2. To Bagan

After  a very early start ( the first of many), off to the airport for our flight to Bagan. Most touring here is done by flying, there are few roads and some restricted areas particularly in Shan state. The prop engine plane was like a bus, stopping off at a number of towns to allow people on and off.

To the hotel to change and pick up our bikes for our first cycle across the esoteric Bagan plain littered with over two thousand temples, pagodas and stupas of every size and degree of complexity, and dating back to the 10th century. Once upon a time they were part of a thriving community but the wooden buildings are long gone leaving only the stone built religious edifices.

Hanging puppets and puppet shows are a big thing here.

It’s a great site to cycle around and to get off the beaten track ( often in quite deep sand to Carolyn’s discomfort), not that there were many Western tourists around. Chan, our guide for the next 10 days, thankfully with good English, educated us as to the significance of the different structures and versions of the Bhudda images. The temperature in this, the start of their winter, was hot but bearable and the recent end (almost!) of the rainy season had left everything fresh and green. A swim was still very welcome after the cycling!

Rare, but a smiling Bhudda. How many deities do you see with a smile their face?

On our second day we were up even earlier for our balloon flight over the Bagan plain. Twenty two balloons in all; our pilot was a Bristolian! A great experience with perfect light, a safe landing and fizz to conclude.

We then spent the rest of the day temple exploring and then cycling out and visiting some local villages where having a guide did make a big difference to our understanding of the locals' life. There’s no obvious hunger here but it is a very poor country indeed, though we felt no apparent resentment towards us. On the contrary, especially in the deeper rural areas we have been a source of some fascination with smiles and waves everywhere we went. We finished off the day in a motorised sampan on the Ayeyarwady river as the sun went down.

Wedding party arriving as we had breakfast!

Decorating lacquerware