Bagan

Mingalaba! This morning the ship arrives in Bagan where 2,000 pagodas and stupas are spread out across a plain beside the river.

We depart the boat and get on Bagan horse carts to visit Ananda Temple, Sulamani Temple and Shwezigon Pagoda. The horse carts allow the driver and one passenger in the front and another person in the back. One of my fellow travelers is allergic to horses and the other to dust, so when we arrive at the holy sites there is much sneezing with runny eyes and noses.

We attract people selling rubies and sapphires for $10, sanskrit pictures, and cherots.

We return to the boat for lunch. In the afternoon, we visit the lacquer centers for which Bagan is famous.