Day 14: Country #3

After a strenuous earth-shakingly unstable train ride (which I slept through anyway) I arrived in Bagan, the remains of an ancient capital city of Pagan, consists of thousands of temples and pagodas dotting the countryside, surrounded by villages and 2 tourist hubs. Upon paying for a tourist pass when entering the city limits, one has free reign to explore the ruins. I was lucky to find a local village elder who offered me a horse ride to see the sunset, then gave me a tour of his village, and finally dropped me off at a restaurant where I met a group of very nice tourists who offered to share their feast with me.

Tip:
Sometimes a bus or train will drop you off in the middle of nowhere right in the hands of local drivers waiting to price gouge you. The best option is to offer a low but fair price, which they will refuse, then you should start walking down the road. Unless there is a strong taxi driver cartel, after a few rounds of negotiation, you’ll get a better price.

Sunset over some of Bagan’s pagodas

Published by BE

I write about my travel and money experiences. View all posts by BE