Yangon and Bagan

I flew from Phnom Penh to Yangon. On the flight I met another traveler from Singapore and an expat from Belgium who was teaching in Yangon. I checked into my hostel, and then walked around Yangon. I noticed some British architecture (Myanmar was colonized by the British).

Some British looking architecture in Yangon. I later learned that there were was French and Italian influence as well.

I’m not sure what this is, but I thought it looked cool, and it was nice walking around this part of town.

Eating a fried cricket

I didn’t have much time to explore the city since I was meeting the Belgian expat, one of her friends, and the other traveler for dinner. They took us to a fun place where you pick a bunch of raw meat and veggies, and they grill it for you on the street. The weather was perfect, and tons of people were eating on the street. The group next to us was eating fried crickets, and they loved the idea of a tourist eating one. It’s a delicacy in Myanmar, and they eat it like we eat chips before dinner. I tried one, but didn’t like it very much.

The others wanted to go out after dinner, but I had a 6 am flight to Bagan the following morning, so I went home to get some sleep. I was disappointed that I couldn’t hang with this crew more. One of the best parts of traveling was meeting new people and unexpected, unplanned outings like this. On the flight to Yangon I remember thinking, “What am I going to do tonight, I don’t know anyone in Yangon,” and a few hours later I was at dinner in a fun, lively part of town I likely would not have discovered had I not met someone who lived in Yangon.

The waiting lounge at Yangon airport

Bagan is an ancient city that once had about 12,000 pagodas and temples. Now, the area is sparsely populated with about 2,000 pagodas and temples remaining. People compare it to Angkor Wat because both have old Buddhist temples; however, they’re quite different. Angkor Wat is in a green, lush jungle while Bagan is in the desert. Agnkor Wat and the surrounding temples are much more intricate than the temples in Bagan, but the volume of pagodas and temples in Bagan is impressive. Finally, Angkor Wat is teeming with toursists. Bagan, on the other hand, was empty. I was there in June, which is their low season for tourists. I rented an e-bike, and rode around by myself. Many times, I was the only person at a temple. At one point, I had to wait while a shepherd crossed the street with his cattle. Angkor Wat had way too many tourists to see something like that.

This panaroma gives you a glimpse into the volume of pagodas and temples in Bagan.

Some pagodas were well preserved

While others were in ruins. And, only 10% of the original pagodas are still here today.

One of the larger temples in Bagan

I liked this group of Pagodas

I could ride for miles and see hundreds of pagodas. It was awesome having the whole place to myself.

I didn’t notice how green this area was. I mostly remember the desert sand flying in my eyes as I rode around.

Cattle crossing the road.

My e-bike that got me around. You were supposed to use the pedals if you ran out of battery. However, I tried pedaling, and it was very difficult. If the battery died, I was better off ditching the bike and walking. It was 95 degrees with no shade, so I always kept 2 liters of water on me.

A big part of my experience in Bagan was seeing it during low tourist season. The fact that I was the only person at many of the pagodas and temples really made me feel like I was stumbling across a location that had been abandoned by a once thriving civilization that had left behind some amazing structures.

I found beauty in how empty Bagan was. That said, I was happy to return to civilization because this also gets lonely :)