planningtravel

I will be in Bagan next month. I will fly to Bagan and fly out from Bagan, I have booked a hotel in Nyaung U. I have three days in Bagan, including the day I fly in (my flight arrives at 7 am.

I do not care to rent a bike for sightseeing, what is the best way to travel around the region? I was thinking of getting a taxi for the day once I arrive in Nyaung U, are there easy to get?

Which are the must see sights? These are the temple/sights I was thinking of seeing:-

Ananada Pahto
Htilominlo Pahto
Pyathnada Paya
Dhammayangyi Pahto
Gawdawpalin Pahto
Shwezigon Paya
Bulethi
Tharabar Gate
Phwa Saw Brick Monestry
Lawkananda
Leimyethra Pahto

Am I missing any must see temples/sights from that list? Is Mt Popa a must see?

I really do not know how to organize my sightseeing schedule in the region and would like some advise.

Thanks in advance.

Kathie

Get yourself a horsecart and driver - the traditional way to visit the temples. This will give you the opportunity to see the temples up close rather than sealed off from them in a car. We saw many dozens of temples, many well off the tourist track. Indeed, on our second visit, our horsecart driver took us to temples within monasteries that have something special - in one case, the only remaining bronze Buddha outside of the museum.

There is nothing wrong with your list, but Bagan is different from Angkor. So we went to temples with remarkable wall paintings, some with amazing plaster carvings. Aside from a few of the larger temples, you will want to see the details. Horsecart drivers are not guides, but they have intimate knowledge of the temples.

CaliforniaLady

Ditto Kathie. My son and I were just discussing our trip, and he said the third day in Bagan was the best when we went to obscure temples off the beaten track. You can only get to those temples via horsecart, as there are no roads.

It's also fun to be in the horsecart. Our horse was beautiful, and each time we stopped, I petted her and thanked her for taking us around.

Be sure and take a flashlight with you to look at the wall paintings.

LancasterLad

It's the 21st Century!

Copied from elsewhere...

"Just back from Bagan (Oct 2013) and would like to report on the electric bicycles that are now available all over the Bagan area. These are a wonderful way to get around the area and the temples. They cost US$8 per day, are absolutely quiet, easy to ride and have a good range. They need to be returned each night for recharging. I rode all over the area every day and never had a problem with running out of charge. Highly recommended."

LancasterLad

There's stacks of useful infoation on Wikitravel...

http://wikitravel.org/en/Bagan

...including good descriptions of all the options for getting around.

CaliforniaLady

LL, you are braver than me to even think about riding around on an electric scooter. Further, the horsecart driver planned out our route all three days, and gave us a bit of history too. He picked us up before sunrise, and the experience of riding in the horsecart in the wee hours of the morning was amazing.

needmorevacation

I took a horse cart around Bagan and highly
Recommend it. I had friends traveling with me who decided to take the e-bikes and one died rather suddenly, and when she jumped on a friends the battery didn't last as long with two riders! Just something to think about I also was taken to a more remote temple where my driver's girlfriend worked and she showed me around, as well as applied a much needed coating of the local sunscreen