Traveling to Myanmar? Find Bagan hotels

This is my first time in Myanmar and my very first hotel stay in Bagan. I must say I’m very delighted and satisfied with the top notch service and best experience I had here at Ananda Bagan Hotel. Upon completion of booking with Agoda, they provide confirmation of booking promptly in less than 20 mins. Not only that, they also response in reasonable time on my following request including pick up service from the bus station. Lucky to say they got me a very good driver which I then hire to be my private driver in Bagan for one day (Toyota Premio car plate number CC-2211, I couldn’t recall the driver name). One of the reasons to ask for pick up service is to avoid having to negotiate cutthroat prices with taxi driver that will come to you the moment you got off the bus. As I went to Bagan from Yangon by bus, I arrive in the morning around 5:40am. My driver picked me up and I arrived at the hotel just after 6am, without I asking, they proceed to let me check in to my room with no extra charges. Ananda Bagan Hotel deserve a BIG THUMB UP 👍🏻 for this. Next up, the room is really spacious and clean! I’m not sure how long Ananda Bagan Hotel has been around, but everything in the room looks pretty new to me. Unlike usual practice where only drinking waters are on the house, Ananda Bagan Hotel provides two bottles of drinking water (1 liters each), two cans of coke and two cans of Myanmar beer, all on the house. Moments after settling myself in the room, apart from the usual welcome drink and wet towel which I received at the reception lobby, they send to my room a complimentary fruits (papaya, watermelon and honeydew), another shown of warm gesture by Ananda Bagan Hotel that catches my heart. On the breakfast included with my stay, they provide a decent mixed on their buffet lines and a numbers of local and western choices on the a-la-carte menu. Foods are fresh and quite tasty in general. On the second day of my stay, I rented one e-bike from Ananda Bagan Hotel, everythin

We arrived very early in the morning, harrowed by a sleepness night on a bus from Yangon. When we arrived at the hotel, the staff at Bagan Thande were very accommodating, allowing us to check in early so we could get a nap in before exploring Bagan. They were equally friendly and helpful when we had problems with our e-bike towards the end of a day of exploring. Though I'm sure there are plenty of nice hotels in Bagan, the lovely pool, large leafy restaurant overlooking the Irrawaddy, and friendly staff at Bagan Thande made our stay extremely pleasant. For people that intend to spend the middle of the day ducking back to their hotel to recharge from temple hopping, this is a great place to hang out.

Great choice. First thing - swimming pool! With over 40 celsius degrees in Bagan it was a real salvation during exploration of the area (we were taking a break at noon to avoid the hottest sun) as well as during hot evenings. What more to say - there is a bar so what can be better after a long, very hot day than sitting at the pool with a pint of a cold beer? Second - E-Bikes, as you might be aware foreigners are not allowed to rent motorbikes in Bagan area. Cycling is not the best option with these temperatures and renting taxis/horse-cars for me personally is the worst option there as you will not get off the main roads. Zfreeti Hotel came up with the best option possible so far - Electronic Bikes. You can rent them for not much more then normal bikes. You can easily ride it as a couple. However be careful as the power will not last for a whole day. But hey... you have a pool and you can come back after few hours to recharge your E-Bike. Great solution! 3rd thing that I would like to recommend this hotel for is breakfast - big, tasty, served early morning so you can get a lot of energy for a long day and set off around 6am for exploring the area. OK... few words regarding hotel itself - very clean, very good WiFi (as per Myanmar standards), fridge, AC, free water, hairdryer (hmmm who needs it with these temperatures?), generally well equipped bathroom. Staff - very friendly and helpful! We had really big problems with getting out of Bagan due to water festival. Ladies at the reception checked for us all the possibilities and finally found some seats in a bus to Mandalay! Location - hotel is based out of the centre of Nyuang-U however there is plenty of small restaurants very close by. Summary - it's worth every penny as I don't think you will find any other hotel in Bagan area with swimming pool! It will give you a relief from the heat. 2 minutes walk from bus station. Highly recommended! I would definitely stay there back again! .

