Bagan Hotel Reviews

We were there in May when it was incredibly hot. Questioned our own sanity once or twice when we were cycling around, but that freedom (as opposed to car or horsecart) is quite priceless.

I would recommend the Mi San restaurant at Bu Paya Junction, Old Bagan. The restaurant has good Burmese, vegetarian, and Chinese food, and the staff fan you the entire time as you eat! The owner is extremely friendly. I would recommend that visitors make an attempt to visit some of the more distant ruins. The area of the Kandawgyi and other shrines in the far north of Nyaung U, for example, has some of the finest mural paintings in all Bagan. The view from Thetkyamuni and other temples in the area over the Ayeyarwadi is the best of all sites, since the ruins are situated on rather high hills very close to the riverbank.

Wholeheartedly recommend the Balloons over Bagan experience. Although its not cheap it is a fantastic experience. Avoid the Green Elephant restaurant in New Bagan, particularly if paying in dollars. We went to both and the food is far superior and cheaper at the Si Thu restaurant next door, and the exchange rate quoted by the Green Elephant was an appalling 750 to the $ compared to the market rate at the time of 880.

On arrival into Bagan airport have USD$10 readily available, in order to pay for the Temple sight''s entry fee. Flight time from Mandalay to Bagan 20mins. Bagan to Yangon 1hr 10mins. There are several ways to explore the temples of Bagan either by taxi, horse cart (4 pax) motorbike or bicycle, all readily available for hire. The scale of the city with 2,000 temples is just amazing, I would quite happiy have stayed for 3-4 nights in order to pace my temple experience with a round a golf, bike ride, shopping for laqueur ware, swim etc. Next time!

Nanda restaurant with it''s puppet show is a good place for dinner. I had Burmese food, and my husband had the boneless fish steaks, nicly prepared and very tasty. The show is included in the price of dinner, which was very reasonable.

Bagan is the key destination in Myanmar, and one should allocate at least two days to see the key sights. Having a driver and a good guide will make the experience more relaxing and meaningful. I also went to Mount Popa and was somewhat disappointed--the site is its main attraction as the temples are not that interesting and one is faced with the annoying presence of aggressive monkeys.

I rented a bike from through the front desk one day it was a very reasonable $3 it was a standard issue Chinese bike, now I''m pretty fit, excercise almost daily, but this bike was torture - even peddling on a flat surface felt like you where climbing Everest. Walking, horse and buggy or car might be a better way to see the Temples! Also take a half day break from seeing temples and go to the market in Nyuang Ou - part food and local produce and part souvenir stuff - it''s was one of the highlights of my visit.

Bagan is certainly one of Asia''s best-kept tourism secrets: the sheer number and scale of the medieval Buddhist temples which are scattered over the area is quite breathtaking. Bicycles are certainly a good option for exploring nearby temples, but those further afield are perhaps better explored by taxi (preferably air-conditioned!). The midday heat during the hot season is quite overbearing. Certainly not a destination for those requiring great luxury or fine dining, but otherwise an unmissable destination for anyone who decides to visit Burma.

Bagan is amazing and we tried to get as close to the ruins as possible. To see the sunrise was 10 minutes from the hotel and was very convenient. We used horse and cart to move around and as such allowed us a more leisurely pace than a bus tour would have. The price was very reasonable for the day and of course is always negotiated before hand. A guide is also a good idea and you can explain exactly what you want from him.

Strongly recommend getting a licensed guide. It totally enhanced our experience. We only had one day to tour Bagan, so we hired a car. It was hot, so the air conditioning helped. We dined at all three of the restaurants on the river in New Bagan. They are tourist-focused restaurants and each has a regular clientel of tour groups. Riverview was the best food. Sunset gardens was the nicest view. And Si Thu was cool b/c they had a marionette show, but the food wasn''t anything special. Our favorite was River View.<br> <br> We also would suggest getting to the market in Nyaung U. It is well worth the visit. It is a bit crowded, but worth while and very different than the markets we went to in Inle Lake and Yangon.

In Bagan do not miss out on sunset from the top of one of the temple. A scene to remember for life.

We have now visited the three great spiritual and archeological sites of Southeast Asia - Luang Prabang, Angkor Wat, and Bagan. We found Bagan to be the most interesting and the most alive. We drove from Bagan to Inle Lake and spent two full days at Inle Lake and found that area to be very interesting. We came back from our trip to Myanmar very opposed to sanctions and believing that sanctions are counterproductive.

Bagan has to be one of the best places to visit in all of Asia - totally fabulous. We liked to get around by horse drawn cart as it gave you freedom and the opportunity to enjoy the silence and be away from the more crowded sites.

We used horse cart #1 to take us around the temples. The driver spoke English and could tell us something about the history. He also recommended good local restaurants and the best place for buying lacquerware. We enjoyed his company and recommend using him for your horse cart tour around Bagan.

We made the decision to travel around by horsecart - great decision!! It slowed life down and made the trip more enjoyable.

We used horse and cart to get around the temples - it is too large to walk around and in May/ June, it is too hot to ride the cycle. Unfortunately, the balloon rides do not operate from May to October. We can recommend the Sarabha (huge portions!) and Nanda restaurants. The Nanda restaurant has a marionette show that is much better than the Mandalay Marionette and Culture Show.

It is a must visit to stay at least 3 or 4 days in Bagan and enjoy the city by bike.....

Bagan is unique and a must for every Asia traveller. Horse cart and bike are excellent ways of travelling around. A pity the balloon is not available in summer. Sunsets were amazing with background of pagodas and temples.

Bagan receives hardly any fanfare when compared with Angkor Wat. But in many respects it is equally as enchanting.

Bagan is an absolute must if you are going to Myanmar. It is awe-inspiring. We enjoyed using the horse and cart drivers who wait outside the hotel to take you around the temples. I would particularly recommend Khin Soe, driver of cart no. 37. <BR><BR> My young children loved the marionette show at Nanda''s restaurant. A half-day trip to Mount Popa was not very impressive but we did enjoy watching a man retrieve oil from the toddy palms and a bullock operate a peanut oil extractor at a station we visited on the way to Mount Popa.