Bagan
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Bagan founded as early as in 849 on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy river about 500 km north of Yangon. Bagan was the capital of today Myanmar, whose area of dominance had roughly the extent of the present Burmese state. The 10th century archaeological site is considered one of the richest and most amazing site in Asia, comparable to the sites of worldwide importance such as Jerusalem, and Rome etc. Remain virtually un-known. this once splendid and glorious capital of the First Myanmar Empire, is now a 42 square km area dotted with thousands of ancient pagodas, stupas, shrines, ordination halls and monuments.

It is one of the richest archaeological site in Southeast Asia with more than 13,000 temples once stood and there are some 2200 monuments still standing and some 2000 in ruins. Time, man and nature, particularly earthquakes, have taken their toll but the most important monuments have been restored to their original grandeur. Some were destroyed by invaders, others by earthquake and decay. Bagan's peak time coincided with Myanmar's architectural peak time in 1044 with King Anawratha's ascension to the throne. Only one year after King Anawratha's conversion to Buddhism in 1056 by a Mon monk, Shin Arahan, he went to war against the Mon town of Thaton to gain possession of holy Buddhist scripts, the Tripitaka. The holy Buddhist scripts were not the only trophies gained from the war the Burmese army took some 30,000 Mons prisoners of war to Bagan, among them numerous craftsmen and artisans, who in following decades not only enriched, but even determined, Bagan's culture. The Pagodas of the following period were almost exclusively built in Mon style. In 1287 hordes of Mongolian horsemen under Kublai Khan conquered Bagan.

The towns, at least the wooden, secular buildings, were mostly burnt down. Soon after, the realm of Bagan disintegrated into many, smaller kingdoms and fiefdoms. In 1975 a strong earthquake damaged and destroyed many smaller temples and even a number of large and massively built temples and pagodas were harmed. Bagan is accessible by air from Yangon, Mandalay or Heho (Taunggyi) in an hour or less, can also be reached by road from Yangon, a distance of around 683 km. From Mandalay and Taunggyi, distances of around 320 km in other cases, travel by road takes approximately 7 hour. From Mandalay the 12-14 hour cruise down the Ayeyarwady is very pleasant and rewarding. Apart from these normal transport there are more luxury cruise service like Road to Mandalay and the RV Pan Daw ply regularly between these two ancient capitals, Mandalay and Bagan.
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How to get to Bagan
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It takes about one hour and twenty minutes to fly from Yangon to Bagan. There are daily flights to Bagan from Yangon, and regular flights from Mandalay, which take only 20 minutes. By overland, it takes 12 hours from Yangon and 7 hours from Mandalay by Coach. There is a regular train between Bagan and Mandalay too. The newly constructed railway between Mandalay and Bagan was unveiled in September, 1996. Express trains from Yangon to Mandalay stop at Thazi, from where it is accessible to Bagan by a 3-hour drive. There is also a double-decker steamer service between Mandalay and Bagan and the cruises " the Road to Mandalay" operated by E & O Express, RV Pandaw, and Irrawaddy Princess.
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The road to Bagan
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Although this region is part of the dry zone and the most arid part the country with in-significant annual rainfall, it is fertile enough for rice and other crops. In contrast to other parts of the dry zone, this area has been irrigated since Bagan Anawrahta founded the first Myanmar Empire. Villagers walk along with loads of goods. Small groves of toddy palm trees are present in the near distance, some toddy climbers are climbing them to harvest juice to produce an alcoholic beverage.

As you approach further the surroundings become drier and parched. Water becomes less visible, Htanaung trees now line the road almost exclusively with neem trees as reinforcement in certain places. Typical dry zone crops like maize, chilies, pulses, sesame, onions and groundnuts replace much of the paddy plants seen earlier on the journey. Clouds of dust rise from the bullock cart tracks beside the road. There are some cattle market along the road in an open space with over one hundred cattle and two to three hundred people milling around on the dusty earth floor. Meikhtila - where the Mandalay-Yangon road intersects the Bagan-Taunggyi road. The landscape remains brown and parched, sandy land still sparsely covered with cacti, shrubs and thorny bushes. Eucalyptus and lead trees continue to line the roadside. Htanaung, Neem, Tamarind, Cotton and toddy palm, characteristic dry zone trees are a constant feature. Visitors frequently see a group of women sit under a huge shade some distance from their village, busy spinning cotton. Toddy groves are now a permanent fixture beside the road, larger than those sighted before reaching Meikhtila. Toddy shacks lie amongst the groves, temporary abodes for climbers collecting toddy juice. Cooking Jaggery is major cottage industry.

As you approach Kyaukbadaung the terrain becomes uneven, the road rises and falls slightly, there are a few twists and turns, small sandy reddish earth dunes appear on both sides of the road. Away to the northwest, 10km northeast of Kyaukpadaung, Mt. Popa an extinct volcano, the highest landmark in the central dry zone, rises 1,518 m. Established as National Parks, the Popa Mountain Park is now verdant and green with a rich flora especially of medicinal plants. It is the center for Nat worship in the shrine of the Mahagiri Nats, where pilgrims flock annually for the Festival of Spirits held in the month of Nayon (May / June). The road now heads northwest towards Nyaung Oo, 30 miles away. The road runs through two sandy streambeds, each over 200 feet wide. Low hills, denuded of vegetation lie to the south, with white and told pagodas on their summits. Bagan is just three miles away.