Pagodas of Bagan

We arrived at Ostello Bello Bagan Hostel on Sunday morning at 2 o'clock and were not sure where to go. Checking in at 2 am? That doesn't even work in Asia. The guys from the night shift at the hostel were fast asleep, so we waited for about 20 minutes. Eventually, one of them woke up, did a pre-check-in with us, and took us to the rooftop of the hostel where they had set up beds. We slept there for a little while before it got too warm and we decided to join the people having breakfast downstairs. There we met Kristin and Rodrigo again. They were on their way to Lake Inle. We chatted for a while and then, back on the rooftop, went to the communal showers to wash off the dirt from the night. Since we couldn't check in until 2 PM, we decided to take a walk around the city. Along the way, we met a very nice young man in his early 20s who told us that he was studying English in Mandalay and was home for a break. He told us which pagodas were the most beautiful and then asked us if we wanted to see his sand paintings. Since he had been so friendly, we couldn't refuse. Big mistake! He and his father were the sand artists in Bagan. No one else. If we wanted to buy, we had to decide right then and there because he wouldn't be there in 2 hours.. AHA!! He knew why. Those same sand paintings were available on every corner. Everyone was selling the same painting with a different name written underneath. 😂 Unfortunately, he was very offended and didn't speak to us anymore when we told him that we needed time to think. That was the first and only 'bad' experience we had in this otherwise friendly, accommodating, smiling country.

On the way back to the hostel, we stopped at a café/restaurant (which became our go-to place 😊) and had a fruit shake. We rented an electric scooter across from the hostel, picked up our camera, and headed towards the pagodas. On the first evening, like everyone else it seemed, we went to the largest pagoda. It took away a little bit of the magic of the sunset, but it was still amazing! Once the sun sets in Bagan, it gets so dark that you should slowly make your way back to the city. That's what we did. With a dinner stop at our new favorite restaurant, we soon arrived at our four-person room that had only been used by the three of us. We went to bed early because we wanted to be on a pagoda again at 5 AM for the sunrise.

And so we did! The alarm clock rang, we got dressed, and set off. When we arrived at the chosen pagoda, it started pouring rain. Damn! We took shelter for a moment and then continued to the Shwegugyi Pagoda for a beautiful sunrise and some nice pictures. The rest of the day, we rode around on the scooter without a destination. We saw a few other pagodas, Old and New Bagan, and chose a new small pagoda for the sunset. It was beautiful! 🌄

The next morning, we wanted to see the sunrise again. Unfortunately, it was raining so heavily that we wouldn't have made it to the motorcycles without getting drenched from head to toe, and the balloons wouldn't launch in this weather either. So we stayed in bed, had a relaxed breakfast later, and then, when the rain stopped, headed to Nyaung U, the third district of Bagan. Anja had met another backpacker from Warsaw while smoking, and he joined us for the market. Dennis and I wanted to continue riding off-road after the market, visit pagodas, and go to the Bagan viewpoint tower to see the entire beauty from above. In the evening, there was supposed to be the last sunset. We went back to 'our' little pagoda and enjoyed it.

For dinner, we had noodles at a different restaurant to celebrate the day. Sometimes you should just stick with what you know. It was delicious, but what was more surprising was the price.. (Of course, in comparison. 😁) But oh well! That was our last evening as a trio!