Holiday in Myanmar - Bagan
Bagan was the capital from the 11th to 13th centuries and the plains around Bagan are dotted with thousands of stupas and temples.
Bagan sits on the banks of the Irrawaddy River and a sunset cruise is a really nice way to end a day after exploring temples by car, foot or horse cart.
Our guide in Bagan was Aung - he was one of the best guides we have experienced anywhere in the world - very knowledgable about the history of the temples, very passionate about his people and his country - but also flexible to change our itinerary.
Knowing my sister and I are keen photographers - he arranged to take us to the Buddhist temple early to see the monks go out to collect alms from locals. I have experienced this numerous times in Luang Prabang with a couple hundred other tourists but in Bagan it was just the 2 of us, our guide and driver.
It was a magical experience - the Burmese monks start a lot younger, some of the boys no more than 6 years old and dressed in their claret or burgundy robes (again different from Laos, Cambodia or Thailand.)