Bagan (Pagan)
You haven’t visit Myanmar if you haven’t been to Bagan. However not on the Unesco heritage list it is must visit. Bagan can be compared with the ‘Angkor Wat’ of Myanmar. Actually it is even larger. The original city exist out of 10.000 pagodas, stupas, temples and monasteries all during the reign of the first Myanmar Unified empire. 2.500 of the 10.000 remain today. Unfortunately destroyed by forces of nature (earthquakes). Still an impressive site of those ancient buildings across the Bagan region. Especially if you go by sunset or by sunrise make the impressive red-ish sun glow on the temples. You can also do a balloon tour early in the morning but that costs 300 US dollars, way too much if you travel on a budget.
Trekking from Kalaw to Inle Lake.
Lets say I’ve done more though trekkings during my travels like the Annapurna Basecamp trekking in the Himalayas and the Salkantay trekking in the Andes. Some parts where hard (because of the sun) but mostly it is a very easy trek. You can choose doing the trekking by 2 or by 3 days. I did the 3 day trek. The landscape is very beautiful on the plateau walking through the countryside see the local people working on the land and see how life is in the villages. Our first night was in a homestay (it can be bloody cold in the mountains at night) our 2nd night was in a monastery. The final part of the trekking was the boat tour form the south part to the north part of lake to Nyaug Shwe, the biggest village near Inle Lake.
Inle Lake
Inle Lake itself is very beautiful with the local fishing culture and small businesses in the villages around. Most likely if you go to Inle Lake you stay in Nyaug Shwe the biggest village in the region. But you can make tours over the lake to other temple complexes (like Kakku and Indein) or villages each specialized like in Embroidery or cigar making.
You also might like:
Kaifeng, Henan province, China photo series
Hong Kong the Pearl of the Orient photo series
Ninh Binh Vietnam photo series
No Comments