Reflections of Myanmar (Episode 2.5: Bagan)

And today, the exciting, alternate ending to Lannie’s time in Myanmar!

1. Three Treasures Tourism in Bagan

The day after my accident, I planned on going on a village walking and private photography tour, with Three Treasures Tourism.

What I think makes Three Treasures special, is that Ian (the owner and my guide) goes above and beyond to teach locals how to cater to the growing “tourism industry” in Bagan.  He shared with me one of his first conversations with a local, after he started his business, and they said they knew how to cater to tourists – just charge them 3 times what we would pay ourselves!  And in many parts of Bagan, that is certainly the case!  But not with Three Treasures.

He takes the time and energy to teach the locals the little things like supply and demand, or ethical treatment of their animals.  Things that honestly, no one ever taught them in the past. 

What I really wanted from my tour was to be able to capture both sunrise and sunset and the expansive temples of Bagan. I was able to customize my full day tour to include a walk in the village, which included some time spent with locals.

2. Sunrise over Bagan

A driver picked me up from the hotel, in darkness, and drove me to a remote temple.  He said that Ian would meet me before sunrise.  So, I climbed to the top of the temple where several people were already waiting for the sunrise.  Some vendors began to show up and line up their paintings and artisanal goods along the walls of the temple.

Bagan is known for its temples.  There are estimated to be over 2,000 known temples.  I say known, because, several hundred temples were badly damaged during the 6.8 earthquake in 2016.  Several hundred were damaged, but during a post-earthquake mapping exercise, several hundred undiscovered ones were found.  So, I guess it all evens out in the end.

3. Breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa

After the sunrise, Ian took me a small temple.  “Grandma” and “Grandpa” are the caretakers of a small temple, and receive a stipend each month to maintain the temple and to farm the land around it.  They set up a small seating area and table. Grandma brought out breakfast.

The main course was cut up fried dough fritters, or 油條 for Chinese speakers, with a chickpea paste (“chunky hummus”), followed by fruit and coffee. Grandma decided to take a seat near us and watch while I ate.

4. Village walk

After breakfast, Ian took me to a village, where our first stop was a family that made bamboo lacquerware.  They made everything from serving dishes and trays, to jewelry boxes, to bowls.

The light coloring on the lady in green’s cheeks and arms is a root-based paste that local Burmese use to protect from the sun.  This is very common in Myanmar.

Regrets: I wish I took a picture of their actual lacquerware products, but I was so enthralled with the artisans themselves.  I will do better documenting my upcoming travels.

Scenes from the village:

5. Temples, temples, and more temples

Ian and I walked around and chatted through the day.  Since there are so many temples to choose from, he had taken me to ones that he thought were more interesting or had something a bit more special about it.

6. Sunset over Bagan

We ended the day with a horse cart ride to another temple, for the sunset.  The horses that are used in his tours are treated ethically and given a high level of care, including ensuring they are vaccinated as needed.  As I mentioned before, this is not the case for all horses in Bagan or Myanmar.

Conclusion

Ian was kind enough to arrange transport for me back to the bus station.  After a full day’s tour with him, I was heading back to Yangon for my flight to Hanoi the following morning.

Despite the pain from the day before, the Bagan trip turned out to be an enjoyable one, filled with great conversation with Ian, and an amazing look into village life in rural Myanmar. 

If anyone ever goes to Bagan, reach out to Three Treasures.  You won’t regret it!

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

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