Page 41 - Thailand Laos Cambodia Myanmar 26 Day Sample

Bagan (Nyaung U) is the seat of the 1st Myanmar Empire founded by King Anawrahta in mid 11 century A.D. Although legends say that there were supposed to be more than four hundred thousand pagodas at Bagan there are now approximately 2000 pagodas situated in an area about 16 miles square and under the care of the Archaeological Department. Many of the pagodas are in ruins but inside these structures beautiful wall paintings are still very much fresh as if painted only yesterday. Bagan has changed very little in the past century. It remains Myanmar's deserted capital on the Irrawaddy, thickly studded with pagodas of all sizes and shapes. It is a graveyard of medieval Burmese culture. There is nowhere a sight so striking as the view across the plain of Bagan, one red-brick pagoda after another, with an occasional white spire reaching heavenward, encasing a large area on the dusty eastern shore of the greatest river in Burma. Begin with a brief orientation among the temples by bicycles.