When I was doing my research for my Myanmar trip, I found out that Bagan is the land of temples, and me, having been to Angkor in Cambodia, already had an idea of what to expect here in Bagan. However, nothing really prepared me for seeing these temples for real. It would be difficult to mention Bagan not say anything about its history. Most of the temples in Bagan were constructed between the years 1000 to 1200. And only when Bagan was made the capital of the Burmese empire by King Anawrahta did the main blitz of temple building really start.
As of last count, this area has 2200 temples, 4400 if you include the ones which already deteriorated. When it comes to the density of places of worship for a given place, Bagan will surely come out on top. One of the interesting things to do here in Bagan is to climb up a deserted temple and just marvel at how many temples have been built centuries ago. My driver intended to do just that. He doesn’t speak a lot of English but he would just signal to me what to do.
When we got to an unnamed and deserted temple, he asked me to just climb up to the upper level. The stairs was made of bricks and was a little dark inside the short passageway. But the upper level of the temple reveals a wonderful view of the surrounding temple scene. Immediately obvious are the more massive temples what totally dominate the scene. What was good was that Bagan is a flat plain and this will allow visitors to see very far into the horizon. The castle-like temples are everywhere and every bit as impressive.
At the time of my visit, there was a bit of haze covering the area which gives the impression of layers in the temple view. It was like a temple is in one layer, then another in the one behind it and yet another in the one behind that one. It was as if it doesn’t end. Such is the scale of the number of temples in Bagan. Where else can you take a photo of ten temples all at once?
Climbing up a temple should be fairly easy. Usually, the popular temples have second levels but these have been closed off to the public to preserve the structures. However, what is one temple in the sea of 2200 temples? It would be easy to find an abadoned temple with a view deck. Just ask your horse cart driver to bring you to one.
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