Everywhere I went I was confronted by people wanting me to ride in a horse cart, buy a sand painting, or take me to the most important/highest/biggest temple in Bagan. All of these people had good hearts, but they also wanted my money. After awhile, I became a bit jaded and leery of anyone who wanted to "help" me. I was struck by the number of children working on the streets to sell simple drawing that they had made, working in lacquerware shops, or even selling bananas on the side of the roads.
As I traveled down bumpy roads, dirt roads, rocky roads, and even a few no existent roads, I came to really appreciate all of the sleek and smooth roads of Singapore. Not only that, I lived off bottled water and hoped that the water was not tampered with or contaminated. Every vegetable that I ate was boiled and cooked within an inch of its life for fear of water born disease. Fortunately, I survived the roads, water, and vegetables. Yum!
But the most interesting thing to me was the temples. They were not as spectacular on the inside as the tombs I have seen in Egypt or even temples in Cambodia. Yet, the temples of Bagan, when you look at all of them spread out over the vast plains, you are struck by the beauty of the moment. It is truly an impressive site to see such fantastic temples in a place of such extreme poverty. I wonder if temples, like those of Batan, will be able to bring the people of the area a chance at economic freedom.
