E-biking in Bagan

Possibly my favourite photo ever... sunrise over Bagan.

When asked to picture Myanmar, most people will think of Bagan: endless stupas puncturing the horizon as far as the eye can see, hot air balloons hanging majestically in the sky. It is Myanmar's main tourist sight and most hyped up attraction.

Normally I decry big tourists sights as overrated, over crowded and annoying but not this time... Bagan was AMAZING! Magical, mystical and ancient, everything it said on the label!

First balloon of the morning takes flight over Bagan.

Ric and I hired 'ebikes' for our two days sightseeing in Bagan. We had little idea of what ebikes entailed before renting them and were surprised to find that they looked and felt quite similar to motorised scooters. 

Following Ric's accident in India in 2013 we swore never to ride scooters again and have fastidiously avoided them during our travels through Asia. Understandably, we were a little hesitant to set off on these new intimidating ebikes. An ebike is an electric scooter that charges via mains electricty, it has pedals like a regular bicycle which can be used to recharge the battery in case of emergency. They have a top speed of about 18mph. 

We weren't taking any chances on these ebikes and insisted on helmets, even though there wasn't a single other ebike user in the town wearing one. As Ric drove off ahead of me the ebike shop owner tapped me on the shoulder and advised "you can go a little faster you know." 

We soon got the hang of whizzing around Bagan on our little ebikes and had an exhilarating time. Although we did get a few laughs from the locals as we trundled by wearing our helmets, on our pink bikes, travelling at the same speed as pensioners on mobility scooters!

Ric nervously getting back on a pseudo-scooter.

On our second day of ebike fun the divine powers that be intervened and sent us a loud and clear message that we really aren't destined to ride motorised bikes. 

A loud popping sound brought our excursion to a premature end and we had to wait at the side of the road for a man to come along and fix it. Not only had I popped the inner tube, the entire tyre was torn. Fortunately the repairs only cost me $10 and an hour of my time and we were back on our way, no casualties this time. 

As testament to the kindness of the Burmese people, while we waited at the roadside for our repair fellow to arrive, several people stopped to ask if we were ok, many of them stopping to chat to us and offering us the use of their mobile phones. Dozens of tourists passed us and not a single one stopped to see if we were ok.

Disaster. Note that the battery pack is tied to the bike with bungee rope... it's no wonder the tyre popped really.

We zipped around Bagan on our bikes for two days, checking out any temples that took our fancy as we passed, climbing up this one, going inside that one, it was fun and the temples were stunning. 

The view over the town from on top of the temples is simply mind blowing, especially at sunrise. There are thousands upon thousands of stupas and temples in every direction, some over 900 years old. 

On our final evening we took a luxurious sunset boat cruise on the Ayarwaddy River. We arrived at the riverside to a secluded, lush garden where we were given unlimited free tea, coffee, fruit and nuts and were told to relax for as long as we liked. Once we were ready, we were lead to our own longtail boat and asked if we would like a cold beer (we would). We spent the next 90 minutes lounging in our deck chairs in the glow of the setting sun, floating gently down the river. All for just $12/£7.20

Enjoying life.

We Stayed At...
Innwa Hotel: expensive at $45 a night but so worth it.