The dark silhouette of a temple against an orange and blue sky, with the sun low behind its spire. — Watching the sun set behind the temples

Bagan

Bagan, Myanmar

A very special trip to the Unesco World Heritage city of Bagan, Myanmar.

The ancient city of Bagan has to be one of the most special places I have visited. Given the nature of the hundreds of temples, Unesco has deemed the whole city a Heritage Site. There are thousands of temples, some in serious decay, located in the ‘Bagan Archaeological Zone’.

Given the large area to cover and considering the sweltering heat, I hired an electric scooter to cover the distance around the temples.

Two electric scooters parked on a dirt track in front of a pagoda glowing in the low light.

Between the 11th and 13th centuries, more than 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas survive.

Not that I did it given the four figure cost, but taking a morning air balloon trip was a top attraction. The views must have been incredible from up there. However, seeing the spectacle of the balloons take off from the ground was just as special.

Hot air balloons drifting above green fields and the weathered brick spires of two temples.

Four hot air balloons in a clear sky above a hazy plain, with a temple spire on the left.

A single hot air balloon high in a blue sky above a green plain dotted with temples, a dirt track curving through the foreground.

Three hot air balloons rising over misty hills, with a temple silhouetted in the golden morning light.

Myanmar has not always been open to visitors and tourism is a nascent industry. That said, there were still a good number of people about also enjoy everything Bagan had to offer.

Tourists lean back against a steep brick temple wall, one filming on a phone, as the horizon glows orange behind them.

A woman in sunglasses sits on a temple ledge reading a paper map, with green fields and distant hills behind her.

Looking down steep brick temple steps at a visitor taking a photograph, with shoes left in a row at the foot of the path. — The temples were in fact very steep. Being respectful and taking your shoes off, made it even more challanging.