Bagan, Myanmar – Plain of 10,000 temples…ok 4400…well really 3300…or maybe 2200… – Vermont Photographers | David Seaver Commercial Photographer | Best Vermont Wedding Photographers | Wedding Photographers Vermont | Burlington VT Photographer | Creative Portrait Photographers | David Seaver Photography | Best Photographer in Vermont | – Creative affordable commercial portrait and wedding photography, Producing the best possible images for all occasions. Ready to shoot whenever, wherever. Specializing in travel and destination stock photos. Available for Commercial Photography, wedding photography, magazine and documentary photography assignments. You name it, we do it. Landscape and foliage photos of Vermont and around the world. Available for stock or assignments.

Bagan, the temple capital of Myanmar. Located on a wide bend in the Irrawaddy river, Bagan was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom from the 9th-13th centuries. During that time they built 10,000 temples, stuppas, monasteries, and pagodas. If it had something to do with Buddha, they built it. Of those, somewhere less than 3000 remain (every source has a different number). Mostly built from red brick (although most probably had a stucco like exterior) they lack the intricate carvings of the Khmer and Thai temples, but they have some impressive frescoes covering the interiors. There are also a lot of Buddhas. I mean a lot. Every niche, ever pedestal, every painting – Buddha. Big, small, sitting, standing, lying, you name it, he’s everywhere.

Click here to see it larger!

While each temple isn’t that impressive for a temple goer as myself, a few of the larger ones did stand out, and when you climb to the top, the sweeping view of spires rising from the dusty plain is truly amazing. We would have loved to see them from one of the fancy hot air balloons, but alas the $300/pp just wasn’t in our budget.

Have I mentioned that things are expensive in Myanmar? Well, they are. It seems unreasonably so. High prices everywhere, but everyone is poor. I’m not quite sure where all the money is going. Maybe the government is levying a hefty toll on everyone, but even food and taxis and all the other usually cheap things in Asia were shockingly pricey. I mean $3 for a Coke? In Asia? Normal price $.50. And with no other options, everyone paid. Myanmar is not a place for ‘travel on a shoestring’. Bring wads of cash, ’cause the new ATMs don’t work. At least not for us Americans where banking websites were blocked (from the US side). Hopefully things will change as more people travel the country.

Frangiapani flower in front of a temple. One of my favorite smells.

But the temples are worth seeing. We thought Mandalay was hot, but Bagan was more like a desert. Sandy, dry and baking. We splurged and stayed at one of the few places with a pool (which they somehow kept ice cold despite the 100+ temps), within walking distance of a few of the larger temples which was nice as the main town is 7km north.

Novice monks collecting alms.

There are three main ways to see the temples. Tour bus – not our cup of tea. Bike – not in silty sand with the sun scorching our backs. Horse drawn carriage – yes please. Much comfier and a tad speedier than I initially thought, it was nice to be driven around. I did feel a little bad for Chop-Chop, our little engine for the day, but he didn’t seem to mind too much.

Sleepy dog.

Buddha statue, Buddha fresco.

Buddha statue covered in gold leaf.

Sand paintings laid out for tourists to buy.

Dishing out the goods. The gum-lady cometh.

Full ethnic Shan dinner. Wow, so many flavors. Like musty hay, but better. Yes, I tried everything.

A quick note on the giant government run archaeological museum in Bagan. Unless you like displays that look as if they were made by high schoolers, don’t go. Many of the descriptions were at best dubious. Somehow 2000 year old wooden sculptures have survived here and are carelessly displayed without any protection…hmm…doubtful. I would love to show some photos, but they don’t allow cameras in.