Sunrise at Bagan

It took me 10 years to come back to Myanmar again. Since my first trip to Myanmar in 2003, I have wanted to return to Bagan one day, the lovely ancient city filled with stupas (pagodas). It is said that in Old Bagan, if you close your eyes and point in any direction, you will find yourself pointing at a stupa when you open your eyes. How many stupas are there in Bagan? More than 3,000 stupas are concentrated within a small area of 104 square kilometres, though in its grander days between the 11th to 13th century, it is said to contain up to 10,000 religious monuments, of which 4,000 are stupas.

Bagan's charm is irresistible, but I have a seemingly frivalous reason as to why I want to come back, to make up for my less than satisfactory sunrise and sunset shoots back then.

 

Eagerly I waited for that day. I envisaged a perfect shooting session, having reminded the tour agent I must get to the perfect site early, get a good angle and I thought to myself, the only thing that could possibly fail me is the weather. Well, life is unpredictable...

The night before the much awaited sunrise, I accidentally jammed my camera while changing lens under dim lighting! Much as I tried to unscrew the lens, I just couldn't get it out. 

The following morning, we woke up early as scheduled and set off to Shwesandaw Stupa, known for its great view due to its height. My camera did not miraculously recover in the morning. So the only thing I could do was to mindfully watch as the sun rose, but not exactly... I alternated between borrowing my friend's camera and my handphone to shoot, while trying not to overly deprive her of shooting and yet hoping that I didn't miss capturing much of the sight. 

It gradually turned from darkness to orange hue and then a warm glow. 

 Next to make the sky lines are the hot air balloons, which certainly did not fly in the skies of Bagan in 2003.

And this was where we climbed up to get the great view.

Perhaps 10 years later, I will return again.