Carefree in Bagan, Myanmar

I arrived in Nyuang Nu  airport greeted by the $15 archeological fee. I instantly feel like this place is a dead tourist trap. I wished I had stayed in Yangon or Golden Rock and am filled disappointment, which is not the way to feel when you arrive to see Bagan, don't be fooled by this fee. I tell the driver of the taxi I want a good hotel, abd he takes me to a lower end hotel in a dusty part of town. I was thinking this would be a good hotel so I check in. I later come to find out there are more romantic and beautiful areas of Nyuang Nu, Bagan, or even Old Bagan  to stay with no traffic noise and less dust. After checking in, I walked around Nyuang Nu for a few hours, had a nice vegetarian dinner. I went into a really dusty jewelry store with no good finds. I got a traditional Myanmar massage, which ended up being some untrained person simply kneeding my legs with her bony hands. Nevertheless, after climbing around on Golden Rock I was completely exhausted, and my legs were so sore I could barely walk.

The next day, I woke up and had breakfast. I started my adventure on electric bicycle around Bagan, and circled the main loop. I was having an absolutely boring time due to exhaustion from the previous trek to Golden Rock, and I had just finished a 11 day detox cleanse where I basically hadn't eaten any solid foods for 7 days. So my energy wasn't high.  I'm so tired I just want to regenerate, but I don't want to miss the time here either. I want to go deeply into Bagan because it's so well preserved, but the magic also seems to be sold to tourists and I'm not impressed. I feel like waiting for sunset to get photos, or needing a tour guide to take me to the best places. My dream was to explore and get lost, wandering from temple to temple.  I felt overwhelmed and not knowing where to go. I had to just go slow. I had time if I want it. The e-bike was totally uncomfortable. I need rest and meditation but I'm drinking a latte. After riding around for several hours I became impressed. I pressed some gold leaf on the hearts of the buddha's in the Ananda temple. I rode around marveling at the brick temple construction. I walked through halls and halls of Buddhist temple art. I squeezed through cooridors and felt the nail polish of fingernails bigger than my head. I asked the locals which temples were the most beautiful and followed the map. The insides of the temples were even more beautiful than I had imagined.

I headed to MahaBodhi temple, and then to a small village and some of the more off the beaten path temples. It finally happened that I got lost wandering through the temples. I rode the e-bike through sand trails, fell over a few times, and discovered abandoned temples. Finally, I was lost in the dry zone of Myanmar exploring the temples of Bagan . I was completely childish driving on roads recklessly and falling over. I went to one temple for sunset. I stayed until no one was left and enjoyed the solitude. I headed back alone in the dark and passed a lake. The dusty sandy roads were mostly all mine, amist the creosote, acacias and cacti it's free alone... I went to a village and bought a few of the gongs that they're selling. I was also attracted to the star sapphires and star rubies that they have for sale, although I'm afraid they're all fakes.