Magical Myanmar II

Bagan

Well hello Bagan. The most magical and famous place in Myanmar. We loved it....

... this much!

Bagan is the ancient city in central Myanmar and it's know for the Bagan Archaeological Area, where more than 2,000 Buddhist monuments tower over green plains.

Bagan souvenirs

Learn the lingo!

Let's just make another golden stupa :)

The temples come in stone white and brick brown

Beautiful details

Local wedding photography. They love colours. It's amazing.

Sunrise over Bagan

And hot air balloons over Bagan. Locals and tourists enjoying the early views. 

Magical

Buddha, can you see us?

A touristy sunset spot over there ..

... But we are hiding here. You can also climb on a lot of the temples. Barefoot. 

All you need around these temples is a bicycle or an elecric moped. Amazing way to spend the days climbing temples :)

When something doesn't work, every man is an engineer.

Mrauk U

It is an archaeologically important town in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. It is also the state with a lot of trouble by the Bangladesh border. In 2017, an international commission urged Myanmar to nominate Mrauk U for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The archaeologists are now cataloguing and protecting the city's many sites in preparation for nomination.

Some Buddha heads in Mrauk U are decapitated by invaders and colonizers

One of Mrauk U's temples and a lone monk. One of my favourite pictures.

How hard can it be to carry yourself?

Buddhas come in every sizes.

The facial structure of the Buddhas heads usually have half-closed eyes which show a state of meditation: looking inward into the self as well as outward. The faint smile on the statue also depicts the serene nature and nobility of the Buddha after attaining enlightenment.

Magical dungeon like an ancient temple

Sunset over the temples

Sunset smiles

It is possible to climb around a lot of the grassy temples there.

Another kind of abandoned Buddhist site with broken ceiling but magical feeling

Mrauk U ranks the second biggest rice producer in Myanmar. Lets get working!

Another magical stone temple with a luxurious golden umbrella.

Every random hill seems to be decorated with a temple, stupa or pagoda. The people are really religious and love and respect Buddha.

Some local beer

We climbed up through this crazy steep bush to reach these three stupas. And to our surprise found local boys flying kites up there and laughing and playing all day.

Everywhere is so much attention to detail and every smaller and bigger ornament is man made 100s of years ago

Ngapali

Our final destination. Ngapali beach. You did not dissapoint us.

Standard look in a standard bungalow.

The bungalow was literally just steps from the beach. And the most famous beach of Myanmar was not crowded at all. Handful of resorts and fresh seafood places in a 3km strip. Perfect!

Christmas Day Sunset 2016

Well that was an amazing travelling holiday full of culture and relaxation.