Jeff Hopkins
Just another...observer
All,
I'm starting to consider tour options for next year and one of my thoughts is Myanmar, since Bagan is definitely a place I've wanted to see for a while. I'm getting to the point in my life where trying to organize a trip on my own is less exciting than having someone do the legwork for me. What can I say - I'm lazy! Doing a full guided birding tour to all the key sites in Myanmar can also be damned expensive as a single traveller. But based on previous group tours, I'm concerned that the birding tour companies won't spend enough time at Bagan to do it justice.
For example, I did a tour to Cambodia a few years ago that visited Angkor and we spent all of 5 hours within the Angkor complex in 2½ days based in Siem Riep (fortunately I'd been before on a non-birding trip). Given the cost and difficulty of getting back to SE Asia, I wouldn't want that to happen in Bagan.
Most of the birding tours seem to spend only two nights there, but the actual amount of daylight spent in Bagan varies from 1 day to 2 days. And at least half of one day is occupied by a river trip. So assuming that all of the remaining daylight is spent in the temple complex, that leaves anywhere from ½ day to 1½ days (at best) at the archeological site.
Is that enough time in Bagan? Should I do Bagan independently and tack it onto a bigger birding tour elswhere in SE Asia? Or should I do the birding tour and tack on a couple extra tourist days on my own in Bagan?
Any thoughts from those who've been there would be great.
TIA,
Jeff
I'm starting to consider tour options for next year and one of my thoughts is Myanmar, since Bagan is definitely a place I've wanted to see for a while. I'm getting to the point in my life where trying to organize a trip on my own is less exciting than having someone do the legwork for me. What can I say - I'm lazy! Doing a full guided birding tour to all the key sites in Myanmar can also be damned expensive as a single traveller. But based on previous group tours, I'm concerned that the birding tour companies won't spend enough time at Bagan to do it justice.
For example, I did a tour to Cambodia a few years ago that visited Angkor and we spent all of 5 hours within the Angkor complex in 2½ days based in Siem Riep (fortunately I'd been before on a non-birding trip). Given the cost and difficulty of getting back to SE Asia, I wouldn't want that to happen in Bagan.
Most of the birding tours seem to spend only two nights there, but the actual amount of daylight spent in Bagan varies from 1 day to 2 days. And at least half of one day is occupied by a river trip. So assuming that all of the remaining daylight is spent in the temple complex, that leaves anywhere from ½ day to 1½ days (at best) at the archeological site.
Is that enough time in Bagan? Should I do Bagan independently and tack it onto a bigger birding tour elswhere in SE Asia? Or should I do the birding tour and tack on a couple extra tourist days on my own in Bagan?
Any thoughts from those who've been there would be great.
TIA,
Jeff
