We had a 7:15 AM flight to Bagan, requiring us to leave the hotel by 5:30. Gloria Jean coffee (and pumpkin bread) at the airport made the     effort palatable. The flight itself was 1.25 hours and operated as expected. The Bagan airport is very small and it was not difficult to find our new tour guide for this phase of the trip, Lama.

Lama was born and raised here in Bagan. He explained that  Burmese people do not use surnames and that their first name is determined by the day of the week they are born.  He is in his early 50’s and has been a tour guide for many years. We soon learned he is a wealth of knowledge and we joked that by the end of the day we had gained enough knowledge about the differerent Buddhas that we could quality for a M.S. degree in Bagan and Buddhist history. Lama spent the day taking us to different pagodas and temples and educating us to the different types of Buddha statues that were displayed in these different locations. Oh, I forgot to mention this was done barefooted, as people are asked to remove shoes (and socks) when entering Buddhist structures of any type. Lucky for me the surfaces were relatively smooth and my tender feet handled it admirably. The tour guides provided us with wet wipes whenever we left the temples, a nice touch.

Lama focused on taking us to small out-of-the-way temples where he could show us how the statues of Buddha evolved over the centuries and show us paintings on temple walls that were over 1,000 years old. Many were temples commonly visited by tourists.

Surprisingly most of the paintings dating back to the 11th century are still quite visible. As in other religions the paintings were used to educate the people who could not read or write. The temples themselves were in various states of disrepair. Earthquakes have taken their toll on some of the  structures but we saw how the ingenious designers of the shrines used design techniques that allowed the structures to mostly survive for over 1,000 years. Many of the temples have been or are being restored using a combination of  government and private monies. Families often donate funds for the restoration and they are honored by having their names engraved at the temple site.

There was also a small monastery in the area and Lama walked us through it and explained what it was all about and explained how the monks lived and studied.

On the way to lunch we visited  a small local Burmese village where we got to see how local people lived. It is indeed a visit to the past. They did have electricity but the bathroom was out back. Cooking was done over a wood fire. Oxen were used to plow the fields, grind the grain and provide transportation when needed. These people are mainly farmers who grow peanuts, sesame, millet (cattle food), and beans. They get their sugar from the sugar palm tree. We saw how they process and preserve what they grow. It is indeed a simpler way of life for the people living in this area.

Lunch was again at a local restaurant that featured traditional Burmese food. We learned that their lunch always includes soup, several meat or seafood entrees, two salads, a vegetable and rice. Dessert was always fresh fruit. Although it was getting repetitious we ordered dishes we liked from previous meals.

The afternoon was spent viewing other different types of shrines with only a short down time at the hotel before leaving for the sunset viewing of the temples, a tradition here in Bagan. It is a “wow” moment and I am sure my meager photos do not do the spectacle justice. It has to be experienced to fully appreciate its grandeur.

After the sun set Lama said he wanted us to see one last pagoda  (which was now quiet at this time of the day) before we returned to our hotel. We went to the 11th century Shwezigon pagoda in Old Bagan.  It is not as grand as the one in Yangon but it is still spectacular in the quietness of night. We pretty much had the site to ourselves except for a few worshippers who were meditating at the end of the day.

It was a very long and tiring day but one filled with the wonders of the Bagan. We explored only 8 of the 2,000 temples around Bagan. It would take a lifetime to see the rest and I do not have the time! But I now understand why this is such a magical place and I am certainly glad I made the effort to come here.