We really enjoyed our stay at this new hotel in Bagan. The beds and pillows were comfortable and the linens nicely cleaned. The staff were extremely helpful with all needs. The breakfast was very good - with some variety with regard to both Western and Asian breakfasts. Although, the hotel did not offer dinner, they were very helpful in allowing us to order from multiple restaurants in town. They picked up the food and nicely presented it on the roof top dining area. Overall, great value for money in Myanmar.

amazing bagan hotel was just that for me. after a long day of traveling and sore muscles, i quickly slipped into the ambiance of the hotel. from the fine dining, nearby market and cultural bonanza offered by the hotel and surrounding areas, i was impressed with the very nice staff and their willingness and initiative to comply with my hotel stay wish list. the business center was a nice touch, just in case one must reconnect with the outside world. myanmar is an old (as in ancient) world destination in an emerging and newly repopular travel venue. amazing bagan hotel helps make the transition from where ever one travels from to bagan in an easy and comfortable process. after a day of bike touring; bicycle compliments of the hotel, i returned to a swim in the expansive and well landscaped pool area complete with outside bar and attending pool staff. although not an avid golfer, i walked the fairways and greens that were on par with any u.s. or any other good private club. each fairway and green, as well as sandtrap or rough were meticulously maintained by a caring and knowledgeable course staff. and the challenging course design would please any skilled golfer. my room was spacious, comfortable and the decor was in tune with the rich history of bagan. the hotel construction and facade were a tempting invitation to survey the rest of the rolling grounds and offerings. a personal touch was evident at every turn. i am retired and from the resort hotel business in the u.s. and europe and was pleasantly satisfied with the amazing bagan hotel offerings. for me, a good stay and good value all the way around.

Wonderful. The staff greated us promptly with a delicious cold lemongrass drink and cold towel in there lovely lobby area while they efficiently checked us in and took care of our baggage and escorted us to our room and toured the grounds. Very cordial staff. Their English is decent for basic communication. The room was nice good air conditioning, lay out, quiet, private. The Myanmar massage and reflexology was great at their spa. The pool ground was nice, pretty architecture and lay out, not too crowded during the hot days in bagan though some of the guests had young children that were a bit loud, crying and throwing tantrums with parents that didn't console them or ameliorate the problem. In addition, some guests brought some of their own loud obnoxious music that was blasting on the common pool ground area which was uncourteous and ruined the ambiance for other guests. It would have been nice if the staff had them turn it off.one other nuisance were guests smoking on the pool ground. This is not enjoyable. I would like to see them have a no smoking policy on the pool ground area as it is not fair for other guests to breath second hand smoke when laying out at the poolside trying to enjoy their vacation. There should be a designated area for smoking. Overall if we were to go back to bagan we would stay there again. The location can't be beat. Very close to walking to some good local restaurants ( the moon) and easy to explore the ancient pagodas, stupas and temples as it is next door to the electric moped shop which we rented for two days with our guide wagi ( best guide ever! The movie star if bagan. Everyone there knows him!!!) to drive around and get places that cars can't get to or that would be bumpy, uncomfortable and difficult to get to. Overall tharabar gate was a great little escape for us in the old city of bagan. It keep a nice authentic feel of being away from it all. It was not crowded with large tour groups which some of the other hotels are

One of my headaches before choosing my hotel in Bagan was where to stay - Nyaung-U, Old Bagan or New Bagan? Now that I have been there, I think Nyaung-U was an excellent choice as it is near to the bus terminal, the airport and the ferry terminal. There are tour agencies nearby, and a street full of touristy restaurants 10 mins' walk away. And in Nyaung-U, Royal Bagan Hotel is a superb choice. I love the large clean room and bathroom and comfortable bed. Everything was excellent, in my opinion.

A wonderful 2 nights at this Hotel in Bagan,staff were tremendously friendly and the whole stay was very comfortable. A well appointee room around lush gardens. They have a pigeon problem with these dirty birds in the food court area ( which was worrying) and Our balcony was unuseable due to pigeon shit!! They teally eyed to get a handle on this. Also they had a problem with their ground water,so when you filled the bath it was very brown!!! However,highly recommended. A lovely place to stay and explore the delights of Bagan ...be sure to rent an electric Bike,the best way to get around and only $8.00 per day

