The E-Bike Diaries

Sunrise over Bagan

Rather than another long bus ride from Mandalay we decided to cover the 150 km to the temples of Bagan on an 11 hour ‘fast’ boat down the Ayerarwady River.  Setting off at 6am we reached the dark riverside where we were directed down a bank towards some waiting boats.  After wading through sludge and clambering across two moored boats we finally stepped onto our vessel to learn our fate for the day.    The fast boat turned out to be a steel can with a few holes cut in for windows but we gratefully took up residence on the final two red racing seats on the upper deck, thankful we had arrived early enough to avoid being confined to the heat and petrol fumes that engulfed the bottom deck.  As more tourists arrived they filled past us, more in hope than expectation of finding space under the small outdoor section at the back of the boat.  We spent an hour watching all hope leave

Cruising down the Ayerarwady River

people’s eyes as they resigned themselves to the confines below. Any notion that we might get a glimpse into the leisurely life led during the colonial era had been quickly quashed!  One man was clearly trying to keep the dream alive however, dressed in a white suit, Panama hat and smoking a huge cigar he blended in seamlessly with the topless backpackers burning themselves at the back of the boat under the scorching sun.  During the course of the day the river never narrowed to less than 80 metres but as we were in the middle of dry season a young boy spent the entire journey with a rudimentary depth gauge (a big stick) shouting instructions at the captain as we zigzagged from bank to bank trying not to become beached in the shallow waters.  Sandy flood plains lined the sides and only an occasional farmer herding oxen or growing crops provided an interruption to the deserted waterside.  Meeting another English couple the time passed relatively quickly however and as the sun began to set the outline of numerous temples appeared on the horizon, we had made it!

The site around the ancient town of Old Bagan is seen as a less heralded equal to Angkor Wat in Cambodia and our visit to Myanmar had been centred on a trip to see some of the two thousand temples, stupas and monastery’s that cover the flat plains.  During a 230 year period successive kings built over 10,000 Buddhist monuments and although many of them have now been damaged or destroyed by earthquakes over 2000 still remain in various states of repair.  Unfortunately restoration work on the site financed by the military government paid little attention to original architecture and used modern materials to repair a lot of the damage caused by a huge earthquake in 1975.  As such UNESCO will not recognise it as a world heritage site. To describe all of the temples we visited over two days would doubtless make for a boring read but they were all impressive in different ways. Some impress due to their sheer size whilst others contain intricate patterns, statues and frescoes.  The image I will take away were the sweeping views from some of the taller buildings where the spectacular sunrise and sunsets over the site emphasise the scale and uniqueness of the area.  

A slightly less cool Steve McQueen

The site has three small towns situated inside it and we stayed in Nyaung U where we rented an e-bike for two days to explore as much of the area as we could.  Feeling like Steve McQueen we sped along dirt tracks as the crumbling stupas and arid scenery blurred by as we hit speeds of 20km/hr.  'Health and safety' sat on the back concerned about my inability to make turns that a ferry would have found easy but I was having too much fun to care.   Driving past crumbling stupas, towering monastery’s and grazing oxen was captivating as we were able to head up dirt tracks to any building that took our fancy as we passed.  As the afternoon wore on we met an English couple from our hotel and we set off in tandem to hunt out a good spot for sunset.  We ended up lost in a field but fortunately it turned out to be the perfect spot to see the setting sun as private tour guides led a handful of other tourists away from the crowds to our secluded mound (it turned out to be made of dirt and broken pieces of pottery that were thousands of years old).   Driving back our e-bike ran out of power and as we rolled into town luck was on our side as we happened to stop outside another branch of the company we had rented the bike from! 

Sunset over Bagan

The following morning we got up for sunrise and set off in the chilly morning to the famous Shwesandaw Paya, driving straight past it in the dark before making a not so sharp u-turn and reaching the top of the pagoda just in time.  The view was amazing as light bathed the monuments and the early morning fog clung to the trees as a temple broadcast local Buddhist’s chanting.  It was incredibly atmospheric and we left pleased to have got up but disappointed to be heading back for breakfast having not seen the famous image of the hot air balloons rising across the skyline.   A few minutes down the track our e-bike reached top speed when a string of profanities punctuated by the slamming on of the brakes brought us to a screeching gentle stop.  Through the trees we saw the balloons set against a blood red sun and turning the bike setting up to maximum we shot off at 35 km/hr, the cold morning breeze stinging our faces as we hurtled up the dirt track back to the pagoda.  This time the view was truly incredible and despite a less than relaxing early morning we were both left speechless as the balloons drifted across the landscape against the orange sky.  The more that is left un- said about getting up for sunrise and leaving before seeing the sun come up the better!  After another day of exploring the expansive ruins we boarded our cheap night bus to Lake Inle.  Bagan was everything we had hoped it would be and although the concrete repairs and slightly garish modern Buddha statues (complete with fairy lights) detract a little from individual sites the sheer scale and enjoyment of exploring the area was one on the highlights of our trip so far.