Bagan, Ancient City of Myanmar- Page 1

Bagan is ancient. More than 10 thousand temples were built by the kingdom of Bagan, which spanned for more than 1000 years. Today, more than one third of them are still standing. From the humble beginning of Bupaya dated 162 AD, Bagan kingdom reached its peak by the building of the monumental Shwezigon Paya, Dhammayangyi, and Ananda around 1100 - 1170 AD.

Then, the kingdom declined and eventually been abandoned at around 1300 AD. The city of 200,000 was reduced to a small settlement. However, several temples within the area still attracts Buddist pilgrims until today, which standing among them are Ananda, Shwezigon Paya, Dhammayangyi, Hitlominlo, and Sulamani.

The reason of the decline of once the strongest kingdom in South East Asia is yet to be unveiled, although the invasion of Mongolian army is popularly accepted. However, we believe that the empire collapsed not by a single reason, but a combination of many factors.

Itinerary for our 3 days trip. Day 1, we reached Bagan early in the morning around 8:30 am. After a brief rest at our hotel, we visited Shwezigon Paya (with Buddha's relics), Gubyaukgyi (with mural), Bulethi (tall pagoda with good view around), Htilominlo Guphaya, and Ananda (most beautiful temple). We took our lunch at 12:30 pm and took a rest until 3 pm. Then, we visited Thatbyinnyu (the tallest temple), Mahabodhi (the only Indian style temple), Bupaya (the oldest monument), Dhammayangyi (the largest temple), Sulamani, and Shinbinthalyaung before we stopped at Shwesandaw to see the sunset.

Day 2, Betty was not feeling well in the morning, so our trip started quite late in the afternoon. We went to Nyaung U for lunch. Then, we visited Minnanthu Village located east to old Bagan. There, we visited Leimyethna, Tayokepyay, Thambula (built by Queen Thambula), Thon Zu (the only triple pagoda structure), Dhamma Yazika pagoda (the pagoda with 5 faces), and Pyat-Tha-Dar.  We visited Gawdaw Palin before we headed back to our hotel around 6 pm.

Day 3, we checked out from our hotel in the afternoon, visited Bagan Archeological Museum after lunch, and went straight to the airport for our late afternoon flight back to Yangon.

Well, with 3000 temples scattering around Bagan, planning is very important to keep our trip smooth. So, this was we had done- listed all the most unique temples what we wished to visit, such as the most beautiful- Ananda, the largest- Dhammayangyi, the tallest-  Thatbyinnyi, built by the queen- Thambula, and the only pagoda with 5 faces- Dhamma Yazika, then we tried to link them according to the location, together with a few of the lesser temples nearby.

Upon arrival at Bagan Airport, we were required to pay USD10 per person for the admission to the achaeological sites in Bagan. We were then been given a ticket (nice waterproof card). We were checked for the ticket by the guards at Htilominlo and Shwesandaw.

Now, we would like to bring you around with our photos, starting from Day 1.

Shwe-Zi-Gon Paya

This is a huge golden stupa topped by a metal umbrella. It is unique due to the relics of Buddha, which are buried deep under the stupa. It resembles Shwedagon in Yangon. Shwezigon located nearby Nyaung U area, around 3 km from Nyaung U airport.  Initiated in 1060 AD by King Arawrahta, the construction was completed by his son, Kyansittha in 1102 AD.

The stupa stands on three levels of stages. All the stages have been closed to visitors. More information about this temple is available at Bagan Pagodas.

This is one of the most visited temples in Bagan, especially by the local Buddhists.

The galleries built around the stupa make the temple looks inharmony- strong contrast between the old and the new architectures (upper left). Thousand-year-old lion guarding the stupa(upper right) is unique for the split hind legs. Shwezigon is the only temple in Bagan that we came upon a few young monks begging for money (lower right). However, they were not aggressive, and left us alone after a polite rejection. Some of the archaeological facts of Shwezigon was displayed, but too bad, it was written in Burmese language only.

