A glimpse at the impressive frescoes at Upali Thein
“Where are you from?” asked a pagoda watchman at Upali Thein. “I’m from the Philippines!” I replied slightly exasperated already from answering this question just on the third day in Myanmar or is it because I haven’t slept yet. “Oh Philip-Pines!” most people would pronounce it with the last syllable sounding similar to a “Pine” Tree. I proceeded to admire the beautiful frescoes inside this small ordination hall then suddenly the watchman spoke “My friend, maybe you can help me change this money, I can’t use them here” I looked back and saw in his hand a few peso bills amounting to 850 pesos. Surprised, I asked “Where did you get those?”
Gubyauknge Buddha and ceiling paintings
The plains of Bagan stretch to 16 square miles and with about 2217 pagodas that can be visited, it can be overwhelming which ones to start out with. Knowing the layout of the land first would really help. There are three main areas in Bagan – the Nyaung U, the Budget and Transportation area with a few pagodas, the Old Bagan where a lot of magnificent pagodas that can easily be explored by foot and bike, the New Bagan houses the high end accommodations and a few temples. But what is really exciting is travelling the roads between these places where the pagodas are scattered out there. Coming from Shwezigon Paya from Nyaung U, we made our way to Old Bagan visiting the pagodas of the North Plain road.
Impressive stuccos at Gubyauknge
The road between Nyaung U and Old Bagan is a paved two way street enough for two large vehicles to pass on opposite directions. The sidewalk is a dirt path but pleasantly lined with trees and occasional small pagodas randomly popping out of the scene. The morning sees a lot of natives on their bikes, and fellow travellers on horse carts. About 15 minutes ride, Mime navigated Chune to turn left into a dirt path to the pagoda called Gubyauknge Paya.
The vendor centered Htilominlo Pahto
“Mingalaba! Where are you from?” A vendor with paintings greeted me as I entered the small pagoda but with very high ceiling and impressive paintings but obviously some pieces stolen or broken apart. The vendor directed me to the stairway leading to the top platform and asked me to look at his wares later. The views there were okay but I was more impressed with the stuccos on the wall despite being damaged. Since the 1975 6.5 magnitude earthquake, a lot of pagodas here were damaged reducing the numbers from 4400+ to 2217. I looked at the vendor’s paintings when I got down, while nice, I politely begged off.
The carved reliefs at the doorways
About 10 minute’s ride, we arrived at the impressive Htilominlo Pahto with its 150 feet high temple. Pahto usually refers to hallow temples or shrines with either an entrance or 4 entrances in different sides. But as I entered the entrance I saw the grounds behind the perimeter wall replete with vendors. As I was clipping my slippers on my bag, a guy about his 20s, wearing a longyi greeted me again with the usual “Where are you from?” I indulged in his attempt to chitchat while I arrange my things. Then he asked “Sir, can you help me! Can you tell me how much are these worth?” I was surprised to see him holding a few peso bills. I counted and it was around P850 which is about US20 or 15,000 kyat. “Can you change it? We can’t use it here” I was hesitant and told him I’ll think about it and proceeded to explore the temple and I admired the carved reliefs at the doorway.
One of the Buddhas at Htilominlo Pahto
The miniscule Upali Thein was a really short ride opposite Htilominlo Pahto. Thein is referred to sacred ordination halls. This thein is often locked to preserve what’s left of its frescoes. For me the water color mural here is one of the most impressive I’ve seen in Bagan, unfortunately photography inside wasn’t allowed. I did have an accidental shot before he warned me. And those peso bills popped up again which I thought was something fishy. The reason that it came from a tourist friend wasn’t reliable enough to think about the authenticity of the bills.
The small Upali Thein houses impressive frescoes
Finally we arrived at probably one of the must-see Payas in Bagan, the Ananda Pahto. At the entrance gate, while I was again clipping my slippers to my bag and getting my camera out, the same thing happened to me as Htilominlo. A different guy greeted and offered if I could change his P850 pesos to dollar or kyat. I said I’m sorry I can’t and just proceeded inside the pahto. Do these guys know each other? Are they tailing me and informing each other of my whereabouts? Are those Peso bills even real? I never got the chance to inspect it to avoid giving a wrong signal. Unfortunately for them, I needed all the kyat and dollars I have so I couldn’t change their money.
Awesome site! Ang galing ng mga tips mo for traveling Myanmar. Hoping to travel there in the next few days, sana matuloy. Any advice on traveling from Inle Lake to Yangon?
Many thanks Steph! I haven’t tried going straight to yangon from Inle Lake since I went to Mandalay after but there are buses going directly and these are big comfortable ones as I have seen. Best to book these buses at the hotels
hi steph,
you can book buses from your guest house in inle i think it was 16,000 kyats last time, i don’t know if it has changed. i stayed in bright hotel, not exactly a hotel, but the very helpful staff there helped me get a spot on the last bus back to yangon. to give you a background, i was there right before the water festival of thingyan (their biggest festival). buses will not be travelling during that period thus the rush to get a spot on a bus to yangon. i was delighted that they managed to secure a spot for me despite the scarcity.
unlike the ride from yangon to bagan, the bus from taunggyi was quite modern and very comfortable. it does however pass through some spectacular mountain passes, lots of zigzag roads. so if you are prone to motion sickness, take your bonamine with you.
the bus passes by nyaungshwe around lunch time so be there before that. keep in mind that you need to take transport out of nyaungshwe itself so allocate enough time for that. inle lake was a magical place, boat ride on it is a must. as ferdz has mentioned, bring more money than you think you will need and you will be fine.
i wish you well on your journey!
Ei Jas! thanks for the additional info
Malamang scam nga yun. Buti na lang di ka pumayag. I also had two incidents of scams sa Myanmar but I guess kahit saan naman meron niyan so ingat na lang tayong mga travelers.
True! Myanmar isn’t exclusive to scams, any other place has them naman, we just have to be cautious and wary.
I encountered that as well in Bagan around 2 years ago. But the amount they asked me to change wasn’t as big — mostly 20 or 50 peso bills so not large. It’s not fake naman, and don’t think it’s a scam. Had no problems using it when I returned to the Philippines.
How these people got the PHP is beyond me, however. Maybe they asked for these as souvenir from past visitors?
Interesting The Wanderer! that might be possible, we can never tell. I know there are a few Filipinos visiting Bagan but I do know there are a lot of them working in Yangon. Scam or not, people should be cautious of this things. If they can help great but it’s a good thing these Burmese didn’t impose themselves.
[...] Bagan: A Money Scam and Pagodas on the Road to Old Bagan [...]
it would be more helpful if you include your expenses in your travels to give us ideas on the trips’ budgets..
Thanks Jenn! I usually give the budget on the summary post for the series