SUNRISE TO SUNSET IN ANCIENT BAGAN Valley of Mist and Magic

Posted on 02/19/2016

Fantastic temples; thousands of them, stretch in all directions as far as the eye can see. Scanning the otherworldly valley of Burma’s ancient capital of Bagan, I can’t help but wonder whether with all the bricks they laid to build so many mystical shrines 1,000 years ago, they could have just combined their efforts and built a stairway to Heaven.

But of course, these wonderfully ornate monuments were built for wealthy patrons who wanted to be remembered for their unique contributions. So in the course of just a couple of centuries, this valley became studded with more than 10,000 pagodas and stupas in a dizzying variety of sizes and styles. Like so many building booms, it reached its peak just as a bubble was about to burst. The government moved out of town and nature ended up taking over. All but forgotten for centuries, Bagan is becoming a big tourist draw with the opening of tourism in Burma. We have only a day here on a cruise aboard Avalon Myanmar and I was intent on making the most of it.