We just returned from a 2-night stay at the Blue Bird Hotel in Bagan. The hotel is situated on the edge of New Bagan, and is perfectly situated for those people who want to tour the area. This hotel will suit people of all ages, with or without children. The rooms are spacious and clean and the beds and linens are equal to the best hotels. We've lived in Thailand for the last 10 years know this isn't always the case with Asian hotels where beds can sometimes be so hard that sleeping is difficult for those not used to sleeping on tile floors. The food is fantastic and we ate at the hotel both nights. The menu isn't extensive, but is sufficiently varied that there will be something for everyone. Prices are very reasonable and the wines are actually cheap considering the quality. Do not leave unless you've tried the bottle gourd soup and the chocolate soufflé. We ordered a bottle of wine each night and ate 3 course meals for $50 to $60. The staff is really exceptional and it is clear that the owners have made pleasing guests the ultimate priority. Each day when we returned to the hotel someone was there to hand us a cool towel and cold glass of water. Phillipe, the owner, happened to be there during our stay and it was obvious that he's a professional and tuned to the needs of his guests. My wife casually mentioned something that she liked the day of our arrival and this was presented to us as a gift on our departure. That's paying attention and it speaks to the way this hotel is run in all aspects. We couldn't recommend it more. As for sightseeing in Bagan, we rented two small electric scooters from a local couple immediately outside our hotel and spent several hours each day exploring. The roads are dusty, slightly pot-holed and some of the back roads can be a bit challenging for novice riders like ourselves, but we would recommend this mode of travel for anyone that is comfortable on two wheels (we're pushing 60). The young or fit can also rent ped

Pros: It was very nice to come home to this clean and comfortable room at the end if each day. The hotel has nice decor, swimming pool and is right near ancient temples. The staff are very helpful and friendly. Breakfast was decent - small selection of Myanmar dishes, plus bread, cereals, yoghurt plus an a la carte choice of eggs or pancakes. Cons: There was a strange smell coming from the plumbing in the bathroom. The hotel is on the edge of New Bagan, a bit far from restaurants in town. I rented an e-bike for the day, but the hotel did not allow me to keep the bike until 8pm so I could have dinner first. I had to return the bike just after sunset. So I recommend that you rent your e-bike from the shop across the road. It is the same price, better bikes and they will let you return the bike after dinner.

This wad my favorite stay of all the places I stayed in Myanmar. I had a lot of questions and requests and the wonderful staff helped me with them all. I booked my onward bus ticket anf they arranged hotel pick up, booked a half day tour to Mount Popa, got a great recommendation on where to watch sunrise etc. The hotel area is beautiful and I liked the atmosphere a lot. Room was cosy and came with a bathtub and aircon. Wifi was the best I had during my trip in Myanmar, worked all the time. Pool wad a little cold but I enjoyed cooling down after a lot of sightseeing. Breakfast buffet was nice with a choice of Western and Asian food, I especially loved the baked tomatoes. The puppet theatre was a fun additon to a nice dinner, the puppets are all hand made by the performer himself and very beautiful. I have to say a big thank you for the great staff, from the reception to the staff at the restaurant to the people taking care of the e-bikes. You were all simply wonderful! As for location, the are in Bagan is huge and therefore there's a lot to see. I enjoyed riding my e-bike so the distance to Old Bagan was no problem for me. I went to Old Bagan for the sunrise once, took me a little over 20 minutes by E-Bike I guess. It was a little cold in the morning (winter) but there was next to no traffic and it's easy to find the main road leading to Old Bagan. There's a really good spot to watch the sunrise about a 5min ride from the hotel which the staff recommended to me. All of this made for my trip's highlight

Heritage Bagan Hotel is a beautiful new hotel with all the amenities you can wish for: a large outdoor pool, a well equipped gym and a wonderful spa area. The buildings are adapted to the architecture of the nearby archeological field of Bagan and imbedded in beautiful, well maintained gardens. The rooms are spacious and the interior design shows references to the cultural heritage of the region. They are well equipped and well maintained: the housekeeping crew is doing a very good job. The staff is friendly, mindful and accomodating. There are some language barriers but they can be overcome with goodwill and a little bit of patience. The reception crew however is just excellent. There was no question they could not answer and no request they would not fullfill. My special thank this time goes to Mrs Nilar Than. It was a real pleasure meeting you.

