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The wonder of the world, Bagan, part I

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Completely covered in dust from the dirt roads we traveled on, we reached the temple town Bagan in the late afternoon on the 13th of November after a 7 hours bumpy bus journey from Mandalay. Bagan was the capital of the first kingdom, the kingdom of Pagan, which unified the regions of what we today know as Myanmar during 9th to 13th century. At its height, 10.000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed on the Bagan plains alone. 2.200 of the temples have survived to the present day.

Interestingly, we started our journey in Mongolia, 3200 km north of Bagan. In 1297 Mongolian forces led by the Mongol Yuan dynasty invaded Bagan, illustrating the far reach of the Mongolian empire and army.  The Mongol invasion was a key factor of the collapse of the Pagan Kingdom.
 
We spent 4 days in Bagan on our rented e-bike where we let ourselves get completely lost in the archeological zone driving up and down dusty paths and small dirt tracks, through fields and dense jungle to see the thousands of temples on the Bagan plains.

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A happy traveler next to just one of 2200 temples in Bagan. On the left, is the road / dirt path we drove on

A travel bug demonstrating a few of the other 2200 temples on the Bagan plains.

Our (offroad) electric bike in perfect baby blue color could conquer all sand dunes, mud and bushes.

Climbing one of the temples.

View of the plains of Bagan.

Myanmar and Bagan felt like a time travel with farmers using wooden chariots. At the same time, every Burmese (even the monks) had the latest smartphone tucked away in their traditional Longyi robe.

Many tourists see Bagan from the back of a horse chariot.

Just one in a couple of thousand temples.

Herders we met driving on the Bagan plains when driving off the beaten path (which we did most of the day).

The Bagan temples vary greatly in size and decoration. This is a view of one of our favourites.

Temples as far as the eye can see.

Gawdawpalin Temple finalized in year 1227.

Our local bus on a 7 hours bumpy ride from Mandalay. The Longyi  the women and men are wearing is enormously popular in Myanmar. You would hardly find anyone wearing trousers. We even bought two Longyi for ourselves.

A stop on our bus journey from Mandalay to Bagan

Hotel transport in Myanmar: the trunk of a car

More on amazing Myanmar in the next few posts!

- The two traveling bees.

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