Bagan Temples
 

We're making a stop in Bagan during 9 days in Myanmar in March - half of our SE Asia trip - and don't know if we should spend 3 or 4 days there. We are planning to spend 2 days in Yangon and 2 at Inle Lake if we spend 4 in Bagan. We are very interested in the temples of course and my boyfriend is an avid photographer and wants to focus on some photography there. While some people say 3 days are enough, my boyfriend thinks we should take the extra 4th day there. I am non-committal about it but am just looking for some good advice because we also don't want to get bored and miss out on other opportunities. So here we are.

Debra

You have 9 days - 10 nights? Counting nights makes it clearer how much time you have somewhere. It takes three nights somewhere to get two full days.

I could spend endless days in Bagan, but it doesn't appeal to everyone. The temples are all quite different from each other. I recommend you hire a horsecars to visit the temples - the traditional way to visit. If you decide you don't need that much time at the temples, you could go to Mt. Popa for a day. You will definitely need three full days at Bagan - 4 nights. But I think you need anotYher night at Inle Lake, as you need two full days there - three nights. You want one day on the lake to go to Sankar, at the southern part of the lake and another day to visit Buddhist sites on the main lake, like InDien. If you have the time, a stop at Kakku on the way from the airport at HeHo to your Inle hotel makes sense.

I take it you are flying in and out of Yangon. If possible, I recommend you fly immediately to your first destination and save your two nights in Yangon for the end of your trip, as you will want to be back in Yangon the day before your flight out.

Enjoy this remarkable country!

The Temples of Bagan covers a huge area, some roads are made up, but most are just rough, dusty, and uncomfortable. I'd try the horsetaxi [or whatever they're called] once, but I think the novelty might soon wear off.

An a/c car might not be quite as romantic, but it'll be a lot more comfortable, and you'll cover a lot more ground a lot quicker. A local guide would probably be handy too.

Thank you both. I think we'll go for the 4 days there, add a day to Inle Lake (for 3) and spend two days in Yangon. We were going to try to add one more location but with the travel days this will do it. We have nine days all together - 10 nights.

Debra

I think you plan is a good one. Enjoy this wonderful part of the world!