This is what I feared. As the trip drew down and I grew tired I would fail to write down my thoughts. Here I am nearly two months out and I am going to put down the remainder of my trip down by memory. Some chronology and detail will likely be lost but I suppose that s not what keeps you reading or me writing. It’s the stories that matter and the experiences I have. I will admit my descriptions have faltered and my writing has suffered for it. IT takes a lot out of me to recount all of the details. Whether this is an issue of interest after having partaken or just a hatred of typing I don’t know. Would this be easier to dictate via dragon? Would my tales be more elaborate or lucid? Am I just deceiving myself?
Bagan
Bagan is a large plain of dry clay and trees. Flying in I crossed over farmland and watched as it dried up and became the hosting land for thousands of temples.
My time in Bagan was short but eventful. I could wax poetic about the beauty and history of the temples and expansive views but I would not do them justice, nor would I compete with people who have come before me and actually know how to write.
Instead I will touch on a few personal stories that I found to be memorable and leave the recommendation to visit if you have the opportunity. It is an incredible place that, despite hawkers and awful salesman, is a beautiful landscape and fun place to ride around on your e-bike (a must rent)
1. Be Kind To Animals The Moon is a vegan restaurant in Bagan. It is delicious and arguably the only famous place there. So much so there is a copycat restaurant with almost the same name across the street. I met some people from my hostel there and got in the group there. After some additional temple explorations, we went back to the hostel, Ostello Bello. It was decided that we all wanted to do a sunset temple climb. So we rolled out in a group of 20 electric bike riding backpackers. We all pulled into the vegan restaurant parking lot like Hell’s angels to a biker bar we got the back patio and made every Berkley hipster’s dream come true.
2. At both morning and night a group of us from the hostel quested for sunrises and sunsets, although there was no thought of Fiddler at the time. It wasn’t ideal, the sun always hiding behind the clouds. Of course. Nonetheless, the smoky pale sky lightly caressing the temples with light was still quite a sight to be seen. It’s hard to understand how beautiful abandoned structures can be when millennia apart but lit by the same sun and under the same stars as always.
3. Locals on vacation flocked Karen, a tall German girl, and I while climbing through the ruins. Our best guess was that they were from rural Myanmar and had little to no experience with white people. They insisted that we took individual pictures with all of them as well as a group photo.
4. One of my hostel companions' e-bike popped a tire. An hour or so after calling for help, the 10 year old pit crew had arrived to change out the tire