I arrived in Bagan this morning. As the ship docked a small group of young women formed selling T-shirts, post-cards, Longyi pants and other memorabilia. We hadn’t even left the boat and they were already bargaining. We hadn’t seen this in the other less travelled villages.
The girls had learned a few English phrases that they all said. “What is your name?”, “My names is ……. remember me, don’t by elsewhere”, “You think about it, you think about it later!”.
I learned long ago the best way to handle the aggressive sales people were to pretend they weren’t there. Any sort of acknowledgement encouraged them. I noticed on one day that the woman outside of the boat were also at our first stop and then our next one. They were being picked up on motorcycles and following the tour bus.
Bagan had at one point over 3,500 Stupas. Today Unesco lists 2,500 stupas. It is hard to throw a rock without hitting one.
We headed out to Tan-Kyi-Tuang Temple by jeep. The Pagoda overlooks Bagan. unfortunately, it was a little hazy so although I got to see the landscape, it was too hazy to make out the thousands of temples.
Upon return to the boat, the locals performed an Elephant Dance. The Dance was enterating but I have to admit, the local music was a bit piercing for my tastes. At any rtae, it was entertaining to watch the entire production – even the town’s people who came to see it.
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