Brilliant Bagan, Myanmar, Bagan, Myanmar

The amazing temples of Bagan crept up on us out of the dense vegetation that lined the route from the Nyaung Oo Airport to our hotel. It was an extra-ordinary sight - myriad temples rising above a lush green plain. This plain nestles in a bend of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) river. An astounding 4,450 temples were built by the kings of Bagan between 1057 and 1287 and around half of them survive today - a legacy of the Buddhist belief that to build a temple was to earn merit. There were temples everywhere we looked, even in the garden of our hotel the Bagan Hotel River View.

Despite its name and its position on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River the bedrooms do not have a view of the river but the open-air restaurant occupies a terrace overlooking the water and is a delightful place to eat. Blocks of rooms are haphazardly scattered around the gardens but the signposting is virtually non-existent and there is no logic regarding the numbering of these buildings. I struggled to find my way around and on one occasion sought the help of a fellow guest who confessed that he was also lost so we found a member of staff who showed us the way. Thereafter I always followed the same path using the swimming pool as my reference point. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).