Today we had planned to hire bicycles and explore the wonders of Bagan... We decided on a long sleep this morning as we were shattered from the night bus, so we awoke at about 7:30am. We received a message from Kristin saying her and Arnauld were coming to check in at around eight am and could they join us for the cycle. We were quite happy to have some company so said we would see them here soon. We had breakfast included in the rate and they served us on the terrace outside our room, this was lovely and really started our day with a relaxed feel.

I came outside and found Steven relaxing in the early morning sun with a cup of coffee and some toast, with a side helping of fresh papaya. The only thing missing was the daily paper. I joined him and was soon savouring my own dose of steaming hot coffee laced with caffeine. The papaya was nice and fresh and was just the light sort of breakfast I needed before the cycling today... Steven was also happy to polish off nearly a loaf of toast so he was equally ready to hit the road. While we were enjoying our breakfast Kristin and Arnauld appeared round the corner and booked into their room, they then sat with us and enjoyed a cup of coffee before we hit the road.

We wandered down the street until we found the bike shop and picked up our bicycles, I got a nice red one and Steven a boyish blue. We then ensured we were comfortable and ready for the ride a head before we set off. The town was already bustling with life and the familiar dust was being kicked up by the horse and carts passing us at regular intervals. The route out of town was fairly straightforward and saw us cycling on a tar mac road that had a light covering of sand. We were joined on the road by numerous horse and carts, motos and trucks laden with brightly coloured and smiley locals. We slowly meandered through the traffic and past numerous guesthouses and cafes while intermittently stopping at the many temples scattered around. That's the beautiful thing about this area, everywhere you go there is a stunning temple or pagoda to brighten your journey.

After about twenty minutes or so me and Steven came up behind a horse cart and recognised the person laying sprawled out in the back, as James the young boy who was poorly in Battambang. We waved and said hello as we overtook them and carried on down the road. Soon we found ourselves at a cross roads and stopped to decide our next move before a local chap on a moto stopped and starting chatting to us. He was from a village near to New Bagan and wanted us to come and see his family's lacquerware shop as apparently most people over look their shop due to it being off the main road. The fact we kept explaining that we didn't need any lacquerware did little to stop his insistence so we said we would pop by if near to the area. He then gave us a map and some contact details before heading off to find some more tourists... We smiled and cycled on deciding to head into the walled town of Old Bagan.

Here we cycled till we came to the Bupaya, which is a large gourd shaped pagoda that sits on the river bank. It is said that Pyusawhti the third king of Bagan cleared the river banks of an gourde like plant that was infesting it. As a reward his predecessor and founder of Bagan rewarded him with his daughter's hand in marriage and thus becoming the heir to the throne. The pagoda was then built in commemoration and thus given the gourde shape. During the huge earthquake of 1975 the pagoda, which has the oldest stupa in Bagan fell in to the river. It has now however been completely rebuilt and looks stunning against the backdrop of the river.

On arriving we were met by lots of smiling locals who were here to worship and give thanks. They were very welcoming and said hello to us and such, they even wanted photos of me with their children which was quite sweet. The pagoda itself is gold and sits in a white tiled temple that shines brightly against the sandy back drop of Old Bagan. It sits right above the water and you can see right down the river from here. There were many people worshipping and the familiar smell of jasmine filled the air while the quiet and excitable chattering of the locals gave the whole place a nice atmosphere... When visiting such areas you can't help but notice how important the temples are socially as people seem to hang out and sit with their friends. As we left we were met by the familiar sound of hawkers trying to sell us their wares and local women carrying babies asking for money.

As we rode on we were soon met by a small cluster of temples which we would later find out to be Atwin-Zigon and Gaw-daw-palin. These were pretty little temples that were surrounded by bushes of pretty pink flowers and looked very picturesque although one of the temples had an extension on it that looked very similar to a 1950s diner.... Bizarre but that's the first thing I thought of when I saw it. We soon continued on our trek as it was already hot and we were feeling it. We continued down the road and back towards the crossroads where we went straight over in the direction of New Bagan and the village of Myinkaba. En route Steven was harassed by a young girl who was selling postcards, she had initially asked him at the temple then followed him down the road, so on stopping to view a temple she grabbed her chance and was on him. Eventually after ten minutes or so of bartering and haggling Steven got the price he wanted and she sold him some postcards. He kept lowering the prices in the hope she would be deterred but instead she happily carried on and eventually he gave in.... Mainly because we were all getting tired of the carry on and told him to just buy them.

