Melo Villareal
The Breathtaking Sunset Experience in Bagan
It was already noon time when we arrived at The Hotel @ Tharabar Gate – our official residence during our two-night stay in Bagan, Myanmar. We met the hotel’s general manager and other officers upon arrival, including their Pinay Executive Chef Jana Garcia. After exchanging pleasantries, the General Manager hosted sumptuous lunch then we headed to our designated rooms to freshen up and prepare for our afternoon activity.
The rest of the guys decided to bike around the historic town, and since I’m not a biker, I just hired a horse cart that brought me to some temples and pagodas with Shwesandaw Pagoda as the final stop, just in time for the fabulous sunset viewing.
Bagan is not only popular for its pagodas and stupas that sport a look covered with golden sikaras, wood carvings, exotic cotton trees, and an arid landscape. This old Kingdom is also popular for its orangey sunset that continues to gain the attention of tourists from different parts of the globe.
I don’t know if you will be surprised or inspired if you saw the sunset viewing area when I arrived. The Pagoda was surrounded by souvenir peddlers and more than a dozen Buses and Horse Carts, making the area dustier and noisy. I was quite disappointed, but I guess that’s what happens if a tourist attraction becomes a tourist destination.
To prepare for the sunset viewing, I climbed up to the 3rd level of this precipitous temple with loads of other photographers and tourists who aim to capture the best sunset shot. Reaching the third level was a bit of a struggle due to the narrow and steep staircase; good thing the temperature was already bearable, but it was still a little bit humid.
Sunset can be viewed from Shwesandaw Pagoda, which provides visitors a magnificent platform to see the sunset. The pagoda contains a series of five terraces, topped with a cylindrical stupa, which has a bejeweled umbrella. The pagoda was built by King Anawrahta in 1057 and once contained terra cotta tiles depicting scenes from the Jataka.
If you don’t want to climb, you can also take sunset photos at ground level to get the sky and use the pagodas as a perfect dark foreground.
A glimpse of the sunset will motivate anyone to take photographs, and there is no chance of anyone getting tired of seeing the photos of sunsets taken in Bagan. The setting sun and the pagodas act as a counterweight to each other, and the composition offers an incredible balance to it. The entire sunset image is more than just romantic; it also hides a pleasing harmony in it.
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Read:
- The Morning Has Just Bagan!
- Top 15 Best Things To Do In Bagan, Myanmar
- Myanmar Ancient City, Bagan Named UNESCO World Heritage Site
