Bagan

The town of Nyaung Oo nearby, where the airport is located. In recent years the railway line has been extended to Bagan and you can now go by train from either Yangon or Mandalay. A pleasant, relaxing way to reach Bagan is by steamer, going down stream on the Ayeyawaddy from Mandalay, a daytrip which us filled with lovely views all along the way, where you can see typical Myanmar villages and towns on the banks of the great river which is the lifeline of Myanmar people. Its main attractions include gigantic pagodas, ancient Myanmar architecture, mural paintings on the walls of these pagodas and its Myanmar traditional lacquerware industry. Although ancient chronicles say that there were once 4446 pagodas in Bagan, only 2230 remain nowadays. These pagodas were gigantic and built entirely of bricks without cement. These pagodas show ancient Myanmar architecture and culture. A newly built museum displays the wonders of Bagan, the lovely fresco paintings, statues and images and various types of ancient craft: ceramic wares, gold, silver, bronze images and sculptures. Bagan is now regarded as one of the ancient archaeological treasure houses of South-east Asia, About 2,000 ancient pagodas of about 2,000 years ago can still be seen there. Mural paiting and ancient Myanmar traditional architecture can be studied in Bagan. The most famous among the pagodas there are the Shwezigon Pagoda, the Ananda Temple. Apart from the Buddhist temples you can also visit some of the villages around Bagan to see the local people making handicrafts. The best lacquerware is made in this area and you can buy lovely bowls, small tables, boxes and so on at cheap prices. Tourists can study how skilled artisans create the beautiful lacquer ware. Pedal off on a bike and have your own adventure amid the not-so-ruined temples, or float over the temple tops in a hot-air balloon. Hot-air balloon ride in the morning and evening in Bagan.