Day 38: Around Bagan

-Mr. Oo had a whole agenda planned for us today. First we stopped at the Nyaung U local market. It was full of all types of fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, rice, etc. There weren’t many tourists so you really got the sense of what the market is like day to day.

-We then went to a series of temples, which I’m just going to list here:

1. Shew Zigon Pagoda

2. Gu Byauk Gyi Temple- known for its 13^th century paintings, half of which were stolen by Germans

3. Amanda temple- with a Buddha statue whose facial expression changes depending on where you look at it from

4. Sulamani Temple

5. Nanpaya- different from the others because it had a Bramah statue instead of Buddha

6. Manuha- also known as the Mon King temple. I wasn’t completely following but he built huge Buddhas in tiny rooms to represent how imprisoned he felt in Bagan

Temples, in no particular order:

-The temples were all gorgeous and they are everywhere you look in Bagan. Previously there was an earthquake in the area that caused most of the pagoda tops to collapse. Many have been replaced and reconstructed and on many you can visibly tell the difference between old and new, which is a little jarring. I personally prefer the old crumbly temples.

-We also made a quick stop at a laquerware workshop that was really interesting. So much time is invested in some of the pieces there.

-The highlight of the day was definitely lunch. Mr. Oo is quite the avid chef as well as tour guide and English teacher. We went to one of the restaurants owned by his students (who he teaches free of charge) and he cooked us lunch. Once everything had been prepared we were able to go back into the kitchen and see how everything was done. My favourite was their cutting boards- slices of tree trunks. The meal was delicious and it was lots of fun trying to speak English with the shy waiting staff.

-After a brief break after lunch we went to Law Ka Ou Shaung, another temple, to watch the sunset. Mr. Oo knows the ins and outs of Bagan so took us to a small temple completely devoid of tourists. Two adorable little kids came over with keys to let us in. They were part of the family assigned to look after the place. Marco and I had the whole temple to ourselves and were able to climb all the way up to the top to look at the view. It was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately we had come a little too early for sunset and it was a little hazy so we decided not to wait the extra hour and to head back for the night.