FollowTheLeBarons: This Must Be The Place

The sunrise atop a temple was certainly an unforgettable moment.

Mysterious, fascinating and charming -- that's Bagan for you.

From the 9th to 13th centuries, over 10,000 temples were built on the plains that were known as The Kingdom of Pagan. Due to earthquake damage, only about 2,200 of those temples remain today.

We were fortunate enough to be able to climb to the top of some of the pagodas before Myanmar completely bans temple climbing in its efforts to become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Understandably so, the climb up and seating area is a bit narrow, and many of the pagodas were crumbling in areas or already in stages of repair. Some tourists also have a negative impact on the land and experience, and are quite disrespectful. I was fuming when a few people were smoking on top of the temple and when a drone was buzzing above our heads while watching the sunrise.

We rented an electronic bike everyday for 5,000 Kyat, which is $3.65 USD and Kiel rode all around Bagan, with me on the back of course (I think there's a GoPro video clip of me trying to drive that thing). Bagan is basically sectioned into three towns; Nyaung-U, Old Bagan and New Bagan (We stayed in New Bagan), and nothing but a lot of dirt roads, paved roads on the main streets, and open air restaurants and homes.

The Burmese people are some of, if not the friendliest people we've met on this entire trip. They seemed genuinely curious and excited to talk to us, without a hidden agenda. From the two little boys who jumped up and down in excitement after they were able give us directions on a map; the group of teenagers who eventually cracked smiles and conversed with us; and the older man who shook my hand and asked me questions, they were all so interested and smiley.

We did come across a few touts at the temples who followed us around for a bit, but for some reason they didn't seem as annoying as those in Vietnam. They'd smile and say, "You buy not now, but maybe later?...Okay, see you later alligator." Or I would try and diffuse the situation a bit by asking them questions about themselves and they'd happily answer.

Whenever a local asked us where we were from, we would tell them The United States and every single time they'd respond with, "Obama!" Many were also confused that I was from the US, and would try and figure out just how that could be. My favorite was when one of the girls shouted, "Miss America!" to try and grab my attention.

Despite the lack of wifi, random power outages, and a few cold showers, our time in Bagan was simply magical. It's truly a hidden treasure and I only hope Myanmar doesn't become too corrupted by tourism in the coming years.

It started raining on my lunch from the leaky roof, so I had to finish it on the other side of the table. The owner was kind enough to catch the water with a pot. haha