Yangon city: a little old and a little new

Monks at Shwedagon Pagoda

A statue of Buddha as he attained nirvana

Hundreds of stupas at Shwedagon Pagoda

People relaxing on a Sunday, near a giant bell at Shwedagon Pagoda

Burmese zodiac follows the day of the week in which a person was born. Tradition asks that people pour water in their "day" corner. (Yes, I was born on a Monday!)

Intricate architecture

A local market

Residential building in Yangon

Saint Mary's Cathedral

Taukkyan War Cemetery, which honours the Burmese, Indian and British soldiers killed in Burma during WWII

Quiet passageways

Myanmar's postcard beach

Outside Thandwe Airport (from where it's a 20-min ride to Ngapali Beach)

Clear water and sand of Ngapali Beach

Locals at Ngapali Beach

The completely deserted beach at Thandwe

Ngapali's "postcard beach"

Beautiful blue sea

Bagan's surreal sunsets

Cannot use enough words to describe the beautiful sunrises and sunsets in Myanmar! Especially Bagan where spectacular views of the landscape provide a backdrop - making a surreal, almost painting-like atmosphere!

Sunrise over Bagan

A misty morning

Bagan from a hot air balloon, totally worth the ride!

Sunset, seen from Shwenandaw Pagoda

Waiting horse-carts

Surrealistic landscape!

Check out my other post Waking up amongst pagodas in Bagan!

Waking up amongst pagodas in Bagan

Bagan, in northern Myanmar, looks like a place that has survived through centuries of change. From the moment I stepped into Bagan, I felt like I had gone back to the 12th century, with pagodas hidden among the wild forest land. They are everywhere and there are thousands of them, big and small. Bagan can be seen by car, horse-cart and cycle. I chose the horse (considering the heat!).

First trip to Bagan (May 2013)

Horse-carts and pagodas are a common sight everywhere

Ananda Phaya

Puppets

Mysterious temple!

Beautiful paintings!

View from the breakfast table (pagodas are indeed everywhere!)

A village kitchen

Lacquer ware artists

My favourite pagodas were two offbeat ones that the horse-cart driver took me to - a quiet, almost haunted one and a smaller, deserted one. He was a local, who said he had grown up playing in the pagodas, and he really seemed to know every inch of the land! While getting back in the afternoon, we got caught in a storm. Bagan has loose, red soil, which gets blown about easily by the wind. That and the twigs, insects and leaves attacking the horse, driver and me, forced us to wait out the storm in the sparse forest nearby. It was quite an experience, but we got out of it unharmed, though very wet!

The amazing horse and driver (Koko) who made the trip really amazing!

Climbing up a pagoda to get a splendid view of the landscape

Second trip to Bagan (December 2014)

Check out my other post on Bagan's spectacular landscape and sunsets!