Long corridor that lead to Shwezigon was built (upper left), housing many vendors selling various things. We bought "The Spirit of Bagan" there with one of the vendors. Haggled for 5 minutes, we bought it with much cheaper than what we could get at Shwedagon.

Gu-Byauk-Gyi

Second stop, Gubyaukgyi nearby Shwezigon. Gubyaukgyi means great spotted temple, but it is in fact a very small temple. The interesting part of the temple is the mural drawn inside the temple's wall. However, the temple was too dark inside. To see the mural, we need to bring a torch light. Photo taking is not allowed inside the temple.

As we didn't bring any torch light, we couldn't see much inside the temple. We tried to use auto focus light from our camera, but it had alarmed the security personnel inside the temple. We were warned to keep our camera in our bag.

Gubyaukgyi temple is really small (upper left). The temple has a spire with sculptures (upper right). The stone outside of the temple stated that the restoration of the temple was done with the donation from Mr. Berarg (lower right). Hundreds of these stones are found scatter across the temples in Bagan. It was very hot during our trip. Although the land was dry, we found a blossom flower tree in front of the temple.

Bulethi (some pronounced as Pulethee)

Bulethi has nothing special, except we could climb up to the top of the pagoda. According to our taxi driver, Bulethi was among a few of the pagodas which climbing to the upper levels were still allowed. He was right. In the name of preservation, most of the upper levels of the pagodas and temples were closed to visitors. Bulethi is located 1.2 km away from Gubyaukgyi, around 400 meters south east to Htilominlo.

In our opinion, Bulethi is worth for a short stop, just to take a view around. Be noted that the floor will be burning hot under the sunlight. It is easier to climb up the pagoda through the side which is less exposed to sunlight.

Group photo before the climbing. our parents gave up climbing due to the unbearable feet burning floor.

The weather was extremely hot. With little rain, the land was dry and lack in green plants.

The pagoda is steep. Shadows provides more comfortable passage to the top.

Scenery west from Bulethi.

This is what we saw south to the pagoda.

Hti-Lo-Minlo Guphaya

Htilominlo means favored by the king and the white umbrella. It was built in 1211 AD by King Nan Daung Mya Min (or King Htilominlo, a few sources refered him as Zeyatheinka as well), to commemorate the incident which he was selected as the new king with the white umbrella used by his father tilted towards him. With the center spire reaches height of 46 meters, Htilominlo is one of the biggest temple in Bagan. Although it is a three storey building, only the access to the ground level is open to public. There are four Buddha statues facing four different directions in the main temple building.

For us, that temple was yet another big temple, which we had put it in our backup list. But since it was located so close to Ananda, so we decided to take a short visit to this temple on our way from Bulethi to Ananda. We just stopped for some 25 minutes before we continued our trip to Ananda.

Htilominlo from the main road.

The gate of Htilominlo (left) leads to the main entrance to the temple (2nd from left). We could see many vendors at the both sides of the main path lead to the entrance. Buddha is the main theme of the temple- murals, statues, souvenirs, etc.

Ananda

Ananda is dubbed as the most beautiful temple in Bagan. It was built by King Kyansittha in 1091. It was said to be built with a blend of Indian and Mon architecture. The highest spire of the temple rises 50 meters above the land, and the building was nicely decorated.  This is definitely an ancient edifice that we should not miss. Detailed description of this temple is available at orientalarchitecture.com. Lack of illumination, the internal beauty of the temple was really hard to be seen.

Topped by golden beehive-like spire, this temple is easy to be identified from afar.

Ananda can be clearly seen outside of the temple's compound (upper left). However, the great view as published in several books are now blocked by overgrown trees. Most parts of the structure were painted in white, including the main gate (upper right), where a long corridor was built to connect the gate to the entrance of the temple (lower right). Many vendors placed their stalls in the corridor. The temple is well decorated.

Earthquake in 1975 had badly damaged the temple. Luckily, this 25 feet tall Buddha statue which has been standing since the temple was built were left untouched. Ananda temple that we can see today is the result from careful restoration.

