Bagan is an ancient city located in the Center of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2,200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.
OVER 2,000 temples, pagodas and stupas, literally everywhere, and hardly any Western tourists. There were even two pagodas in the lovely garden of our hotel. This location impressed us more than Angkor Wat.
Get ready for landing! We missed two landing opportunities and had to cross the Irawadi again to get to a remote sandbank. Thus we earned ourselves an 1 hour balloon flight which was scheduled for 30-45 minutes, and a glass of champaign.
