We didn't get to sleep much as our pick up by Mr. Aung to bring us to the airport was at 4:15am. The flight was at 5:30am so we were a little nervous that we wouldn't have enough time to check in, etc -- but everyone told us we'd have plenty of time. Oh well, we're on vacation, so we didn't want to sweat the small details!

Mr. Aung was there early, as usual. The staff at the Central Hotel provided little "to go" breakfasts for us. Nothing fancy, but it was definitely a nice touch. At this obscene hour of the day there was mercifully no traffic, so we made it to Yangon Airport in like 20 minutes. The check in process was surreal. We walked up to the Mann Yadanabon Airlines ticket counter. No wait -- the agent put "old school" luggage tags on the bags. 2 other staff members weighed then and them carried them away. We each got a little sticker on our shirts to identify which flight we were on. We then walked through security. Nothing had to come out of our bags (liquids, computers) and no belts or shoes had to come off. We just needed to throw out any water. Within 10 minutes of arriving at the airport we were checked in and through security!

With over an hour until our flight departs, we found the one open cafe and had a nice cappuccino. We then went to the boarding area and found the boarding process very amusing. No announcements or electronic notifications -- a staff member would walk around the gate area with a sign naming the airline and flight number. You'd follow him out a bus that would take you to the flight. We had a bit of time to wait, but soon our flight was on the sign so we dutifully followed the leader out to the bus and onto the plane.

This plane was small, but surprisingly comfy. We entered through the rear and quickly found our seat. Despite the ~1hour flight, we got warm towels and 2 meal services! The flight was smooth and uneventful and we soon landed at Nyaung U airport. We deboarded on the tarmac and walked to the small terminal. As we entered the terminal, we noticed the staff heading out to the plane to manually remove the luggage and carry them directly to the terminal where we were all waiting. Somewhat charming to see our luggage being carried on the heads of the airline staff! Within about 5 minutes our bags arrived and soon we were headed out of the arrivals area looking for our next guide.

We were soon met by Mr Aung (different than before) who was extremely pleasant and told us that since it was too early to check into our hotel we'd start out vigorous sightseeing program. We were soon on our way to the first of many temples and pagodas that we would visit -- the famous Shwezigon Pagoda. Unlike most pagodas we'd be seeing in Bagan this one is covered in gold and shimmered beautifully in the early morning sunlight. It was already getting quite warm but we enjoyed our walk around Shwezigon. We made quick stops at Wetkyiinn Gubyaukgyi, Htilominolo Paya and Upali Thein. Wetkyinn Gubyaunkgyi stood out for his fine pasterwork and murals. We learned that many of the mural were removed by Dr. Thomann from Germany many years ago. We took a break here and had a coconut and checked out some of the beautiful handiworks on sale by the locals.

Htilominolo is one of the later temples and has a very interesting story as legend has it that King Htolominolo built it to commemorate his being chosen as king by his father when a twirled umbrella landed pointing in his direction. Upali Thein is a smaller ordination hall with memorable murals on the inside. The interior is somewhat lopsided, and we learned this is due to the 1975 earthquake which damaged many buildings at Bagan. Others were reconstructed with new "tops" that fell off during the quake.

Between stops our guide took us to several viewpoints that offered incredible views of the fields of pagodas over the Bagan plains -- just breathtaking! We stopped for lunch having traditional Myanmar food before heading to the hotel to check in. The Bagan Thande is a very nice hotel situated in Old Bagan and with a fantastic pool. We rested for a few hours (siesta, they called it) and Efren went for a swim. We were picked up later in the afternoon to see the remainder of the sites on the schedule for that day.

We stopped at Ananda Paya which is one of the largest and most stunning of all the temples -- it can be seen from all over the place with its distinctive red and white coloring. The ground plan is cross design with 4 entrances. The interior entrances are protected by door guardians housed in niches with huge teak doors. 4 enormous buddhas stand inside the temple's core. Apparently 2 were replaced relatively recently after being destroyed in a fire, and the Southern Buddha is a true charmer as its face changes in appearance from a stern pout to a smirky grin as you walk further away from it.

Next we stopped at Bupaya and Mahabodi Paya. The original Bupaya fell into the river during the 1975 earthquake, but it was rebuilt and today the small guilded stupa overlooking the river is crowded with locals praying and selling snacks (the shrimp from the river looked divine!). Mahbodi looks more like a building out of India. Gawdawpalin Paya, located right outside our hotel, is slender and graceful and one of the highest in Bagan with the top reaching 55m.

The next bad boy on the list was Thatbyinnyu Paya, which is actually the tallest at 66m. The sheer size of the temple is impressive, and is the first of the "double cube' structure. We visited the temple and then walked just south of the temple to get a nice view of the crumbling city walls which offered more great views over the plain. Our last stop for the day was the famous sunset temple -- Shwesandaw Pagoda. We got there about 30 minutes before sunset and climbed up the very steep pagoda (barefoot, of course) and waited for the sun to set. The pagoda was thronged with hundreds of tourists there to do the same thing, and it got a bit scary sitting on the edge of a ledge with no shoes as tourists clamored over and around us to take that coveted sunset picture. We carefully headed down and were brought back to our hotel for the evening.

The Bagan Thande was great, but it was a bit off the tourist track so couldn't easily walk anyplace for dinner. We asked at the front desk and for about $7 we got a taxi to/from the StarBeam restaurant (including waiting time). The restaurant was well praised in our guide book and we found the food quite good (especially the freshly baked bread and avocado juice). We noticed that whenever a beer was ordered, the server would leave the premises and go to a nearby bar to buy and bring the beer back to us. We later learned that it is much more economical for restaurants not to "carry" beer themselves (taxes...)

We returned to the hotel and Efren got a traditional Myanmar message at the hotel spa. We relaxed a bit and headed to bed early. We had an early start the next morning as the folks from Balloons over Bagan were picking us up at 5:15am for our sunrise hot-air balloon ride over Bagan!

Bibo for dinner night two -- Ayeyarwaddy prawn curry; soup