy rudeness.
Once we bought our tickets and left the terminal, we were immediately accosted by taxi drivers offering to take us to our hotel. They were no friendlier than the airport lady. I was not keen on taking a taxi and would have preferred to take public transport, except there was no public transport available. So we settled on the least rude guy and he took us to our hotel.
It was a bumpy ride through dusty, meandering streets (not even roads). I would have been utterly unimpressed with the place had it not been for the occasional pagoda popping up. Irritated as I was with the bad encounters at the airport, something about the red sandstone structures gave me a sense of familiarity and restored my cheer.
Our hotel was located in a quiet residential area of New Bagan. It was the sort of place I would find in the Indian rural side. The scene was utterly familiar, with the only difference being that the faces were Burmese instead of sun-brunt Indian. Chickens running about, scruffy street urchins running behind them, and curious women eyeing our taxi as it huffed and puffed through the narrow streets...If I just closed my eyes, I could imagine I was in some village in Tamil Nadu.
The hotel we stayed at, Morning Star Guest House, was surprisingly well-kept and comfortable. It was run by a Scottish man and his Burmese wife. They were very accommodating and friendly. They helped us find local transport options and even allowed me to ride their e-bikes (something I was embarrassingly bad at). The rooms were very comfortable and had personal touches I found surprising, such an insect repellent, a torch, bandaids. Most budget places don't have these things!
A quick breakfast at the hotel and we were off with our tuk tuk driver to explore Bagan.
Read more about my day in the next post!
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