We continued down the road and arrived at the village, here there were numerous temples scattered all over and we took time to stop and see most of them. We then came to a small area near to the Abe-Ya-da-na temple where there were a few restaurants and stalls selling refreshments. Due to Kirstin and Arnauld missing breakfast we decided to take a break so they could eat, we weren't particularly hungry so instead sipped a nice ice cold beer. The owner seemed friendly and the order was promptly taken and the beers brought out and opened with a home made and very novel bottle opener. It consisted of a piece of wood with an elephant carved on to it, there was then a screw through the top that was secured by two nuts on each side... The screw was then left out slightly from the wood and used to lever off the beer top... It was very cool and something we really wanted to find.

While we were sipping our beers and enjoying a bit of respite from the sun, we heard the familiar roar of a moto engine and the cheery hello of our lacquer producing friend. He promptly reminded us to visit his workshop before whizzing off to find some more unsuspecting tourists. By now the meals had arrived and our new friends were happily tucking in while we all chatted and shared stories from home and our travels. We learnt that Kirstin was from Norway and on her way back home via Europe, while Arnauld was originally from the Caribbean but had moved to France after his studies in the pursuit of work. The two were friends who had met during their travels in Africa and were now travel buddies. It wasn't long before the meals were eaten and the beers had been sunk... It was now just before midday and you could feel the intense heat hit you as you walked out of the cafe. We brought some water and cycled the short distance to Manuha Paya where we were hoping to find some relief from the ever increasing heat.

Manuha Paya is a large and active pagoda, which was buzzing with the sound of prayer and chatting. On arriving we were met with a large and rather modern looking pagoda with vast areas of white and gold. It is named after Manuha the Mon king who was held captive here by King Anawrathta. On entering you are met with a large gold bowl that had a ladder leading up to it, this was for donating money and the children surrounding us were nagging their parents for spare kyats that they could deposit in there. They seemed to be enjoying this game and their parents happy enough to comply. We walked through and explored the site before wandering inside and finding a large reclining Buddha that was located towards the back. It was very impressive and we weren't expecting to see such a sight on entering, the Buddha lies there in the act of entering parinibbana (final passing) and has a large grin on his face and is said to represent that for Manuha the only release from his suffering was in death. After marvelling at this sight we then wandered around the grounds and watched as worshipers tapped the bronzed bell ensuring their prayers are heard and then praying at Buddhas feet.

After walking around here for a period of time we braced ourselves and walked back out into the now immense heat of midday. By now it was getting unbearable and I was massively losing my mojo so we bought some water in the hope of filling us with energy... This did not work. However we persevered and headed off down the road. We cycled a short distance past Nan Paya (said to be Manuha's prison.. although there is little evidence to support this) before coming to the Abe-Ya-da-na temple. This is a 11th century temple which has many Hindu deities such as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva depicted inside. While here we were soon greeted by the stall owners located outside, there were very friendly and were offering goods at very reasonable prices. Kirstin and I were instantly pulled in, firstly by the cheap prices and secondly for some respite from the sun. We were chatting away to the two women sellers while the boys rolled their eyes and walked on ...for us to later find them chatting to two guys inside selling paintings... Standards eh?

We eventually walked into the grounds and explored this pretty much forgotten temple with its stunning murals, we were the only ones there and happily enjoyed the peace. The guy selling the paintings was determined to give me a good price and I did actually like a few of his offerings. One had particularly caught my eye but appeared to have a smudge on the sky. The guy said it was part of the pic but I wasn't so sure. We admired his work but as this was our first day we didn't want to buy from the first stall we had seen, so explained that we were here for a few days and would indeed come back. He then said he would get rid of the 'smudge' and improve the picture for us. I thought this was sweet and was pretty sure we would return. Kirstin bought a few paintings from the girl next door and a small jade elephant for her mum before we jumped back on our bikes and hit the road.

