Beautiful Light in Bagan

For visitors to Myanmar, Bagan is a definite stop in the itinerary. For visitors who are avid photographers, Bagan is a dream stop in the itinerary. And for me, the best stop for landscape photography!

Bagan is an ancient city on a site containing over 2000 temples, pagodas and stupas. During its heyday as the capital of the Kingdom then (11-13th century), there were as many as over 10,000 temples etc. Now, while majority seems to be in a state of ruins, many have been restored and maintained. For those interested in the historic and cultural aspects of Myanmar, the temples provide fascinating glimpses into Buddhism in this part of Asia.

What captivated me however, is the golden light during sunrise and sunset. Cast onto the dusty and misty plains, and dotted with the spires of the pagodas and temples, the scene is stupendous. There are a couple of ways to tour the sites. Most backpackers would hire bicycles to visit the attractions. You could also hire a car or a horsecart for the whole day. For photographers who want to catch the sunrises and sunsets (yes you should!), the latter is recommended. Especially if you want to take the sunsets from some temples that are off-the-beaten-path. The roads there are bad, and after sunset, it would be completely dark and cycling at those conditions are certainly not recommended. In fact, some horsecart drivers were also reluctant to go to some of the further temples for sunsets. Remember to check with your drivers! The most common site for sunset viewing is probably Shwesandaw but I went to Pyathada (which is more remote). For those who have a little more budget, you could also have sunrise viewing and photography atop the hot-air balloons! I would imagine the scene would be absolutely fabulous!

And even back in Nyaung U town, the morning light provided wonderful ambience to the local market. Go between 7.30am - 8.30am, and with the tree foliage around the market area and the dusty air, the resultant light rays add plenty of opportunities for good composition!

As mentioned earlier, Bagan is one of Myanmar's top attractions. So there are plenty of options to get to Bagan, from buses and rail, to air and boat! And there are 3 areas for acommodation options - Old Bagan, New Bagan, and Nyaung U. The latter is where most of the budget options are. Whichever the options, Bagan is my favourite sunrise/sunset location in Myanmar!

Taunggyi Fire Balloon Festival

Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State in Myanmar, and a transport hub for travelers to Inle Lake and Nyaung Shwe, also plays host to one of Myanmar's biggest and rowdiest festivals - the Fire Balloon Festival!

Held annually, usually in November, and lasting a week to coincide with the full moon day, the festival attracts hordes of visitors from all over the country. In 2012, the festival was held from 21-28 November. During the festival, contests are held whereby huge balloons are constructed by teams from associations and groups from neighbouring towns etc, to compete in 3 categories. In the day, the balloons take the form of dragons, elephants, pagodas etc, but I'm unclear how the judging is made - presumably on how ornate the balloon is designed (note that these balloons are huge!). However, it's at night where the competition heats up (literally)! The balloons are generally huge oval-shaped hot-air balloons, carrying a basket full of carefully arranged fireworks. These balloons are launched by their respective teams, and when the balloons are in the air, the fireworks are released systematically. The balloon that goes up the highest, and with the most spectacular fireworks would be judged the best! Finally, there is another category where the balloons would be decorated with candle-lighted designs. The candles are lighted and placed onto the balloon only during launch, and requires quick and organised coordination by team members.

And while all these are going on, the festival grounds is one huge carnival. Lanes and lanes of makeshift foodstalls compete for attention. Carnival favourites like the merry-go-rounds and ferris wheels take up substantial portion of the area with frenzied activity - they are all human-powered, even the ferris wheels! To complete the festivities, another huge area is set up as a concert ground, where live bands and singers perform for the night. No doubt one of the biggest festivals I've seen.

However, a few notes of precaution. Myanmar's tourism infrastructure is still struggling to cope with its recent influx of tourists, let alone such a hugely popular festival with the locals. So accomodation options are extremely limited for foreigners (esp budget ones). The nearby town of Nyaung Shwe has more accommodation options since it is the access town for Inle Lake. Even then, its limits were tested. I could not find any accommodation when I arrived and had to settle for some floor space on monastery grounds. Transport between Taunggyi and Nyaung Shwe were limited to private taxis as public transport does not quite get to the festival grounds, and the festival lasts till past midnight. And finally, even as alot of fire was involved in the celebrations, I'm sure the festival would not pass any safety awards. As the balloon rises into the sky, the pyrotechnics spewing down onto the festival ground is as exciting as it gets. Your run for cover during paintball games is literally kids play compared to this! And then there's the bad news. Not all the balloons have successful flights... some do come crashing down................... 

Nevertheless, everyone is out for good fun as evident by the turnout. A definite highlight on my trip to Myanmar!

Gokteik Viaduct, Myanmar

Northern Myanmar is one of the lesser visited parts of Myanmar, and I barely scratched the southern tip, but scratched I did, and one of the highlights was the journey through the Gokteik Viaduct.

The Gokteik Viaduct is a railway bridge/trestle about 100km north of Mandalay, and at the time of its completed construction (1901), the highest/biggest in the world. It is currently still Myanmar's biggest/highest at over 100m high and almost 700m long. Creaking slowly and loudly over this metallic wonder is the train plying between Mandalay and Lashio.

However, I didn't venture till Lashio (from where you could then go further north into China), but visited Hsipaw instead, which is a delightfully laidback Shan state town. The north-bound train from Mandalay starts at 4am, so I took the bus instead to Hsipaw (and enjoyed a couple of days there) and experienced the viaduct via the south-bound train, which was scheduled to roll into Hsipaw at 9am. Trains in Myanmar are notoriously slow and unpunctual, though, and mine arrived nonchalantly at 11am. It was also the bounciest and rockiest train ride I had in my life. The sway and bounce were of such magnitudes, it would probably register a 9 on the Richter scale.

And it would be another 4+ hours before reaching the Gokteik Viaduct. The stationmaster at Hsipaw station was certainly familiar with our tourists needs, and had assigned seats for tourists on the right side of the train for better viewing as we cross the viaduct (remember this is the southbound train). And there were no worries about missing the views - as the train nears the crossing, there would a certain bustle in the carriage as the train conductor, if not the locals, would arouse us into position. The train would rumble straight into a tunnel right into the mountain, and slowly emerge onto the metal monstrosity. Then, slowly and laboriously, with curioius heads all sticking out of the train windows, the train crawled across the bridge. The bridge looked solid enough, but the sprawling lush green gorge below does quicken your heart rate a notch or two. But savour the views and spectable, for after the crossing, it would be another 3-4 hours to the next stop of interest - Pyin Oo Lwin.

Train going into a tunnel through a mountain before crossing the Viaduct

The tunnel in the mountain!

Crossing the Gokteik Viaduct!

The Gokteik Viaduct

While the train eventually does get into Mandalay, it also makes a ridiculously long stop at Pyin Oo Lwin, a hill resort town that many would recommend a night or two. So the wise would often alight at Pyin Oo Lwin where there would be many pickups going to Mandalay. The difference would be reaching Mandalay at 7-8pm vs midnight if continuing on the train.

From Hsipaw to Pyin Oo Lwin, an ordinary class seat (a wooden bench) costs US$3 while a upper class seat (cushioned seat) costs US$6. The train looked as if it had not had any maintenance since it started operating, but this is easily forgotten once you get to the bridge (I hope!). If you want to experience only one train ride in Myanmar, this would be the best bet!

Local activity at one of the station stops

Apparently, the train is also the mail train and he is the mail man!!