A start at 0430 hours to catch the flight from Yangon to Bagan. The public address system at the airport was not very good so to help the passengers a man went round the departure area carrying a board with the flight number chalked on it. Simple, but it worked. It was raining a little as we left the bus that took everyone out to the plane so the ground staff stood in a line holding up umbrellas between the bus and the plane so that we did not get wet. I like this country! The flight was with KBZ (Air Kanbawza) on a propeller driven French/Italian ATR720-500 plane taking one hour, and a breakfast was supplied as well.
Bagan is an ancient city and from the 9th to 13th centuries the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan, the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the period between the 11th and 13th centuries over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains of which only 2200 temples and pagodas have survived. From 1044 to 1287 Bagan was the capital as well as the political, economic and cultural nerve centre of the Pagan Empire. Over the course of 250 years Bagan's rulers and their wealthy subjects constructed over 10,000 religious monuments (approximately 1000 stupas, 10,000 small temples and 3000 monasteries) in an area of 104 square kilometres (40 sq miles). The city grew in size and grandeur and became a cosmopolitan centre for religious and secular studies specializing in Pali scholarship in grammar and philosophical-psychological studies as well as works in a variety of languages, astrology, alchemy, medicine, and legal studies. The city attracted monks and students from as far as India, Ceylon as well as the Kymer Empire.
The last major earthquake came on 8 July 1975 and damaged many temples, in many cases severely and irreparably. Today only 2229 temples and pagodas remain.
Many of these damaged pagodas underwent restorations in the 1990s by the military government, which sought to make Bagan an international tourist destination. However, the restoration efforts instead drew widespread condemnation from art historians and preservationists worldwide. Critics condemned the restorations as they paid little attention to original architectural styles and used modern materials.
I stayed in the Thazin Garden Hotel in Bagan. Returning there one afternoon I found the decoration on my bed as shown in the photograph. There was a note with it which read :
Dear Our Guest. We are morning room boys. We welcome you with our flower decoration. We hope that you will like it. Thank you so much for staying in our hotel. Have a nice stay. See you tomorrow morning. Thank you. Your room boys.
Hotel Pictures
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| The view from my window |
Straight from the plane it was off to the local market then the Shwezigon Pagoda.
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| Pieces of the thanaka tree that are made into paste for putting on women's faces |
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| Fish |
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| Different types of rice |
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| Tobacco and cigars |
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| Different types of organic cooking oils |
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| Wooden clogs |
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| Vegetables |
Shwezigon Pagoda is a place where no rain lies in the courtyard and the Khaye and Chayar trees bloom all the year round. It is a prototype of Burmese stupas and consists of a circular gold leaf-gilded stupa surrounded by smaller temples and shrines. Construction of the Shwezigon Pagoda was completed in 1102 AD. The pagoda is believed to enshrine a bone and tooth of the Gautama Buddha.
After the Shwezigon Pagoda the next stop was at the Kyansittha Umin Kave Monastery where all the rooms have no external light and most were used for contemplation. During the war the monastery was used by the local people as a place of refuge. While there they lit fires for cooking with the result that smoke from the fires damaged the wall paintings which the local people eventually painted over and hid the 11th century wall paintings completely.
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| Kyansittha Umin Kave Monastery |
The following photographs were taken from the side of the road and then from the Nyeung/Gewdena Pagoda. I asked the guide to stop the car so that I could take photographs of the number of monuments that could be seen from the road. I noticed that brickwork on the Nyeung Pagoda was in the original condition (no plaster or anything to hide it) and went over to look at it only to find five Buddha's inside and some fantastic brickwork. Somehow I was more impressed with the monuments which had not been painted, plastered or gilded as it was possible to see how the monument had been made, in which I was more than interested.
Views from the Gewdena Pagoda
The next stop was at the Shegugyi Temple which was completed in 1131. Both the hall and the inner corridor have doorways and open windows, making it airy and well-lit. The arch-pediments, pilasters, plinth and cornice mouldings are decorated with fine stucco carvings. Inside there is a Pali inscription recording King Alaungsithu's religious aspirations and that it took seven months to build the temple.
Then to the 11th century Ananda Temple. There is a legend saying that there were 8 monks who arrived one day to the palace begging for alms. They told the king that once they had lived in the Nandamula Cave temple in the Himalayas. The King was fascinated by the tales and invited the monks to return to his palace. Using their medative powers the monks showed the king the mythical landscape of the place they had lived. King Kyanzittha was overwhelmed by the sight and wanted a temple built in Bagan which would be cool inside After the construction of the temple the king executed the architects just to make the style of the temple so unique. Ananda temple is considered to be one of the best surviving temple of the Mon architectural type. It is also the finest, largest, best preserved and most revered of the Bagan temples. During the 1975 earthquake, Ananda suffered considerable damage but has since been restored.
Views of the Ananda temple
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| The stone work with the plaster removed |
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| Wall Paintings |
Thatbyinnyu Phayan Temple with views of the river (below)
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