Images: Faces and Places Myanmar # 10 (Click on the image to enlarge)

Bagan has over 3,000 Pagodas and we saw our fair share of them when we visited two tears ago.
This time we were determined to see some of the ones we missed on our last visit, once again we hired a horse and cart for a day.
We were in complete shock to see the number of tourists here, they are over running the place.
On our late night arrival after the 18 hours on the ferry we found ourselves looking for accommodation with most of the other western passengers that were not in a tour group.
Our taxi driver stopped at least ten places only to be told that they were full.
He even started to say that we would all have to go to the Monastery for the night and beg the Monks so we would have a place to stay.
Luck was with us and all of us found a room at the same guest house. The guest house was quite new and well located and the cost was USD30 per night that included breakfast that was severed outside you room.
In the morning we hired our horse and cart with drive ( the horses name was Rose ) and headed out for the day. We visited several pagodas that we missed on our last visit.
The last time we were here we were the only visitors to a pagoda, but, now one has to cue to get inside, then be pestered by hundreds of vendors outside.
Stalls have sprung up every where and a lot of restaurants also along the roads, we even saw the odd furniture shop.
Our day at the pagodas had us visit about six or seven we had not seen before, then stop at a restaurant for lunch. The place did not have one single seat available during the lunch period.
The flies were very bad, but, the staff soon had them under control they brought out candles burning with a large flame to each table, a trick I had not seen before and it worked.
Our time in Myanmar was starting to run out, our plan was to travel by boat further south, the head to one of the beaches in the Bay of Bengal before heading to Yangon to fly out.
The same day we sailed from Mandalay was the day the boat sailed from Bagan to the south and their is only two boats a month with the boat taking 3 days to reach its destination.
So now we had to go to plan B go direct to the beaches, but, that's not how it works one must first travel to Yangon then take another bus to the beach areas.
We spent our second day wandering around the town, before catching a over night bus to Yangon.
When we booked the bus at the bus station, they told us they would pick us up at our guest house, being unable to say the name I showed them our room key tag that had a pattern on it and they understood straight away.
We left Bagan to the hordes of tourists and as we waited to be picked up by the bus a continuous stream of people arrived at the guest house looking for a place to stay only to be told sorry we are full. The photos below were all taken in and around the Bagan area.