Spread out over a large plain bordered by the Irrawaddy River, Bagan is an ancient city that went through a massive building spree between the 9th and 13th centuries. Over two thousand temples and pagodas still stand today making it Myanmar's equivalent to Peru's Machu Picchu or Cambodia's Angor Wat. It's probably Myanmar's top tourist destination. And this brings me to the next thing I learned about Myanmar. Not all hotels are approved to host foreigners creating a lack of supply and sometimes overwhelming demand. This sucks for me because I prefer to travel without much of a plan, chasing the sun to wherever the wind blows. Now I am in competition for the best rooms and prices with all the other backpackers and I actually have to sit down, make a plan, and call ahead for a reservation. It's not my style but pretty necessary here in Myanmar at the moment.

Foreigners aren't allowed to have gas powered motorbikes in the historic zone so the thing to do here is rent an E-Bike, a battery powered scooter similar in design to its gasoline cousin, and then get lost exploring the dusty landscape. Rental agencies are everywhere but making sure you get a bike where the battery lasts all day is the challenge. We discovered that by paying an extra 1000 Kyats (pronounced chats) you could guarantee yourself a problem free day. In other words, for 77 cents extra, you get a nicer bike that will not die on you out in the middle of nowhere. Total daily rental cost including that extra 77 cents: US$3.85. Good deal!. The next most important thing you do is NOT have a crash on the dusty trails. Sometimes the dust and sand is so thick you can just feel the front tire being pulled out from under you. I avoided any disasters but saw plenty of people who did not. Fortunately, these are low speed crashes that usually don't result in too much harm to human or machine, but it's something to be aware of.

Climbing the temples for sunrise and sunset is the highlight of each day. And with so many to choose from, your toughest decision of the day may be where you should be and when. Bagan is spectacular and for those with working ATM cards, one of the morning options is a hot air balloon ride over the temple grounds (US$320). I passed on this excursion but I heard it's pretty amazing.

Bagan gets a big thumbs up and the Burmese people continue to be incredibly polite. The next adventure is trekking >>------>