After knocking off the the standard Myanmar hotel breakfast on the rooftop restaurant, I wandered down the dusty street to hire a bike and proceeded to explore few of the many pagodas and temples which Bagan famously contains. The friendly lady owner of the combined travel agent, bookstore and bike rental shop just down from my hotel provided a map and circled a few of the attractions I would be likely to reach in a day. There was also time for a quick second breakfast at Spice restaurant across the road which I explained an off menu fruit, muesli and yogurt combination, although tasty it certainly wasn't up to the Thailand standard.
Within a few hundred metres of the town ancient pagodas sprung out amongst the leafy countryside, scattered out as far as they eye could see. These magnificent shrines to Buddha came in all different shapes and sizes, many could be entered to admire the statues and stone carving with some passages leading up to upper level viewing platforms. You could spend days riding around on bicycles and not come close to seeing all of them. Riding as far as the dock in the next town of Old Bagan there did not seem to be much happening and confirmed I had made the right choice staying in Nyang U, so I made my way back to the hotel for refreshments after a long day on the road.
My hotel was located on the famous restaurant road which has a variety of cuisines suited for a range of tastes and budgets, many featured in the Lonely Planet if you decide the take the lazy option for travel research, not that theres anything wrong with the quick reference guide. After a quick feed and some advice at Spice restaurant, I headed a little further down the road to the local 'beer hall' where kegs were flowing aplenty in glass mugs straight from the freezer. With the beers at 60c a pop including an endless flow of peanuts, this place was very dangerous. Locals helped me order items from the BBQ, the best being the chili tofu washed down with Myanmar Draught.
The next morning I decided to book a bus for the following day even though this sleepy town could definitely have been enjoyed a lot longer, easily my favourite place on Bagan so far. Some perky french girls offered me a ride in their mini van heading to Inle the following morning at 5am, though I declined in favour of the night bus at 6pm which would give me another full day in Bagan. I did take their advice to switch to the New Park hotel next door which was cheaper, had nicer rooms and a front porch with super comfy cane lounging seats, including the luxury and more epensive bath tub option which was a useless expensive for me. The bike shop was to receive some more business from me, at $1.50 per day its the most economical method of transport.
For sunset I opted for a horse drawn cart to take me to Shwe San Daw Pagoda, rumoured to be the mot popular vantage point for sunset in the area. Disgusted by the $15 archaeological fee required to be able to view the temple (further research indicated this is a genuine government fee) ,I reluctantly paid and climbed the stone staircase up to the top level . Breathtaking views from all sides of the pagoda revealed literally hundreds of Pagodas and temples sprawled across the countryside, an absolutely breathtaking view and one of my favourite sunsets to date. By some stroke of luck, the cloudy sky cleared up for a few hours around sunset and allowed those lucky enough to share the experience, a magnificent view of this ancient landscapes beauty.
Back in town I devoured a delicious Thai coconut curry at Pho Cho and discussed life in Bagan with a local business owner, he was trying to grow his internet and gaming shop down the road, but was struggling with constant blackouts and painfully slow internet speeds. We celebrated another balmy evening in Bagan with a few fresh and icy cold pints. In the morning I had organised my horse cart driver to pick me up at 11am, so after a lazy couple of breakfasts, I gave up waiting when he did not show by 11:30am, instead riding down to the local markets where I stoked up on fruits and cheroot cigars. The market was mainly fresh produce and tourist orientated items that were slow moving given the quiet season. Back at the hotel the last few hours were spent with a massage and a Ben Elton novel which was a perfect match to the local draught.
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