Bagan is a
town in central Burma, and it is the home of over 3000 ancient Buddhist
temples. It´s a surreal collection of kitsch modernised pagodas and old hidden
secrets. Bagan is on almost everyone´s list when visiting Burma, and unfortunately
these fields are pretty filled up with retired tourists on group trips.
Luckily, as independent travellers you can chose to go wherever you want to -
and for us it meant to hire bikes and to keep a safe distance from big groups
of people.
I really
wanted to catch the different lights of Bagan, from dusk till dawn, “on film”.
This meant forcing myself out on the bike at 4.30 a.m, to find a good spot to see
the first glimpse of sunlight touching the temples. Mid-day was well spent on a
sunbed poolside, before continuing the search of good viewpoints for sunset.
It´s a real
treasure hunt to cycle along the dusty roads to hidden temples, finding the right
spots where the natural lightning is perfect, and to search for “keyholders”. The
keyholders will lock up the temples and often light the inner labyrinths with
candles so that you can climb and explore the insides of these sacred sites. Most
of the temples remain unlocked, so you´re free to explore all on your own.
Stay away
from the tourist traps, and Bagan will be such a magical treat!
The young keyholder of this temple.
Twilight and sunrise
"It is not down in any map; true places never are", Herman Melville.
KLEM
AK
