Day 171 Bagan, Myanmar (Part 1 of 2)

So it was time to leave Yangon and head to Bagan to continue the adventure…Picked up early morning in Yangon for our flight to Bagan.  Good flight with Yadanarpon Airlines  We were to be transported to the hotel first however due to the number of stops I kept asking for along the way for fantastic photos the plan changed and we started our tour of the temples and pagodas before heading to the hotel.  Bagan has 1000’s of temples and I did my darndest to photograph them all.  Our first formal visit was to Shwezigan Temple, considered the prototype for all later Myanmar temples.  We climbed to the top and my trip was complete right then….  the panoramic view of temples across the landscape was unbelievable.  If we never got to take our balloon flight on the second day, I still would have been fulfilled on my visit to Bagan.  Next up, the Ananda Temple with four huge standing Buddhas was a magnificent sight to behold.  Then we visited  Htilominlo, the last Bamar style temple built in Bagan.  Due to the 38c (101F) we stopped at the hotel to check in and rest up for our afternoon adventure and sunset activities….. At 3:00, Kin, our guide, picked us back up and we headed out to the Khay Min Ga group of temples and stupas.  Once again, the sights were magnificent!  Then we went to a favorite location for sunset, the Law Ka Oat Shaung Temple.  It was a great viewpoint and will always have a special place in my heart because I ripped open by toe climbing up the steps inside the temple in the dark on a broken step (we were barefoot).  It didn’t slow me down, the camera kept humming…  We finally got bored awaiting the sunset and actually left 10 minutes early.  We caught the sunset along the way.  Then it was back to the hotel for a delicious Burmese dinner and then blog time….