The alarm went off at 5:30 this morning. We just made it for breakfast at 6 AM before the taxi picked us up at 6:20 to go to the pier at the river. The boat to Bagan would leave at 7 and the drive was fairly short so we were not in a hurry. Mandalay was very quiet this early in the morning. The most active group seemed to be the monks who where walking around town in small processions.
Once at the pier we boarded the ship, left our big bags below deck and went upstairs for a couple of chairs only to realise that they were already selling out fast. We got two chairs, sat down and waited for the rest of the passengers to arrive and then the boat left shortly after 7 - as planned.
The first part of the trip was the most impressive, with lots of temples and pagodas to look at around Mandalay town. We passed under a couple of big bridges and then slowly we made our way into the countryside with only a few buildings and temples on the banks of the river. And very quiet.
Except for the big boats pushing barges up and down the river. No wonder that this part of the country doesn't have roads since everything seems to be transported on the river. A river that is only partially maintained by the government which means that there are no buoys or other indicators to signal where the river is shallow or deep. Instead boats rely on a couple of guys sitting in the front of the ship, constantly using long wooden poles to assess the depth. And of course an experienced captain.
Our captain knew where to go which meant zig-zaging down the river going from one side to the other quite often. We had lunch - noodles - at 12 and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the river, the scenery and the nice weather. After almost 9 hours on the boat we arrived in Bagan, and we met by a rather large group of taxi drivers who all wanted to take us to the hotel. For some ridiculous high price. So we walked away and were stopped by a guy in uniform and had to pay the Bagan tourist entry fee of 25.000 Kyat per person. And were issued a small ticket.
By now the taxi drivers were a bit more eager to get any ride and at least some money so we negotiated a price and were dropped off at the hotel, got our room, and rested for a while. Staying at the opposite end of "Bagan" - in Nyaung-U the biggest area for restaurants is fourth street - just a short walk away. We headed there for dinner, found a place that looked nice and were surprised with the good quality of the food and the fact that it arrived quickly.
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| Yet another early morning taxi |
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| Locals crossing the river in the early morning |
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| On the main deck of our small boat |
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| Believe it or not - it is actually a bit cold in the morning |
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| Nothing like hot tea on a cool morning |
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| Temples, temples, temples |
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| Impressive bridge across the Irrawaddy |
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| Fully loaded boat |
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| And you stop to wonder why it is so polluted here |
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| Another impressive bridge, closer to Bagan |
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| We made it to Bagan and the welcoming committee of taxi driver |
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