We went for lunch and took a break after we left Ananda. Our trip in the afternoon continued on Page 2.

[Page 1][Page 2][Page 3]

[Bagan,Ancient City of Myanmar] [Getting Around Bagan] 

[First Day in Yangon- From 38th Street to Bogyoke Aung San Market]

[Second Day in Yangon- From Shwedagon to Karaweik]
[Food in Yangon] [Getting Around Yangon]
[All Our Destinations]

Getting Around Yangon

Visa

First of all, we need visa to enter Myanmar. We got our visa from Myanmar Embassy in our country, through a travel agency. Pearl Holiday in Kajang settled our visa in 4 working days. The price was RM150 per person (RM120 for visa and RM30 for transportation and insurance). 

We learnt that visa application is available online, which we just need to fill in online forms and pay using credit card. We can get the visa upon our arrival at Yangon airport. The online service, however, required about RM220 per person. 

Currency and Exchange

We changed USD to Kyat in Yangon airport as Kyat was not available in Malaysia. The exchange rate we got was approximately USD1 to 860 Kyat in Yangon International Airport, while we got USD1 to 910 Kyat at Bagan. On our return trip, the best rate we could get at the airport was 925 Kyat to USD1.

There are many money changers in Yangon airport, so we don't have to rush to fill our wallet and purse with Kyat. Why not take a walk around and look for the best rate? By the way, in order to exchange our USD to Kyat, we need to fill in a form- name, nationality and passport number are required. 

Well, we found that it was more convenient to use USD to pay for the entrance of tourism spots. However, when it came to shopping in night market or eating at the stalls by the road, using Kyat might ease complicated convertion. By the way, please be sure that the US Dollar note that you bring to Myanmar is flawless, or it will be as good as an plain paper. The hotel receiptionist might reject the note with even a single crease on it.

 The food menu is in Kyat (left) while the entrance fee is in USD.

People

The pace of living in this city was slow, about the same as Phnom Penh, but slower than Bangkok and Hanoi. Even slower compared to Kuala Lumpur. Down the street, we couldn't really feel that we were actually in a city with 4.5 millions people around us.

We could see people sitting on small chairs prepared by food vendors by the street all day long, drinking and eating, chitchatting, or reading a book, or tapping on their China-made smart phones.

People in Yangon like to sit beside the road, while enjoying their food and drink with their family and friends (upper row). As publishing newspaper daily is now permitted, more people are expected to have a copy of newspaper in their hand (lower left). The yellow flowers (in lower right) are popularly used as decoration.

Longji is the favourite costume for men in Yangon. Yongji is sarung type of cloth that ties at waist to cover the lower part of the body.

This photo was taken 7:30 in the morning. Two boys were walking down the street, carrying stuff for their business. The boy on the left was applying thanaka on his face. Thanaka is local sun block that produced from thanaka wood. Instead of getting the wood from the jungle, it is now available in the market. By the way, Mr. Psy will be very proud seeing his "horse-riding" style have found its way onto the t-shirts in Yangon.

Monks are everywhere, walking in sandals, cladding in reddish robes, and carrying containers for food donation.

Religion is a big part of Yangon. The temples were never lack of visitors.

Most of the people in Yangon were friendly, but couldn't communicate in English. In our three days' trip, we only met with several people with good English, a count with our fingers- two of the staff in the hotel which we stayed, a taxi driver who drove us to Shwedagon together with the tour guide there, a restaurant owner, a security guide at Trader's Hotel, and a few more.

Smile and wave. That's what we did most of the time, after starting a conversation in English, with Burmese in return. Lucky, Yangon was not a complicated maze. Finding way around was not difficult without asking anyone.

We highlight the language barrier, not to keep people away from visiting Yangon. Instead, we really need to prepare ourselves for more DIY, or find yourself a guide.

