11th January 2015- Bagan- MYANMAR (BURMA)

11th January 2015- Bagan- MYANMAR (BURMA)

Big day today – Sunrise Ballooning over Bagan.

Apparently, this is the number one balloon location in the world and the next one is ballooning over the wilder beast migration in Africa so (apart from Mandy) we were all looking forward very much to it.

We left the hotel well before dawn on an old wooden bus which were brought here by the Canadian army during the war and have been maintained and restored and are now used by the "Balloons over Bagan" company. 

We subsequently learnt that these buses are all over Myanmar as working vehicles

We arrived at the launch site to find 5 giant maroon balloons lying spread out on the grass and had coffee while we watched the preparations & the balloons inflated.  

Each balloon had a 6-8 people, a pilot and adjacent, a table with coffee and breakfast eats....all very lovely but still pitch black.  After team briefing, the balloons were fired up giving a fantastic sight with our 5 balloons...what we didn't realise was that at another stadium were a further 8 all at the same stage so 13 balloons were going to be flying.

Balloons over Bagan is a joint company set up by an Australian and a Burmese bit the balloons are all British (Camaron Balloons from Bristol).  They cost $80,000 to buy but after the government tax is applied, they all cost $230,000 each.

Most pilots are British mercifully.

Once the balloons were inflated and the safety checks had been done, shortly before dawn we clambered aboard (inelegantly but hey !) and took off. We floated up to a low altitude above the pagodas which were shrouded in mist just as the sun came up over the horizon – truly magical. About 15 balloons in the air over the pagodas made a wonderful sight.

We are the first off the ground which means that we can picture the rest.

 

All of the balloons up and its not even sunrise.  The timing of this is done to give the most spectacular view not only of the balloons bit also the famous tamples of Bagan - probably one pg the most spectacular sited in Myanmar.

The company only flies in the morning as the balloons can comfortably fly at about 300'.  Sometimes a little lower as we pruned a tree on the way.  At this time, we also get the sunrise mists around the temples as well...a photographic spectacular.  Sunrise behind the balloon at The Hitominio Pagoda built in 1218 and is 3 storey and 46m talls

 (Above) Picture was supplied by the balloon company

 (Above) Getting ready to land, skillfully landed at the side of the river

Just landed and very happy

Despite not being able to go on escalators, lifts and cable cars - Mandy loved the balloon...we've now idea why either.

Eventually you have to stop taking pictures as it is just too stunning and you need to take it all in.

As always the locals were in on the act with the children running out of their small bamboo houses as we passed over head waving & smiling

We rose in altitude after sunrise and had the most fantastic panorama of the Bagan area which is truly amazing, over 3400 brick pagodas in a small area framed by the Irrawaddy River in the background. It was just a most breath taking experience and one that none of us would forget.  It was over all too soon. Coming in to land the wind moved the landing site slightly and instead of landing in a field, we all touched down gently on the sandbanks beside the Irrawaddy River which proved to be a bonus as the tractors got stuck in the sand and we had to be towed in closer to land by the land crew before we could climb out which was fun. The folded down balloons were collected by ox and cart  as we sat nearby drinking champagne as the children had got up early to sell us local souvenirs and we of course obliged.

Glass of bubbly - superb way to land

All this by 9.30am !

Back to the hotel for breakfast and then on to our visit to the main temples with a guide. The sheer scale and number of the pagodas is incredible and to have someone who knew the site well & could show us where to go off the beaten track was great and we met very few other foreign tourists after doing the main pagoda, the golden stupa of Shwezigon Pagoda for an introduction in to Bagan’s rich history. On then to Wetkyi-In Gubyaukgyi, a cave temple with exquisite jataka mural paintings and the elegant Htilominlo Temple noted for its fine plaster carvings and glazed sandstone decorations which is being restored by Indian craftsmen and is just beautiful.

(Above) The Dhammayazika Pagoda  built in 1167  Dhammayazika Pagoda. Also the largest on the site.

Now, beside a fantastic balloon ride, we were here for one of the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world. 2380 brick build pagoda. 

Originally, Bagan was the capital of the country and this Pagan city has been added to many time over many centuries.  There were over 10,000 religious monuments ( a staggering 3000 of which are monasteries) here and much of which is still underground but 2,380 are visible now,  The city was found in around 1044 and was deserted in 1286 when the Pagan empire collapsed following the Mongol invasion.  It was re-occupied again in the 14th century. It survived with a population of around 50,000 from 200,000 as a pilgrimage destination afterwards.
With over 400 earthquakes recorded in the 19th century, only 2200 remain and many are in poor condition or irreparable.
In the 1990s, the then military government sought to attract foreign money by doing poor quality restorations and even build a golf course on this site which brought widespread criticism and for this reason, Unesco have felt unable to award it world heritage status although to the casual tourist such as us, it doesn't get more spectacular a sight.

Now..how many Buddahs is that?

11th Century wall art of monk inside one of the tiny stupas.  Every stupa has something inside

(Above) The Ananda Temple - the most famous of them all and freshly restored built 1175

(Above) As usual, touring temples involves a lot of history and most of it had religious content. The guides were obviously not aware that we had done what seemed to be about 14 million already and so they were looking.....bored!

Cold drinks by the river and then on to the laquer workshops for which Bagan is famous.

 Having seen the volume of lacquer-ware around, we expected a large scale automated process but again, in true Burmese style it surprised us all by being completely manual and very laborious. The bamboo is shaped by hand, even the bowls and is then painted on the outside with laquer (made from tree sap and mixed with bone ash). This is then stored in a humid basement cellar to dry for 1 week and then taken out and the inside painted and then stored again for another week. This is done multiple times (which determines the quality and price of the lacquerware) after which the design is hand stenciled on and then colour washed in sequence for each of the colours (so the number of colours also determines quality and price) between each it has to be stored until dry and set. 


The lacquerware is made in all of the villages in the surrounding areas with everyone doing different parts of the process with the mist skilled doing the designs and colour work. For medium quality the process can take up to 7 months and for high quality lacquer-ware where 14 layers of lacquer are applied, take 2 years to complete apparently.

Our new box....Items like this would take about 2 years to make.

In true keeping of the faith - Janette bought a big box making it practically impossible to pack but it was beautiful.

 Small craft factory specialising in lacquered boxes made largely from bamboo and horse hair and  Suffice to say that purchases were made. 

(Above)  The light shines through a temple pouter chamber wall.  This prompted photography ideas for later

back to a high spot to watch the sunset

On then to some of the little known temples with our guide (complete with snake in one of them….Janette and Mandy didn’t hang around long in the dark with no shoes and a snake in the plaster, funny that! and then back to a high spot to watch the sunset. Probably the best day ever.

Note. Most tour companies do Bagan at the beginning of the holiday schedule but we decided to leave the best until last so we left this fantastic country on the best high possible.