Burma Day 3: Bagan

From where I sit, I can see easily 105 temples. There are no words to describe them. 

What a morning. Right now I'm sitting by the oasis of a pool at the hotel. The water shines back a crisp, bright blue that matches the cloudless sky above me. If I didn't know better, I would think I am in heaven. Today has been absolutely perfect so far and it's only three in the afternoon.

I woke up at 5:30am to run, hoping to catch the sunrise with temples in view. And boy, did I! 5:30am in Bagan is pitch black, the blackest of black. No streetlights, no city lights, no traffic lights. The village is quiet and still sleeping. I know I need to go west, and then north, to get to the temples. So I start running down the dirt roads that will hopefully lead me into the village. There is no one on the roads at this hour. Not even the dogs are awake. As I get to the middle of the village, I start to see people moving about. People getting on bikes and heading places, maybe work, maybe school. I pass another runner (Western, of course) and we nod at each other. When I hit a major intersection and can only go north or south, I know I'm going the right way. Turning right, I head north toward temple country. The sky slowly turns from midnight blue to a lavender, and then a lighter periwinkle blue; meanwhile, I can see the outlines of massive temples alongside the road. The pictures I had seen on the web were not fake: there are temples everywhere!

I see a path and decide, why not? I stopped at the first temple along that particular path and of course it at had a makeshift ladder made of bamboo leading to the roof. Give me a ladder and I will climb it. And so there I sat, atop an ancient temple, to watch the sun come over the horizon. The sky looked as if it had caught on fire under the clouds. Whether it was the cool breeze rushing over my slightly clammy skin or the majesty of the sunrise, I kept getting goosebumps. No words can explain that feeling and the sight before me. As I came back down the ladder, the temple's key keeper saw me and shooed her son over to talk to me. His name was Thomzin and he was ten years old. His English was fantastic and we chatted for a minute. "What's your favorite temple?" I asked. "My temple" he said, pointing to the one I had just watched the sunrise from. Simple. Beautiful.

After breakfast (which was delicious), R & D and I spent the rest of the morning biking through Bagan. I lost track of the number of temples we saw, but we stopped at the most significant ones along the road north of Old Bagan. Somehow I thought I'd get tired of temples after the first four or five, but I didn't. Each one was different and it made me feel like Indiana Jones, climbing around on them and discovering nooks with statues. These are living temples, where people actually go to pray and make offerings. If I had a few days here, I would sit at one all day and talk to the Burmese about their life, their culture. Not only are the Burmese I have met so incredibly nice, but they are also very willing to talk and explain their country to foreigners. I am in awe of their country and its beauty. I have an especially soft spot for kids, so when they are talk to me and try to hawk handcrafts and postcards, I can't hold back my smiles. Plus, I'm a sucker for postcards.

-/-

Tonight we biked to a temple nearby to watch the sunset. I had mapped three possible temples from which R & D could choose from. We ended up at none of them but instead I picked a nondescript one alongside the road that looked climbable. For most of the evening, we were the only souls there, enjoying the serenity of the surroundings. Again, we all felt a bit like Indiana Jones, traipsing over the old ruins of temples. There was so much history and so much to discover. This is truly an amazing country.