Today we had another temple day ahead of us. After yesterday’s bus based trip a more active approach was called for today – with bikes being our mean of transport for the day. The ride itself was fairly leisurely only covering short distances – overall over the full day certainly not more than 20km – and with little ups and downs.

We kicked it off at the hotel and were soon enough heading North along the main road to the center of Nyaung U; first stopping at another cave temple (photography not permitted here, so no photos) and then on to the impressive Shwezigon Pagoda.

From the pagoda we continued to Nyaung U’s local market, where we had a look around and got introduced to the local products; this is also, where I got my longyi, which became a trusted piece of clothing later on in the trip.

Back on the bikes, we were now heading West towards Old Bagan, with Ananda Temple being our destination. Ananda Temple (named after Buddha’s first cousin and personal secretary) dates back to the late 11th / early 12th century and is one of the biggest in Bagan. The temple features four big Buddha statues, each facing outward from the temple into different directions; further Buddha figurines and frescoes are shown in the passageways of the temple.

It was now time for lunch; from the temple it was a quick two minute drive to a (vegetarian) restaurant just down the road.

After lunch it was back onto the bikes and up the road to some stupas and smaller temples near the bigger Khaymingha temple. From here is was back to the hotel – or for the more adventurous (which included myself) a self-guided continuation of the bike ride. I continued for another hour or so – though mainly for the purpose of riding a bike and just enjoying the temple- / stupa-rich surroundings.