Day 143. Bagan

Well what a delightful day we have had today.

We hired 3 electric scooters and Min Min showed us around some stupas, temples and monasteries. Some of them date to the 6th century and some are quite modern or reconstructed. Fascinating. They are connected by a series of dirt paths so it was really nice on our quiet scooters listening to the cicadas and bird calls. 





This is used as sunscreen. It is rubbed on the flat stone mixed with some water to make a paste.




Inside there is a huge reclining Buddha.  









Our amazing tour guide Min Min. 











One highlight for sure was Min Min took us to visit an old friend of his who is an artist here. He provided tea and was proud to show us his work and that of some of his students. Certainly there was absolutely no pressure to buy but we picked out a piece of a grandmother reading a story to her mokos and couldn’t resist. 








These ladies keep the cattle under control by using a Shanghai - used in the second photo. 


We had lunch and an afternoon siesta by the pool at our hotel before heading off again to visit more temples and take in the sunset from a hilltop viewpoint. 
There were a handful of western tourists and a large school group came in 3 buses. 
I don’t know what it is about us but they approached us for selfies. Delightful young people, eager to find out about us and to share their stories. 
. 
Min Min was keen to show us just one more temple, this one was a beauty with massive buddha figures and some recovered wall painting which was amazing. 







By now it was dark, the scooter lights were basic and once again we set off along the bumpy little trails in complete darkness. Robyn handled it like a pro, at one stage we were passing a line up of ox and carts , there wasn’t much room when a giant pothole appeared right in front of her, I thought this might be interesting but she swerved around it and managed to avoid going under the cart so I was impressed. 

Such a fantastic day, we had so much fun, a huge thank you to Min Min for showing us around. 












Comments

  1. feildingobrien7 October 2019 at 12:31

    Just when I think your adventures, and photos can't get any better, or more fascinating, they do!! Amazing stupas...what an incredible civilisation that constructed those! So beautiful, elegant, sophisticated and simple. Robyn...I think you should buy one of those shanghais, and fire it at Mark, when he starts rabbiting on about his plans for your next adventure!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robyn 7 October 2019 at 17:01

      I don’t even think a Shanghai will stop Mark planning adventures! 😀

      Delete
  2. Audrey Larsen7 October 2019 at 12:33

    Great to hear your riding skills were needed today Robyn....well done! Loving the commentary and photos. A beautiful part of the world!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robyn 7 October 2019 at 16:59

      It was fun on the scooter but my skills need to be sharpened a little, I ended up a bank a few times because I turned the throttle the wrong way. No harm done, stayed upright😀

      Delete
  3. Toshi7 October 2019 at 16:01

    Visiting thousand years old temples by electric scooter. What a combination!

    ReplyDelete

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