I'm banging around Bagan for a few days, check it out.

[terry57]

Here is the Boss man, cant remember his name, Elvis or something like that.
Great dude, banged us around all day from 10.00AM till 5.00PM for $20. Had a brilliant day with this guy, real casual like, stop when we wanted to. Really nice stuff.
Slung him a nice tip for not pissing us around.

[natalie8]

Great threead, T57. You should work for Burma Tourism. Greenage if I can.

[terry57]

Wright then, its jump in the rig and lets start heading towards the temples. Considering I'm a new age guy and well tuned into Female feelings it was me in the front and her in the back. Off we go. Good innit.

[terry57]

Great thread, T57. You should work for Burma Tourism.

Thanks Nat.

That wont work simply because I call it as I see it. I tell it through my eyes and don't pander to the masses.

Totally independent.

[natalie8]

Well, you've sold me! And I couldn't green you cuz I greened you on your first Burma thread. Love the horse and cart, BTW.

[terry57]

Down the main street and the dudes working there push cart.

[terry57]

Bagan ain't Bangkok so its only a few KLM out of town and one is in the sticks. Temples are cranking up already.Notice the lack of traffic, this is the peak of the high season. Cant last for too much longer can it ??

[terry57]

This vehicle is Eons old and transports tourists to there early morning Balloon flight. Beautiful machine and worthy of being in a museum .

[Thetyim]

^
CMP Truck, circa 1943

(Might even be a Ford CMP built in Oz)

[Dillinger]

Great stuff terrence, as per all your piccy threads. Cheers for sharing

[gusG]

Terry, best you take a sickie from work and get on with this thread.

I'm sure nothing will burn down, until you get back.

[Cujo]

Terry, were there any obvious signs of military control, security on the streets?

[terry57]

^
None at all, the people where carrying on with there business same as everywhere else, hardly seen a police patrol but did see a few jeeps getting around with army personal packing AK47's. They seemed to be just going about there business though.

The golden rule for the locals is not to discus politics or criticize the Military Junta in public as they will be dragged away for interrogation. This is there problem still as they are not free in a Democratic sense to express there views on the Government but seem to be free in all other ways.

Very important when visiting to never talk Politics to them in Public as you place them in Danger if a Government Official is in Ear shot.

Things are changing though as Sat TV and Internet are a new thing to them and that's why the majority of normal people are ignorant to whats actually going on in the outside world. They had zero contact in the past.

Hence why I say they have no Idea whats about to happen when the tourist invasion kicks in.Its fantastic at the moment with the people having a sense of innocence about them.

I imagine Thailand would of been the same in the Sixties before the Vietnam war bought the invasion of US troops to there shores on R & R.

The world spread about how fantastic Thailand was and here it is today.

[terry57]

OK, Bagan is all about the Temples spread over the plains but I cant go posting lots of pics of those as the thread will end up boring as bat shit. As I said before you need to see this with your own eyes to take it in so I'll just post up a few to give you an idea what its all about.

[Bobcock]

At last a fucking temple.....

I cant go posting lots of pics as those as the thread will end up boring as bat shit.

Bollocks....some of us really are here for the temples and more importantly photographs of them.....

[terry57]

They start about 5 KLM out of town and just keep on going, its nuts really. Anyway our man has taken us to this large one that you can climb up onto and look out over the plain. Bloody awesome in real life.The best time to do the viewing is dawn and dusk but I don't do Dawn simply because when my day of touring is done I want to bang down so nice cold beers but we where there for Dusk which was quite amazing really. The early morning balloon flight would be mind blowing but I'll never make that one. National Geographic produced a Doco on the Balloon flight this year. I'm yet to see it.Many different viewing areas around which are visited at different times of the day.

[terry57]

This is a sand painting of what all the fuss is about and what one could actually see if you went up in the balloon on the early morning flight. Be brilliant really.

[Bobcock]

Isn't there also a hill that allows you a good view over the area?

[terry57]

At last a fucking temple.....

Some of us really are here for the temples and more importantly photographs of them.....

Oh shit, yes Bobby I believe you are here for the Temples.

I'd get run off TeakDoor if I filled a thread with a shit load of Temples and Pictures of Buddha.

[terry57]

When you enter the Airport there's a booth where you pay $10 for a ticket that gets you into the Archeological zone, Just cough the money up and job done for your trip.
It goes back into restoring the Temples and provides work for the locals so its OK.

[terry57]

Your $10 bucks goes to these guys who make bricks by manual labor out on the plains. Jesus, they had a full on factory happening out here using a few shovels a mixer and a mold.

[the dogcatcher]

^ Great pics.
Think they might like an English person to work on that sign though.

[terry57]

One guy digging out the clay, another dude carries it and another one mixing. No sick leave here that's for sure.

[terry57]

At the end of the process they end up with a massive wedge of bricks all knocked out with minimal use of a machine. In the Background is the Irrawaddy river and another nasty Temple hanging around to the side.

[terry57]

Isn't there also a hill that allows you a good view over the area?

There's no hill, the area is dead flat. There are only a few select larger Temples that they allow the tourists to climb to get the Views.

All others are off limit to minimize damage. At the End of the day we went to the largest one for viewing and I have some nice pics from there. Post them up at the end of this thread.