The Shwedagon is one of Buddhism’s most sacred sites and it’s stunning! The immense gilded stupa is surrounded by temples filled with an array of Buddha statues.
There’s a constant buzz of activity as Burmese from all walks of life come here to pray, give offerings and even have their fortune told.
We’re just Western cyclists.
But for the girls, we were foreign, new and exciting!
They wrote down our names and beamed while standing next to us.
Upon arrival, we saw Burmese placing candles around the Botahtaung pagoda.
“Let’s stick around and see what happens,” Paul said.
So happy we did!
It was a privilege to witness the Festival of Lights, it celebrates Buddha’s descent from heaven.
From Bagan, we caught a ride on the local freight boat to Pyay.
It was a leisurely three-day journey.
We just sat on the deck, viewing the scenery and watching everything that happened around us.
In Burma, sidecars are attached to standard bikes.
The trishaws carry everything from goods to passengers. They even make comfy spots for a bit of shut-eye.
Myanmar is one of the most devout Buddhist countries in the world.
Everywhere you look, there’s a Buddha statue to be seen.
We set off in the early morning, passing shops, temples and monks doing their rounds.
That was our favorite time of day before the heat intensified.
By mid-day, all we wanted was a cold drink and some shade.
Waking up to a view over the valley and distant mountains.
During the day Inchuasi swarms with tourists.
But come evening, they all left and we had the island and sunset view to ourselves.
Mt. Sajama wasn’t the only thing to see in the National Park.
Bagan is a jaw-dropping plain full of more than 3,000 temples.
We ended up spending a week there yet only managed to visit a small fraction of them.
The Burr Trail is one of the most scenic roads in Utah, and that’s saying something!
It winds through deep canyons, descends the colorful water pocket fold and finishes at Lake Powell.
Of course we knew that Angkor Wat had been discovered years ago.
But scrambling over the moss-grown stones at Ta Prohm, we felt like reincarnations of Indiana Jones.
In South-East Asia bikes aren’t only used to get from A to B.
They appear in shop windows, parades, and are even painted on garage doors.
