We left the hotel at 5:20 a.m. and flew to Bagan. Flying in, the landscape was different that I expected. It was very dry and you could see barren farms marked with trees surrounding planting fields that apparently are green and lush during the rainy season. We arrived and went right to the biggest temple Stupor in the area. This stupor apparently holds the shoulder bone relic of the Buddha. It is adorned in gold and one of the many temples that people as they pilgrimage to see these Buddhist temples comes to. We continued to go to many temples, all with stories about the different kings that built them during the 11th and 12th centuries when Buddhism was brought and grew to this area. It had already been established in the lower part of the country but the King at the this time, who they refer to as the first King, made it the official religion of the state and constructed this temple. There were other temples we visited today built by other kings. Each had their own story. One was very ornate with 4 large golden Buddha statues and some paintings on stucco telling the stories of Buddha inside. There was another that was built by the wicked 5th or 6th king that killed all the workers because he could put a pin inbetween the cracks between the bricks, which wasn’t executable to him. He executed all of them and they are believed to be buried in the temple and it is believed to be haunted. We climbed to the top of one of the temples at sunset and had a great view looking out and watching the sun turn all kinds of shades of red and orange as it dropped into the dusty sky. It was really relaxing to hang out looking out over 100s of temples, I counted from the top of the temple 110 that I could see. There are over 4000 temples here, they are everywhere you look. Some are stupas, which hold relics and are solid and you can’t walk in. Many are temples where you can enter and cool off and where people can worship. It is a busy place even for Burmese since many pilgrimage to this area where the largest concentration of Buddhist temples are, which I have to think in the world. There were hundreds of Hindu Temples all over Bali, but these are everywhere you look and maybe the standout more against the flat arid landscape.
We took a break in the afternoon and explored on little electric scooters. Sam was psyched that he could ride his own. We went on back roads which were really sandy but we could go in and out of little temples. One we stumbled upon by ourselves we walked up to the entry and it was locked. An old man came to us and unlocked the gate, must be the keeper. When we went inside it contained a large draped in gold silk reclining Buddha. It was amazing since no one was around and there weren’t any people that lived in the area. He was very sweet and proud to show it off. All these tiny temples all contained statues of Buddhas. You’d expect them to be empty but everyone has a small or large Buddha. Our guide had taken us to one temple that let it lots of natural light and the Buddha’s face just glowed. Some temples had dozens of small buddhas in little nitches or etched into the sides of the temple. It is really like no place I have ever been.
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