Page 230 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

228 BAGAN AND AROUND AROUND BAGAN
5 BALLOONING IN BAGAN
There’s perhaps no better way to see the temples of Bagan than by floating in the dawn light
high above the temples in a hot-air balloon – although trips don’t come cheap. Three
operators run trips (all cost the same and leave from the same area at the same time), though
they get booked up quickly, and in high season particularly it’s a good idea to reserve as far in
advance as possible. Flights cost from $330 per person, last around an hour and finish with a
champagne breakfast.
Balloons over Bagan Near Hotel Zfreeti, Nyaung U Oriental Ballooning 76A Lanmadaw Rd, Nyaung U
T061 60713, Wballoonsoverbagan.com. T09 250 505 383, Worientalballooning.com.
Golden Eagle Balloon Wbagan-balloon.com.

a few other fine woodcarvings. Daily 9am–9.30pm. large and colourful Pathein-style parasols (see box, p.106)
Pauk Kan Thiripyitsaya 4 St T065 01143; map p.208. laid out in front of it next to the road – the resident artisans
One of several woodcarving workshops along Restaurant can also usually be seen at work inside. Cotton parasols range
Row. Most of the modern carvings on display are fairly from K8000 up to K150,000, and they also do colourful silk
stereotypical (the inevitable elephants and Buddhas), parasols for around K5000–8000. Daily 7am–9pm.
although they also have a small selection of far more Tun Handicrafts/Moe Moe Bagan–Chauk Rd, New
attractive antique pieces on display – mostly on the larger Bagan T061 65063; map p.224. Upmarket showroom
side. Daily 7am–10pm. devoted to high-quality but expensive lacquerware.
Shwe Pathein Umbrella Workshop Wet Kyi Inn T09 Smaller pieces start at around K15,000, while larger pots
4934 0854, Wmyanmarhandmade.com; map pp.204– run into the hundreds of dollars – although they might be
205. It’s difficult to miss this shop, thanks to the spectacularly susceptible to bargaining. Daily 8am–9pm.
DIRECTORY
Banks All the banks marked on our Nyaung U map (see cafés are increasingly rare.
p.208) have ATMs. There’s a foreign exchange counter at the Post office Anawrahta Rd, Nyaung U (signed
AGD Bank on Thiripyitsaya 4 St, at the CB Bank on Main Rd “Telecommunications Centre”; Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat
and at the MAB Bank on Anawrahta Rd. 9am–noon).
Internet Connections can be erratic and brain- Spas Spa treatments are available at many of the more
crushingly slow here – the enhanced wi-fi connection at upmarket hotels and also at the Blossom Spa at the Amata
Weather Spoon’s Bagan (see p.208) is generally reckoned Boutique House in New Bagan (see map p.224), which
the fastest and most reliable in town. Dedicated internet operates 10am–9pm daily.

Around Bagan
There’s an interesting crop of attractions in the area surrounding Bagan. Pick of the
bunch is the dramatic Taung Kalat rock, the epicentre of Burmese nat worship, dotted
with shrines to the unruly lords of the spirit realm. Visits to Taung Kalat can be
combined with hikes up the adjacent Mount Popa or, alternatively, with a visit to Salay,
south of Bagan, with its superb wooden monastery and cluster of Bagan-era
monuments. Heading in the opposite direction, the riverside town of Pakokku, just to
the north of Bagan, is home to a colourful trio of modern temples that are worth a
half-day visit. All of these towns offer the sort of tantalizing glimpse of local life that
can often be sadly missing in Bagan.

Taung Kalat
Easily the most interesting excursion from Bagan is the half-day trip to Taung Kalat
(“Pedestal Hill”), a dramatic little sheer-sided, temple-topped plug of volcanic rock
around an hour’s drive from Nyaung U (it’s usually, if erroneously, referred to as Mount