Aye Yar Hotel Bagan

... there was a lot of sandy dust beside and on the road, and as the minibus was lacking air conditioning and it was freaking hot right after the bus had driven down from the hilly Shan states area, so the windows and the door had to be kept open and the dust just came inside the bus all the time, occasionally making it difficult to breath. After the bus ride for example my hair and small backpack had changed their colour to ...

... br><br>This particular Paya is unlike any of the others in the region, it has an off centre entrance and a flat top, this makes it excellent for catching sunset views, word's can't explain and you'll have to wait til I get some pictures up, truly awe inspiring stuff!<br><br>That night saw us heading back to A Little Bit of Bagan for dinner.<br>

... i a llegir quatre hores en la desolada oficina de la companyia de transport fins que arribi el moment de marxar. L'autocar es d'allo mes decrepit, sense aire acondicionat malgrat la calor espaterrant del sol del migdia, i va ple de gom a gom de gent i sacs d'arros, pero penso que en el parell d'horetes que es tarda en recorrer 80 milles, sera prou curt per no resultar del tot incomode. Al final el viatge s'acaba convertint en ...

... by the teenagers. We bought a small owl for 2000 Kyat plus a pin (then she wanted one for her sister, it never ends), a bowl for 7000 Kyat plus a pin and a larger owl from the girl who did our laundry for 2000 Kyat. Since she did not want a pin, I gave it to the other girl for her sister. We did not buy from everyone and one girl was bitterly disappointed. We had another huge spread of meat and veggies/relish for lunch at Golden ...

... yellow and red. The later paintings around the 13th century also have blue and green. Our guide also explained that Hindu figures appear in the older temples (around 11th century) as there is some influence before Theravada Buddhism was widely practiced (and still is today). If you are a good Buddhist and are pure of mind, when the next Buddha arrives you will be able to go to heaven at that time. Buddha only arrives once every 5,000 years... He also explained that ...

... brand new temples so you have to be careful not to admire recent architectural rubbish. I saw one sunrise and two sunsets (every time sharing a place with other enthusiasts) on the temples. Great thing about Bagan is that you can get a great view from basically any 2 storey temple. However, it can take a while to find the stairway up. I sometimes felt like in a computer game where you have to find a hidden exit in order to proceed to the next level. Next door in my ...

... being in Angkor and Thailand where the temples are overrun by hawkers and tourists. I felt bad for the locals as they depend on the tourists, but must admit it was quite special to have the place to ourselves. We spent the next 2 days exploring the temples and enjoying the views. We found ourselves in a state of bliss, the scenery and temples were overwhelming. Due to the cyclone(which only effected the ...

... the main street *n the third fl**r, wh**e *ur r**m was l*cated. N*t bad f*r $11/night. That v**y day, aft** a much needed nap right aft** breakfast that put us *ut til 1 in the aft**n**n, we rented s*me ancient bicycles, a la Burma, and decided t* ride *ut *n the main r*ad leading *v** t* Old Bagan, and get l*st am*ng whatev** temples we happened t* c*me acr*ss. Bagan seemed utt**ly dev*id *f t*urists, s* empty that *ur guesth*use, which sh*uld've been the m*st p*pular am ...

... waving swords at each other . The whole thing had a sort of unreal and dreamlike (or perhaps nightmarish) quality to it, which is its intention as it is a "nat ceremony, during ng this ceremony the actors will act out the 37 nats in order to appease them and bring good luck. It's somewhat hard to tell which one is which, as it's the same guy jumping around. The one that stood out was the local and unofficial kitchen nat which is apparently known for chewing with its mouth open ...

... girl at the entrance, who was about 9 years old had had her face painted with really elaborate Thannaka. Thannaka is the traditional facepaint that Burmese females of all ages tend to daub their faces with. You notice though that souveneir vendors and others in the tourist trade tend to get their prettiest young daughters decked out in very elaborate patterns usually in the shape of flowers to try and suck tourists in to buy their goods. After the temple it was back to the ...