Journeying to Bagan

If you like to travel quite a bit, you may be able to relate to feeling this illusive yet seductive state of mind, where you feel in harmony with your surroundings, knowing you are in exactly the right place for the moment in time you find yourself there. For all of us, Bagan, Myanmar is one of those magical places that achieves this state of being. Our week in this enchanted once-kingdom, while much too short, proved unforgettable and left us longing for more.

Clearly there is an aura or primordial power that draws people and their spirituality here, as the entire landscape is almost exclusively dedicated to the pursuit of Buddhism and enlightenment. When I say there are over two thousand temples, stupas and pagodas, it seems to understate just how immense the horizon line is littered with seemingly nothing BUT these ancient structures that might as well have been constructed by an alien race for an unknown purpose. Luckily, however, the recorded history for this  part of the world goes back 1,000 years, so we actually know exactly why Bagan became the most dense collection of Buddhist temples in the world.

 

A long time ago, in a place far far away, there was a wealthy kingdom with a king who was a particularly fervent Buddhist. Spurred on by a rivalry and a passion for the new, the entire kingdom embraced this form of worship, which called for both large public and smaller private places to meditate, make offerings and follow well-worn paths of tradition. Like sunbirds spurring a track home housing boom in sunny Florida, Bagan’s citizens fueled a building frenzy over a 250 year period. Over 10,000 religious structures were built during this period, and Bagan was one of the world’s foremost religious, academic, art and literature centers. By the late 1200’s, the Mongols repeated attempts to conquer the Pagan Empire won out, and Bagan faded into oblivion, with only about 2,200 structures remaining today.

Amazingly, so many of the wonderful temples and buildings we wandered to had no one else in them. With such a multitude of temples, it was relatively easy to avoid any tour groups and experience the architecture, religious art and quiet spirituality in solitude. Well, maybe solitude is the wrong word given our 5 children, but you get the idea! This is a place where you can feel like an explorer and not get bored for a long time, with so many great sights and lots of wonderful people who make you feel very welcome.

Between a hellish set of decades of war, and a devastating earthquake in the 1970s, Bagan’s temples have endured the test of time in recent history. With peace giving way to an increasingly large floodgate of tourism, Bagan will have to work harder than ever to protect the legacy of the kingdom that created such a special place. While the unfettered access to these ancient treasures makes the travel to Bagan surreal, we know the window needs to close relatively fast to protect the wonders while retaining access for future generations. Our advice? Go NOW! Because while it feels like Myanmar is 50 years behind places like Thailand, it may only take 10 years to catch up to the developing world’s race to grow and modernize.