Category: Bagan

Yesterday we rented an electric motorbike and toured around the greater Bagan area and since we also rented one the day before after our balloon ride I’ll lump both days in together.

These bikes are great. Quiet and a maximum speed of about 45 km/hr.

You definitely need one to get around however the daytime temperature is so hot that you really only want to spend the morning half of the day touring around.

After 1:00 pm it is like driving though a very hot hair dryer so if you want to spend a full day an air-conditioned car is a must.

We were told three nights in Bagan (2 days) was good enough to experience the sites but we beg to differ. There is so much to see that you really need at least three full days to get a taste and probably a week to see many but certainly not all that there is to see.

The terrain is surreal with temples and pagodas dotting the landscape as far as the eye can see and each and every one of them, big or small has one or many unique Buddhas inside. We may have to have a section of “Buddha only” pictures.

March 2nd

If you’ve watched travel shows on TV, then you have probably seen a segment somewhere on hot air ballooning at sunrise over the thousands of ancient temples and pagodas that are scattered around Bagan.

We were up very early this morning for a 5:15 am pickup to take us to the launching fields, where we were met with fresh croissants, Danish pastries and fresh hot coffee. After a short briefing, the balloons were first filled with air using two large high-powered fans and then a few bursts of high-intensity flames. There were ten people in the main compartment, which was split in two, and a separate compartment for the pilot.

The wind was calm and the air was hazy. A few more bursts of flame and we gently started our ascent. Our company was the “Golden Eagle,” with three balloons, along with two other companies, bringing the total to ten balloons filling the airspace. Our top altitude was about 2,000 feet, where we saw the sunrise over the horizon, albeit through a fairly thick haze which unfortunately didn’t lend itself to the best light for photography.

Joyce was nervous at first but quickly relaxed once we took off. There is no wind (you move with the wind) and the ride was smooth, although we would be lying if we said the thought of the balloon blowing up in flames and crashing to earth didn’t cross our minds. We flew a little lower later in the flight and, with more sunlight, the details of the temples and pagodas became clearer. We didn’t see the colours of the early morning sunshine that you see on any brochure or travel show, but the experience was still a “once-in-a-lifetime.”

Upon touchdown, we celebrated (our safe landing?) with a chilled glass of champagne. This is a ritual after all balloon flights. The reason why, as the story goes, is that in the 1700s a Frenchman made the first manned hot air balloon flight and landed in a farmer’s field. Not being up to date on manned balloon flights, the farmer figured he was not from this world.

I’m not sure if they tried to stone him to death or not, but on his subsequent flights he carried a bottle of champagne with him to prove to whoever’s field or house he crashed into that he was, in fact, from France and not the moon or some other place where hot air balloons wouldn’t work anyway.

This flight was definitely on our bucket list, so we can now cross this off and move to the next one: space travel!