Temple madness in Bagan

Bagan, located on the banks of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River, is home to the largest and densest concentration of Buddhist temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world with many dating from the 11th and 12th centuries.

There a 3 different towns to stay at as a starting point to explore the archeological site. We chose Nyaung-U which is only a few streets big but lies very close to the temples.

Exploring the area by bike felt like a bad idea in the heath so we rented an e-bike to scoot around. It wasn’t the easiest way either with the small tires and loose sand but we managed. We drove around for one full day and one morning (to get our sunrise shots).

The hot season had one big advantage: there were almost no tourists around and when you choose your temples carefully you can make sure you have them all for yourself early in the morning.

The crazy part is you can actually climb the temples to get stunning views of the whole area.

Bagan trip summary

• Transport: By bus from Mandalay. Tickets ordered at the hotel & they included transfer from the hotel to the bus station.
• Stay: Shwe Na Di Guesthouse. During May an aircon is a MUST. We had it on 24/7 and put on an extra fan as well. Together they created barely enough cold air. It was so hot in town an afternoon nap wasn’t just an option but became inevitable.
• To do: Exploring temples!
• Food: For dinner & lunch we always opted for Witherspoon’s, their (Western & Burmese) food was divine and their hamburgers were the best ones we had on the road.