The temple strewn plains of Bagan have existed for nearly a thousand years. King Anawrahta who ruled from 1044 to 1077 started the building of temples on this dusty plain, and it continued for hundreds of years.

Ancient texts list 4446 temples in the area but according to a UNESCO survey in 1988, only 2230 remain. Even with the number halved, the sheer density of temples is a marvel to behold.

Ananda Temple

Our ‘Hotel @ Tharabar Gate’ (it’s actually called that…) is opposite one of the most revered temples in Bagan.

Ananda Temple is known as the ‘Westminster Abbey of Bagan’. Shaped like a cross, there is a clear Indian influence to the architecture.

The architects of the temple were eight monks who had travelled widely in Asia. They were asked (and succeeded) to create a temple that provided a cool haven in the heat of Bagan. Once the temple was completed the King had them all killed to ensure the uniqueness.

This is the third such builder killing story I’ve heard in Myanmar – not a great place to mention being an architect…

The four arms of the cross are faced by huge standing statues of Buddha, looking outwards to the four cardinal points of the compass.

The name of the temple is thought to come from the Venerable Ananda, who was Buddha’s first cousin, and also happened to be his personal secretary.

Sunset at Minochantha

Walking back towards the hotel from the Ananda Temple we were waylaid by a young chap on a very clean bicycle. He introduced himself as Deni, aged 12. He was still wearing his school uniform despite it being dusk, but explained that he liked to look smart for his evening job as a tour guide.

Deni suggested we eat in the local restaurant (Star Beans – very good bread and a friendly chef) then wait for the sunset at the small Minochantha stupa group. Despite being less than a hundred metres from the Ananda we had the place to ourselves, apart from a few village children playing with cork parachutes.

Minochantha is quite a simple temple. A raised platform holds an ornate wooden shrine and a few stupas, all guarded by chinthe, the half-lion, half-dragon of Hindu-Buddhist mythology.

From the front looking up it didn’t seem all that great. Once we’d climbed on top of the platform and stood looking towards the rear we got our first view of the scale of the Bagan plain.

Ananda was clearly visible, along with Thatbyinnyu. Despite the platform being quite low, our young guide told us it was possible to see 54 separate structures.

As the type of solid darkness fell that only exists in places with minimal electricity, he carefully led us round to a vantage spot to get an illuminated shot of Ananda.

Whilst we fiddled with cameras he produced his English homework from his satchel. After giving his work a quick check over, he really didn’t need our help and we went our separate ways.

I probably gave him far too much ‘tea money’, but he was great company. Look for him if you’re ever near the Tharabar Gate area.