We headed back up through the village of Myinkaba and towards Old Bagan stopping intermittently for photographs or to just generally take in the stunning scenery. We passed numerous temples including Thein-Mazi and Myin-pya-gu where we did some jumping shots and basically explored temple after temple. We then entered the old town and found ourselves at the That-byin-nyu temple. This is Bagan's highest temple at 207 feet high, it is a beautifully large temple covered in terraces rimmed with spires... These then lead up to a gold topped sikhara which can be seen for miles around. It was built in 1144 and when built there were 539 indentations made in which Jatakas were to be added... This never happened which has people to believe the temple was never consecrated.

The temple is beautiful with numerous gold Buddhas inside its narrow corridors, while the gold spires outside catch the sunlight and stand out beautifully. After we had explored we walked outside to the numerous hawkers that had stalls nearby, it was almost like a market. Here me and Kirstin got chatting to a young boy who was selling numerous souvenirs such as postcards. He was also collecting currency from all over the world and had a collection that would make Steven cry. He was such a sweetheart and looked quite the picture as he whipped out his wallet full of foreign currency. I commented on his beautiful brooch, which was a card made butterfly and without thinking he handed it over saying it was a gift... I found this quite touching as he was neither pushing or forcing his wares on us, instead content with just showing off his currency and having a chat. We apologised that we had no money on us and he waved us off smiling... I was so touched by his sweetness and went off looking for Steven who was AWOL.

After ten minutes of looking I eventually found Steven who was off being David Bailey with the camera whist trying to shrug off the children selling postcards.... I was telling him about the cute kid and remembered that we may have some Thai baht left, which we did... I took twenty and went off to find the young boy. It didn't take long and I waved him over and handed him the twenty baht to which he humbly replied 'is it for me?' And I said yes of course and he then had the biggest grin on his sweet little face... It was really humbling to see. I assumed he had gained the other notes through purchases or something. He gave me a huge grin and said thank you so much before waving at us enthusiastically as we rode off. It was a really nice moment and just reminded me how humble the kids are here as they are still so untouched by the curse of tourism.

We rode on and by now were all feeling a little bit peckish... We decided to head to a nearby area of restaurants that included one that Kirstin had seen in lonely planet called 'be kind to the animals -the moon'. She wanted to get a photo of the sign and we eventually found it and took some pics... I think she was keen to eat there but I didn't really want to as I thought it is nicer to spread the wealth and since lonely planet places get all the tourists I headed to the place opposite. The sign was even better... It said 'be kind to animals - Yar Pyi' then they had wrote underneath 'Lonely Planet may not talk about us (yet) but lots of lovely people do'. As soon as I saw it I started laughing and the owner's daughter came out to hand me a menu. We got chatting and I really liked her... So we said we would go in. We told Arnauld and Kirstin that they could eat in the other one and then we would meet outside after but they joined us in the other restaurant.

We sat down and ordered our food then chatted a little with the owner... He was the proud father of eight daughters and one son. Most of his daughters had graduated from university but his son was too young, the girl who had met me at the front was one of his daughters and the new mum to a strapping three month old daughter who weighed over eleven pounds at birth... Ouch. She told us she had a Caesarian and we were relieved for her. We ordered drinks with me and Steven trying the Burmese 'star cola' as it was only 300 kyat compared to the 1000 Kyat coca cola and it was actually okay... Tasted a bit like Pepsi crossed with coke ice pops.

Once our food arrived we realised how truly hungry we were and tucked in... I had the vegetable rice with a fried egg and Steven the egg plant curry, which was delicious. The owner stood until we tried the first bite to ensure we liked it and we did... Very much. We ate up and chatted with the family and admired the daughters cute baby.... after I had eaten I couldn't resist a hold of the little munchkin and she was adorable, she was really animated and kept laughing at me and she was just gorgeous. After ages of hugs and cuddles I reluctantly gave her back and we paid the bill... We then hit the road as the family waved us off, was truly a lovely place to eat.

We headed off towards the Ananda Pahto temple, which is one of the biggest here. It's a vast temple and considered one of the most well preserved and beautiful of the Bagan area. During the 1975 earthquake it suffered considerable damage and has since been massively reconstructed... Not that you would ever tell. On arriving you just gasp at the sheer size of the place with its huge gilded central spire and oversized Buddhas. Again like in so many of the big temples, the entrance way is full of stalls and sellers. One chap started randomly talking to me and it turned out he was in school with the daughter of the owner of our guesthouse. He chatted for sometime about Myanmar and such before talk finally came on to his lacquered products of which he gave me and Kirstin a free bracelet. We thanked him for the gift and knew we had been tagged and he would jump us on the way out.

