Bagan is an archeological zone in the Mandalay region of Myamar, bursting with history and culture, due greatly in part to its thousands of stupas, pagodas and temples in Old Bagan. Our first day, we hired horse-and-buggies to transport us from place to place. 
This is a more traditional mode of transportation, although motorbikes are becoming rapidly more popular. We visited quite a few pagodas and temples, but the most memorable one was probably the first. We climbed, bent over, up a tiny staircase to the top level of the pagoda. The view was so breathtaking, we sat silently in reverie for what felt like an hour. There were stupas dotting the earth all the way out to the horizon, and surely beyond. Photos couldn’t quite capture the sight, but I did try. I wanted to remember the view, and the feeling it gave me.
We also stopped in to a lovely family-owned lacquer shop, ‘The Golden Cuckoo’, where the owner took us through each step in the process of making a lacquer product. It is an extremely detailed, lengthy process. First, bamboo strips are coiled or woven into the desired shape. Then, layers of lacquer are applied and then sanded. The men in the shop then design the patterns, and the women fill in the more intricate details. Colors are carved and applied one at a time until the piece is finished. Each step takes about 2 weeks to dry completely, which means that some pieces can take eight months, or more! The result is an extremely durable, lightweight work of art.
Our second day in Bagan was much less structured and guided, because we rented e-bikes for the day. This way, we could freely explore the city and stop whenever we saw something interesting—which was quite often. I happen to have a strong aversion to two-wheeled vehicles of any kind, so I compromised with myself by hopping onto the back of a friend’s bike. It was exhilarating to face my fear, and doing so meant I got to see a whole lot more of Old Bagan than I would have on foot. In fact, it ended up being one of my favorite days on the trip! We got to fully surrender to the laid back, unplanned lifestyle of Southeast Asia, and it meant we got to ‘discover’ each temple and stupa with a fresh mind.
It was a good thing the beginning of our day got us adjusted to that laid back attitude, because the second half of the day was full of bike breakdowns as we each ran out of battery on separate occasions. Serendipitously, each breakdown left us in a spot so beautiful, we didn’t mind waiting for the bike owners to come rescue us. It added even more sights to our long list for the day, but not a single item on the list felt like an obligation. Everything fell into place and each moment was blissful. It’s pretty special when a bike breakdown (or five) feels peaceful.
