The balloon flight was only the start of our day in Bagan. Back in the hotel it was time to change into our cycling gear again for the final ride of the holiday: a tour of just a few of the thousands of temples that can be visited on the Bagan plain. Although this was to some extent something of an anticlimax after seeing the whole of Bagan spread out below us form the balloon, it was still well worthwhile being able to see some of the structures up close. Only then can you appreciate just how much effort had originally gone into their construction and decoration. Not surprisingly, much of the original architectural and artistic detail has been lost over the centuries due to earthquakes, vandalism and the ravages of time. Nevertheless, there were still some miraculously preserved examples of wall frescoes dating back to the temples' original construction.
After our temple tour, we were treated to a boat ride along the Irrawaddy so that we could view Bagan from that perspective, finally ending up at the jetty near our hotel. Not a particularly inspiring sight it has to be said, compared to the view from the air.
The final activity of the day, prior to the New Years Eve celebrations that were to come later in the evening, was the obligatory trip to view the sunset over the temples of Bagan from the vantage point of another tall temple. This particular spot was clearly on the itinerary of every other tourist in Bagan, as we observed when we climbed up the temples steep steps to join the hundreds of Japanese, Koreans, Germans, etc, gathered there to enjoy the sunset view. Still, not a bad way to end our Bagan temple experience and see out the last rays of 2013.
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