Aureum Palace Hotel - Resort Bagan

... Temple. The name was not printed in English, so I am not sure which one it was. It is a larger Temple with faded frescos. There is a small building out back. We climbed the low wall to get a view, but there was not much to see. It did not clear the power lines. The sky is more clear than it has been for a while. The last time we had a clear sky was in Yangon. Bill gave the boy a small tip, so he did not follow us up the road. We tried to ...

... The new brick is much brighter and cleaner. Leimyethna (Laymyethna) Pahto was built in 1222 has well preserved frescos.We were able to see the use of blue and green in this "newer" Temple. The work here was unfinished, as people were fleeing the mongols during this time. Aside from the earthquake, the Temples have been destroyed by tomb raiders prior to WWII. We were able to see large cuts that had been made in the middle of some carvings where people were trying to ...

... Some have great paintings dating from thousands of years ago, some have huge (5storeys) statues of Buddha. We end up seeing at least 12 temples and finish the day watching the sunset over the mountains on one of the taller temples. The Temples here are just as good as Angkor in Cambodia. Bagan is in a beautiful setting and it is definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Myanmar. We return to the village for dinner and beer.

... of Burma where no tourists go anyways and the Monk uprising tourism is down 95%) we were able to have the magnificent Bagan to ourselves. We felt so fortunate and knew we were experiencing something unforgettable. The town was quite charming and had some great food. We ate a fantastic Indian place and look forward to trying their other branch in Inle Lake. The next day we hoped on an early bus for Mandalay.

... etc) *f the c*l*nial days, Burmese f*r all they're w*rth, but their h**itage apparent the instant y*u n*tice green eyes *r an elevated n*se bridge *n a face *th**wise Asian. Aside fr*m the *bvi*us int**mixing that results fr*m cr*ss-b*rd** migrati*ns (and Burma, being b*rd**ed by five quite diff**ent nati*ns, is a natural melting p*t f*r migrants fr*m all), Burma is h*me t* a large numb** *f ethnic min*rity gr*ups- Shan, Kachin, Chin, Karen, M*n, Rakhaing, Kayah. With ...

... a beautiful first evening sunset visit complete with ipod classical music accompaniment; chok ku emee - one of the few temples that utilize natural features - it's built into a pretty long and winding cave network that's a favorite of meditating Buddhists - it was a favorite of ours as we visited it in the hottest part of the afternoon and were enchanted by the venue, giant Buddha, but most of all the cool; ananda - one of the most famous s temples here is in town and is definitely ...

... our money daily. We only came into the country with $1000, and donated 25% of it to Paw Aw monastery. With not an ATM in the country and no access to our banks, and no embassy, we would be in a little trouble if we suddenly ran out. As Amy and I were entering one of the temples we heard beautiful saxophone music being played. I thought it was strange music for these parts. Amy guessed right away it was our Dutch friend Robert from the Okinawa. Sure ...

... that afternoon my explorations lead me to a roadside café where I order a Star Cola to relax. I get chatting with the owner and his wife and son for just a short while, and as I'm about to leave he out-of-the-blue insists I return after sunset for dinner. It's an invitation I cannot refuse, but first I am guided by another Burmese boy to the place he swears is the best to see the sunset - all he asks is that I look at his paintings ...

... a 4WD to negotiate. Power is supplied in the evenings every other day (if yer lucky!). Walking around we got chatting to a watermelon-truck driver, who invited us into his home to meet his family, his young daughter practiced her English, and he gave us an 8kg watermelon to take with us (good benchpress work for the hours walk back to the guesthouse!) Next ...

... Yours is the one of the weekday you were borne, in my case a Saturday, with a little saint or Buddha and a dragon. By presenting paper umbrellas or flowers, in case of bigger problems a big bouquet perhaps, the problems should be overcome. The guide said Burmese had names corresponding to the day they were born, for example Aung (his name) for Sunday; all Aungs were born on a Sunday, same as he. This was not really Theravada Buddhism, he said, rather a remnant of the tantric ...