Place to Stay

The hotels in Yangon were over-priced. A small, old run-down hotel could handsomely charge USD30 per room per night. The hotel that we stayed, with the service at most 2 stars, asked for USD68 per night. The reason, demand rose high above supply. Some said the hotel's licence was strictly controlled by government. True or not, more hotels have to be built to cater the demand from the tourists.

Aung Tha Pyay Hotel was located at 38th Street at Yangon down town (upper left). It was a small hotel in the middle of shop lot. Taking the room and service into account, it was over-priced. However, it was new, and all the facilities were in good condition, and we couldn't find any better in vicinity. That's why we spent all three Yangon nights in that hotel. The photos show the lobby (upper right) and room for two (lower right) of the hotel. We found that the view facing the main road was not interesting, the people there tend to sit at the balcony and look right at us when we opened the window.

Staying at the down town area put us closer to the old Yangon. The historical buildings, although not well-maintained, were still attract tourists. Sule Pagoda, China Town, Bogyote Market, and many Yangon Heritage buildings were within walking distance from down town.

Traffic and Transportation

The most convenient way to move around was by taxi. The buses and small trucks were the public transportation that we could opt for. However, we had to get familiar with the routes before we squeezed ourselves on the fully packed box-on-wheels.

We took taxi most of the time. There was no taxi with meter, but the price is very much fixed- USD10 from the airport to downtown, 2,500 Kyat from our hotel to Shwedagon and so on. Room for bargaining was limited.  With or without air conditioner, the fare was the same. So, we always preferred the one with air conditioner.

Besides, we walked a lot at Yangon. Most of the main roads in Yangon were built with pedestrian walkway, so we had no problem walking around the city. Just bring an umbrella, and a bottle of drinking water, and a pair of comfortable sandals, and you can start your exploration right away. 

Road in Yangon was dominated by imported cars. Astonishingly, there was almost no motorbikes on the road. We were told that tut-tut had been banned to enter the city. But what had happened to the motorbike and bicycles? The drivers in Yangon were obedient, and most of the cars drove graceful. No red light violation was seen.

There are several ways to move around. If you are mentally unprepared to be packed into a small lorry (upper left), or getting onto a bus without any idea where the bus will go (upper right), then taxi will be your best choice (lower left). Getting a taxi is easy at Yangon. Trishaw is rarely seen around the city.

Street

The main street was clean and tidy, with walkway prepared for the pedestrians. Some of the places were quite crowdy. Many comments pointed that Yangon was in fact one of the safest city in the world. That's true. The last thing that we could feel on the street was getting robbed. The second last, being run over by anything with wheels.

39th Street in Yangon (upper left). Road crossing was safe (upper right). Well, at least, the vehicles stop when the traffic light turned red. Vendors narrowing down the pedestrian walkway (lower right), and food stalls beside the street.

Book stalls selling second hand books can be seen on the street (upper left). We could see dogs on the street once in a while. Lucky, the dogs were tame (upper right). Public phone was something unique. We needed to pay to the operator sitting next to the phone before we start dialing (lower left). We saw one very talented young girl selling her drawing beside Bogyoke Aung San Market.  

If you have seen the flats of five or six storeys, and wonder how the people living on the top floor getting down the street, buy some fritters, and getting back to the dining room without sweating, well, the secret is in this photo. These ropes were hanging from the residence's balconies, so that the delivery guys below can tie the stuff on the rope. Pulling up the breakfast is far better than going through the staircase, twice.

There were many abandoned colonial-time buildings along the street. These buildings, either totally abandoned, or only been occupied on the ground floor. In many places, these buildings have long found their way into tourist's directory, or have been bought and refurbished into luxury hotels or restaurants. Well, in our opinion, just a little bit of polish, these buildings will turn into attractions that shine brighter than any sapphire and emerald that we could find in Yangon.

Totally abandoned (upper left) and partially used buildings. These hundred years old buildings are the hidden gems of Yangon.

Drinking water was available on the street, free of charge. However, there was one problem- it couldn't slip through our lowest hygienic requirement. The containers and the cups were shared by the whole city. We saw the people passed by just took one of the cups, drank, put the cup back, and left.

