Saturday, February 21: After I meet up with my driver, we begin the long drive back to Bagan. Along the way, we pass this shrine, a kind of deserted amusement park, that offers some nice views of Mount Popa.
Looking back at Mt. Popa from a shrine along the way
entrance to a roadside shrine
My driver waits by the car as I wander around taking pictures. Not another soul is here, so it feels as if I have this whole exotic world to myself.
elephant at the shrine
nats
I’m glad to get some views of Mount Popa as I’m leaving it behind, although I’m sadly facing into the sun for pictures.
Mount Popa from a distance
Buddha and Mount Popa
elephant
elephant and nat
offering prayers
I don’t stay here long as my driver is waiting. We drive some distance and stop briefly in this town where I end up buying some strawberries and an orange soda. I am thirsty and my throat is dry from all the dust, so the orange soda is a welcome relief. It’s about 1:20 in the afternoon and it will likely be another hour before we get to Bagan. I’m hungry for lunch really, but I don’t see any restaurants and I’d really like to eat someplace in New Bagan before going out to explore on this, my last day in Bagan.
market in a town between Mount Popa and Bagan
market
market
market
market in a small town
market along the way
strawberries
Burmese ladies selling strawberries
As we’re driving back, we see these ladies carrying bundles of sticks along the road. I stop to take pictures, giving them some money for allowing me to take their photos.
ladies carrying bundles of sticks
Burmese ladies at work
Burmese ladies
By the time we arrive back in New Bagan, it’s about 2:15. As soon as I arrive at my hotel, I rent an e-bike from the front desk and take off to explore the last bits of this ancient place that I’ve come to love.
rice paddies & papayas 
Well I wasn’t expecting strawberries!
Me either, Gilly! They were a welcome treat for my parched throat!
I’ll have some please 🙂 🙂 Silly me- I was worrying about the white paint on the elephant- until I realised it wasn’t real but a sculpture! Love the Buddha shot with Mount Popa in the background, Cathy. I say it again- strange place!
Haha, that’s funny you thought the elephant was a real one painted white, Jo! It was a very strange place; I agree wholeheartedly!
So much delicious fruit. Do you have any problem eating the strawberries unwashed?
I usually don’t like to eat any unwashed fruit, Pauline, but I was so hungry and wanted something juicy because my throat was parched, that I ate them without washing them. I didn’t have any problems, luckily. 🙂
Must be good to be home and not have to worry about those things now
That’s for sure, Pauline, although I still have wanderlust! 🙂
Once a gypsy, always a gypsy Cathy… 🙂
That’s for sure!