If you haven’t read part 1 of my trip to Bagan, take a look at that before exploring this post!

After a short nap, I awoke, excited. Today was a special festival day in Myanmar (and the reason why we’d had such difficulties with the buses before). Almost everyone in the hostel had rented an e-bike and together, over a hundred of us travelled down the road until we reached the Somingyi Pagoda. For a couple of hours we watched the sunset over the horizon, the reds and oranges of the sun reflecting on the river below and the clouds above. As it set, many many small white candles were placed around the temple. Eventually, when the night was truly upon us, the candles were lit, locals and travellers mixing together and sharing this moment of tranquility. With the evening drawing on, more and more people left, allowing the peacefulness to set upon us even more.

At one point, when all of the candles were lit, a group gathered in the middle to launch a lantern into the air. The first went up to cheers and applause, while the second looked as if it would be brought back down due to crosswinds. Fortunately, it was able to maintain its own balance and climbed higher to meet its sibling. A couple who had separated from the main group had their own lantern. They asked me to take some pictures for them, but when they launched the lantern it was not as successful as the other two, catching on fire and falling back down to Earth. The man who had sent it up held his head in his hands, distraught.

A quartet of us wanted to see one more temple before going back to the hostel, so back on our bikes we got. A few minutes down the road and we were at a much more local pagoda, with very few westerners. Unfortunately, there were not so many candles, but it was pleasant all the same.

Dinner was simple: pizza and pasta. Despite our differing opinions on preparing Italian food, neither myself nor the Italian were fully content with what was served. With food in my belly and no coca-cola nearby, I went to bed, ready to see more of Bagan the next day.

The next day was incredibly relaxed, until the evening that is. The hostel offered a sunset boat cruise, including drinks and snacks for only a few pounds, so it was an easy decision. We boarded a bus at around 4:30 to take us to the river. Cramped, hot, but filled with happy tourists, the bus ride was a cacophony of excitement. We arrived and boarded the boat.

“First drink is free. The rest are 1,000 kyat each.” With only the first drink being included in the price, I decided to get my money’s worth and made a gin and tonic with more gin than tonic (a bad idea, I know, but I’m on holiday, so that’s my excuse). We sailed out for ten minutes, until we joined with another boat and enjoyed the sunset, taking plenty of pictures, enjoying the drinks on offer and meeting great company.

“I have a riddle for you” said Shazia, one of the tourists on our boat.

“Go on…” I have quite the thing for riddles.

“JASONDJF. Finish the sequence”

“Hmmm….This is a tough one. I’ll need some time”

“Sure…”

As the sun fell away, I pondered the riddle, but was ultimately unable to get the answer (though, I did figure it out the next day and sent Shazia a message while I was on the bus. Good luck, dear reader)

We returned and ate some food, bonded over a few more riddles, before going to sleep to see Bagan’s sunrise the following day.

*

“Tom.” There’s something in the way one can wake up just to their name being whispered. I stirred, still tired, but eager to see one of the most famous sunrises in the whole of Asia.

When planning my trip, watching the sunrise in a hot air balloon over Bagan’s temple was near the top of my list of must-dos, however, when I discovered the high price tag ($330) I soon decided that perhaps it was not so much of a must-do after all.

We rented just one e-bike this time and Viktoria drove us to one of the few temples that can be climbed. Arriving in the dark, with only a touch of light in the horizon, we made use of the few protruding rocks available, ascended and found a ledge to watch from. At this point, there was nobody else around, the only sound being our words. That was until the other tourists arrived…

“Please, please please don’t be coming here…” said Viktoria as we heard their voices emerging from the distance. Their bike came into view, turning toward OUR temple, stopping just next to it. They got off their bikes and climbed, sitting only a few metres from us, disturbing the calm we’d created here.

When the sun began to peek over though, everybody’s mouths shut. Dusting the temples poking out of the trees, the sunlight dispersed to create a most remarkable sight. As we took in the view, to the north we saw a dozen hot air balloons rise into the sky, floating across our eastward gaze, bobbling along silently. Do I regret not taking a balloon ride? Not at all. The view I got from the temple was just as impressive and there will plenty of other places to watch a sunrise.

*

We returned to the hostel, only for me to visit the doctor, yet again, this time to have my stitches removed. Just in time for the next days’ activity: trekking in Hsi Paw.

Thank you for reading my blog! If you’ve enjoyed it, please give it a like and a share. And if you’ve solved the riddle, you can send me a message too!