The weather was hot. What could be better than putting a drink station beside a public phone? The water is free, the only thing is, there is only one cup for everyone.

Shopping

Yangon is not an exciting place for shopping. We could survive in a city without any shopping mall. However, in Yangon, getting souvenirs for our friends and family was more challenging than we thought. Most of the clothes, key chain, handphones, sandals, except for food and beverages, if not made in Thailand, then should be made in China.

During our three-day stay, we went to several places for shopping- Bogyote Aung San Market and area in vicinity, China Town, and streets around our hotel.We brought home a few hand-made fridge magnets and rattan works at Bogyote Market, which were authentic to be considered as "made in Myanmar". Then, we bought some Myanmar coffee from a local departmental store. We visited two departmental stores in Yangon- newly opened Parkson at Montgomery Road (near to Bogyoke Market) and Gamone Pwint Shopping Centre at the junction of 42th Street and Merchant Road. The international brands sold there were more expensive than what we could get in our country.

Bogyoke Aung San Market, the place that we could come out with local made souvenirs in our hand.

Some of the local made items on sale- hand made bracelet and necklace (upper left), jewelleries (upper right), clothes (lower left), and fridge magnets with wooden decoration.

Gamone Pwint Shopping Centre at the junction of 42th Street and Merchant Road. By foot, it was just 5 minutes away from our hotel. It was a good place for us to stop and enjoy the cooling air inside. Food court at the top floor good only for one thing- no need to wipe away the dripping sweat while eating.

Yangon's street was dotted by vendors- snacks, drinks, noodles, fruits, books, clothes, handphone accessories, etc.

Food
We have our sharing about food in Yangon in another post.Please read it here.

Overall Remark

Yangon is a good place to spend a few days. Everthing was cheap, except the accommodation. Although there were lack of stunning sceneries and exciting shopping centres, the old colonial buildings and the variety of food could compensate in another way. 

The public transport was not friendly to tourists, which made the taxi the top choice for us. English was limited, but the friendly people and extremely safe street brought merits to the city.

We shared our experiences in Yangon in other posts as well. Please refer to the links below, or you are most welcome to visit All Our Destinations too.

[First Day in Yangon- From 38th Street to Bogyoke Aung San Market]

[Second Day in Yangon- From Shwedagon to Karaweik]
[Food in Yangon] [Getting Around Yangon]
[Bagan,Ancient City of Myanmar] [Getting Around Bagan]

[All Our Destinations]

Food in Yangon

In Yangon downtown, eateries can be found in almost every street, serving food prepared in Chinese style, Indian style, and others, which we categorize them as Myanmar style. Food stalls are widely available too, taking up parts of the walkway around the city. As there are a big number of Chinese and Indian citizens in Yangon, Chinese and Indian cuisine are considered as local food. Western cuisine can be found in major hotels only, perhaps it is due to the lack of Western tourists.

If basil leaf is for Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, beef is for Hanoi, spicy and sour is for Bangkok, and gudeg is for Yogya, then oily and spicy is for Yangon. Most of the food served are either oily, spicy, or both. We like Yangon's spices, but the oil is a bit too much. So, during our stay in Yangon, we tried our very best to avoid taking oil from the dishes.

Talking about food in Yangon, for us, the major challenge lies in the menu, which most of them are written only in Burmese language. English menu are rare, but still not impossible to be found.

The food in Yangon downtown is not expensive. During our trip, we could get a dish in air-conditioned restaurants with the price 1800 Kyat to 3000 Kyat (900 Kyat = USD1 = RM3). At the stalls beside the street, the price for a bowl of noodle can be as cheap as 600 Kyat.

The food on the top of our list- "wat thap dot thoe" in local, or pork on a stick. It is widely available at the stalls beside the road, which can be identified by a big steaming hot pot with cooked pork and other parts of the pig, such as the intestine, ear, and tongue lined beside the pot.

