Bagan Sunset

While there's no better way to start the day in Bagan than watching the sun rise over the temples, there is no better way to end the day than to watch the sun set over the temples. There's usually a warm haze from the day's heat settling across the plane. Despite the desert conditions at this time of the year, the land is surprisingly green.

From the summit of any pagoda, the event begins as long shadows fall across the land. Soon, the color of the landscape turns to gold.

Once the sun sets behind the mountains in the Chin district, the tourists make their way to their buses, horse-carts and bicycles and head back to their lodgings for dinner. I like to stick around a bit and wait for the encore. The sky glows alight and from the ground the silhouette of the temples provides for extraordinary images.