Inside the temple was a large outer corridor that contained numerous golden Buddha of different sizes in different alcoves. The place was cool and calm and we really enjoyed it... Despite the hordes of crowds we found little areas of quietness and it was very welcome. Outside each side stood a large Buddha and the grounds were full of incense and candles... everywhere around us was the welcoming smell of smokey incense and fresh jasmine while the air was filled with the deep chime of the prayer bell being hit by a wooden log. During our time in Asia we can't help but become familiar with the customs and rituals of Buddhism and Hinduism, which has now resulted in a welcome and comforting feeling when entering a temple. I think I now feel more at home in a temple in Bagan then a church at home.... There is just something so familiar about it.

After we had spent a good while looking around we attempted to avoid the guy in the entrance in which we entered... Unfortunately our shoes were at that entrance and thus we had no choice but to exit that way. Instead we hid behind the boys and pretended to be deep in conversation but this didn't work and the guy soon clapped eyes on us... That was it and we were guilted into his stall. Eventually I used the 'I'm here for four days' quote and told him he didn't have the small pot I wanted... He then said he would make sure he bought some tomorrow and let us go ....phew! We then retrieved our shoes and ran for the bikes.

By now it was nearing dusk so we knew we had to find somewhere to watch the sun set... We had been told about a little known place by the new mum in the restaurant, but unfortunately this would prove hard to reach... Mainly due to copious amounts of sand. Instead we settled for the tourist trap of Shw-San-daw pagoda, which is a sunset favourite. It is a large pyramid style pagoda with vertigo inducing steps leading up past five terraces. On arriving you could see what we had thankfully avoided all day and pretty much since arriving in Myanmar... Numerous tour buses and hundreds of people sitting on the pagoda.

On arriving we were also zapped with the ten dollar fee that we had somehow avoided all day (covers all temple fees for a seven day period). We clambered up to the top terrace of the pagoda, which was narrow and nerving to walk around. We stopped at the west side to see the sunset and to be honest I couldn't see the appeal... You couldn't take a photo without getting either a person (pretty big crowd) or one of the many buses or cars in shot and it kind of made the view lose its appeal. Instead I walked around to the east side and admired the beautiful (and virtually people free), stunning views over the plains. Whilst there I got chatting to a really lovely local guy who had very good English. I assumed he was American to start with but it had turned out that he was Burmese and had learnt English from an American and thus inherited the accent with it... Was quite funny. He was really nice and chatted about the temple, informing me that he called it monkey temple ...due to the vast amount of tourist constantly clambering up and down it. He then told me about a few lesser known spots for future sunrises and sunsets and I thanked him. He then took some really nice pics of me and Steven so again I thanked him as often people take pretty awful pics which grates me, especially when I take the time to take lovely ones of them.

After we had enjoyed the view for a little while, we decided to get home before dark. We got back down to the ground and found our bikes where waiting for Steven was his little friend from earlier. The little girl who had followed him from the temple had found him again here and was trying the hard sell... Again! I had to admire her as she had covered some miles today and she was only maybe about twelve or thirteen. He politely declined.. Numerous times and we eventually left.

The ride home was quick as we took the Anawrshta road, which is the main road here... I put my foot down and sped off down the road knowing my Jammies and a hot shower were waiting. After about twenty mins we found ourselves on the outskirts and decided to stop off for a beer. It was now just dark and we were close enough to home not to worry. We sat in Stevens favourite restaurant with their cheap draft beer and enjoyed its refreshing taste in the lovely restaurant garden. After one drink we cycled back to the shop and gave our bikes in... We then strolled home and hit the shower, which was amazing before heading out for a bite to eat.

We found a small local eatery and ordered some noodles and rice... Only cheap but the portions were huge and came with free soup, tea and salad. It was amazing if it wasn't for me not being that hungry. We ate what we could before waddling home stuffed and tired... It wasn't long after we were fast asleep. We had a 4am wake up call and were absolutely shattered.