Wat thap dot thoe is always served at the stalls beside the street. Different parts of the pig are stuck on sticks and boil-cooked in special soup. Taste good with the price, 200 Kyat per stick. This photo was taken at Chinatown.

We found this stall at Merchant Street, about 50 meters from our hotel at 38th Street on our third day in Yangon. The price offered was 60 - 120 Kyat per stick, much cheaper than the stall at Chinatown.

Photos showed different parts of the pig. Fresh garlics and chilies are served to be taking together with the boiled food.

Next, the fruit and the fruit juice. We like the fruit juice at Bogyoke Aung San Market very much. Highly concentrated and fresh. It was prepared without using a blender. Mango and banana are our favourites. These fresh fruits can be bought at the fruit stalls at the roadside. By the way, banana is served in our hotel as breakfast every morning.

The stall serving fruit juice at Bogyoke Aung San Market. It was full with customers during our visit.

Fruit stalls like these are scattered around downtown area. We can ask for a try before we buy the fruit.

A local dish that has been highly recommended by a few of our Myanmar friends- mot hnin khar (pronounce as moat-him-car). It is a bit similar to laksa in our country, with additional spices and lack in sourness. For us, it is a must try local dish in Yangon. We found a stall serving nice mot hnin khar at Anawratha Street, near the junction to 39th Street. We tried another local dish, khout swal thot (pronounce as cow-dart-tough) or the stir noodle at the same stall. The taste, good.

We tried khout swal thot (upper left) and mot hnin khar (upper right)at the stall by Anawratha Street (lower left). Small tables and chairs are prepared for the customers. The tea is served free, but you need to share the cups with other customers.

We took Chinese and Indian food as well, mostly served by the restaurants. These are the restaurants with good Chinese and Indian food:

1. Food House at the junction between Maha Bandula Street and Seikkan Thar Street. It is about 100 meters from our hotel at 38th Street. The owner could speak in simple English and Mandarin. 

2. Sun Flower Food and Drink at Bagalay Zay Street (near to Tony Tun Tun Shopping Center). Although we found that the menu was in English, the staff there couldn't speak in English. We communicated through body language.

3.  Nwe Moe Saung Restaurant at MGW Center, Bo Aung Kyat Street (next to 40th Street). The staff could speak in English. The restaurant was very clean.

Food House was the restaurant where we took our first lunch in Yangon (upper row). Although the restaurant was air conditioned, a few customers were still smoking in the restaurant. Anyway, there was no rule saying people couldn't smoke in air conditioned room. The food served was good. We tried a few dishes, including the chicken with yellow rice (lower left) and the chicken with vegetable.

First lunch in Yangon.

The dishes we took at Nwe Moe Saung- curry fish, curry chicken, vegetables, and Myanmar salad (a mixture of raw and boiled vegetables and fruits).

Another type of Myanmar salad. The sauce is a bit too hot for us.

We tried several types of food sold at the street, including the fried sweet roll, sugar cane juice, and barbecue chicken and mutton. The sugar cane juice in Yangon is less sweet compared to what we have in Malaysia. It looks murkier as well. The juice was produced using hand-powered squeezing machine. We tried the barbecue food and sweet rolls at Chinatown night market. The taste, not very good.

We saw this hand-powered sugar cane squeezing machine in front of Central Fire Station nearby Sule Pagoda (upper left). Different types of noodles are available (upper right). The barbecue food (lower left) and fried delicacies are available too.

We have stayed in Yangon for three days only, and of course have much yet to try. We welcome recommendation from our friends and readers. Perhaps, we can put them in our next trip.

We would like to share a good video on Youtube regarding the food in Yangon here. We will share our experience about the people, accommodation, transportation, and more in our next post- getting around Yangon.

[First Day in Yangon- From 38th Street to Bogyoke Aung San Market]

[Second Day in Yangon- From Shwedagon to Karaweik]
[Food in Yangon] [Getting Around Yangon]
[Bagan,Ancient City of Myanmar] [Getting Around Bagan]

[All Our Destinations]