Round Bagan, Cycling, Bagan

If you look closely enough at the photo, you will see my preferred method of travel around the ancient site of Bagan. It's parked just outside the tmeple.

I am a middle aged man, not particularly fit any more, but I found cycling to be easy (it's all relatively flat) and a very pleasurable way of visiting the sites. Bicycles are available from just about any guesthouse / hotel and only cost a couple of dollars a day. They are normally of the Indian "Hero" variety, and most come with a basket or rear luggage holder. A word of warning though. None of the bikes I saw came equipped with a pump (problematic when you get a slow puncture) and generally there will be only one set of brakes working. This is not so much of a problem as you'll not want to get up that much speed anyway

Don't worry about bringing a padlock, as they all come with an inbuilt lock on the back wheel - just don't forget to unlock it before you ride off!.

Many of the guest houses have bikes which you can hire for the day and use to easily see the major sites at Bagan. I spent three days biking around the old city. The roads are all dirt and dust. It's really the best an only way to get around.

Make sure you have a good bike with descent tire pressure. If you get a flat tyre, look for the bike tyre repair men along the road who will patch it up and reinflate your tyre.

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Most hotels are renting bicycle, about 1000 Kyats per day, before you rent them have a look if everthing is working well.

unfortunately, the road are not as flat as the one on the pix.