My first thoughts as I arrived in Bagan were of Ankor Wat in Cambodia. I'm still not sure whether it was the early morning, the stifling heat or the crumbling ruins that lined the roads that made me think of Ankor, maybe a combination of all three. Like Ankor, it's hard to believe Bagan and its pagodas aren't a wonder of the world. Bagan isn't even a UNESCO World heritage site, which is even harder to believe, although there is an ongoing dispute lead by the Burmese government. The majority of the pagodas were built around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and its estimated there could have been more than 10,000 originally.
The town itself is split into three; New Bagan, Old Bagan and Nyaung U. It's situated on the banks of the Irrawaddy River- fast-running, swollen and muddy, the effects of the rainy season were easy to see. In some places, houses were still a foot deep in mud from the recent flooding. Although the river looked fit to burst, in terms of rainfall, Bagan is not actually effected by the rainy season that sweeps across the rest of SE Asia. Consequently temperatures soar to a very sweaty 44 degrees. On the plus side, the clear skies and bright sunshine make great sunrises and sunsets.

For the last couple of days I've been staying at Ostello Bello, apart from a few upmarket hotels and some guest houses, it's the only hostel around so it's perfect for meeting up with other backpackers. It's an Italian run place, god knows how they wound up in Bagan but they've done and are doing a really good job. We get free breakfast, the wifi is surprisingly good, free pasta is offered at 1pm, 7pm and 9pm, we get clean towels and the beds are comfy. It ticks all the boxes for the average traveller.
I met up with Ulrich again and we've spent our days doing our best Indiana Jones impressions whilst exploring the Pagodas, with a few others from the hostel. The sunrises mean a 0430 alarm but they are well worth getting our of bed for. Because there are so many pagodas, thousands rather than hundreds, the chance of seeing anyone is slim which makes the exploring a lot more exciting. Thick cobwebs cover the hidden staircases that lead to the top of the temples where it's best to watch the sun.
The mode of transport to get between the pagodas for tourists are electric bikes, for the locals it's an ox and cart, unless they're fairly well-off in which case it's a scooter. The electric bikes are decidedly slow although I think Ulrich reached a mighty 42kph in his, I wasn't so fortunate. I was lucky to go over 30 in mine, that was until my battery died and had to get towed home. The days have been long but the pagodas have kept us entertained for most of our time here and getting lost was definitely half the fun of it.
Ulrich has, to my relief, the seemingly typical German trait of enjoying a good beer. As soon as we feel we've seen enough temples for the day, it's a quick pit stop at the nearest bar for a refreshment. The beer here is Mandalay which is a strong 6.5% and seems to only come in big bottles. Such a shame. We only manage to last a few more beers until we start to nod off into our pints. In the back of our minds, we know it'll be another half four wake-up for the following morning and a new temple to explore before sunrise.

After Bagan, I'm heading to Mandalay on the bus. I've heard from a few that the old capital, Mandalay, is only good for a stop over and doesn't offer much in the way of sight seeing or attractions but it's only fair to judge for myself. I'm just praying its a bit cooler there...