Bagan resort review Arrived Bagan resort at 545am via overnight coach from yangon. We were greeted by the friendly staff and  the staff attended us, gave us early check in as the room are vacant. Check in with a breeze. Room are clean, spacious and well maintained. Comfy king size bed and air-conditioner is very cool. It is pretty hot at 34 degree (in the noon time). View was magnificient from the pool facing irrawaddy river~ The staff brought us in the room and brief us through the room amenties. To our surprise, all drinks in the fridge are complimentary by the resort!! Yes, it is free for all beverages such as two cans of myanmar beers, two can of coke, two cans of sprit and two bottles of mineral water!! :) Resort breakfast was yummy!! You can request for E-bike to explore around bagan pagoda from the resort at only 5000 kyats for 4 hours! You can also book sunset boat ride from the resort, price should be reasonable. :) As we have to check out early at 4am due to morning

After having stayed the previous night in a nearby hotel that held similar ratings we were absolutely delighted to be spending a further two nights at this hotel. There may be other hotels in the area that come with a five star rating but why waste your money. Everything here is five star. Front staff are warm and welcoming, housekeeping do a fantastic job and nothing is too much trouble. Even though my wife is Burmese, language is not an issue for me either. Staff speak good English, same can be said for most places in Bagan, much better than Yangon. This hotel has a gorgeous pool and worth a visit in the early evening, peaceful and a great way to end the day. Haven’t had breakfast here yet, saving that for tomorrow, but I’m certain it will be of the same standard. Do also take a visit to the 7 Sisters restaurant, the massamam curry is to die for. So to is their Myanmar Golden Curry, the chef is fantastic. EBikes can be arranged very easily and are cheap. Bon Voyage. Thank you for making our stay a memorable one.

Our stay could not have been better! From our balcony we had a panoramic view of the pagodas; Kumudara even has a private monastery for viewing the sunset. It is easy to get around by taxi , e-bike or horse cart; the staff will make reservations for whatever you want - private tours, local guides, very inexpensive massages in your room. Complementary breakfast is extensive, both Western and Burmese items. There is a beautiful outdoor patio area for dining or just relaxing with a drink where we enjoyed cocktails and Myanmar beer while playing Cribbage. We found it easy, fun and cheap ($8/day) to get around by e-bike which we rented right from the reservation desk. Old Bagan, New Bagan, and all the pagodas in between we saw by bike. The staff is just as amazing as the beautiful views; we were really sad to say goodbye. This is a special place.

We spent a really great stay at Umbra Hotel in Bagan. The hotel is near from the main Pagodas and it is very convenient for sunrise and sunset. They have a nice restaurant around the pool, and anyway, you also have plenty nearby on the street. I would recommend Queen's restaurant that offers gorgeous curry combo. In umbra, you have different range of rooms. I believe we were in one of the simplier ones but it was OK. The hot water was running well, it was clean. They were changing the towels twice a day and they were preparing your bed for the night every evening. The staff is very helpful and nice to have fresh fruit juices around the swimming pool. The breakfast buffet is very nice and you are warmly welcome. The environment is nice. You have a pagoda at the back of the garden. Another thing, use the balloon service offered at the lobby of the hotel (Golden Eagle Ballooning). They are the best. You are first in the air (on time for the sunrise), they are very nice, the take off and landing is so smooth. A real pleasure. And champagne at the arrival!! I really recommend it. It worth the price. Gorgeous to do it above Bagan. It's worthy to stay in Bagan few days and appreciate the peaceful atmosphere and the rythme based on the sun.

Married couple spent 10 days traveling throughout Myanmar. Stayed in some very nice places but Bagan Lodge was definitely the best experience. Traveled during low season and there were maybe 10 other people max staying there during our 3 day/night stay. Pools (2 of them) are perfect. Villa was very spacious and comfortable with huge bathroom for two. Spa facility and treatment were wonderful, and staff was great! Location a few minute bike ride to old and new Bagan also perfect. Shout out to Tin Tin, who was very helpful with tips and so friendly and filled with interesting information about Bagan, she having grown up there. We looked forward to our conversations with Tin Tin each night at dinner. We travel constantly for work and pleasure, and this definitely rated as one of our best experiences in south east Asia and in general.

We stayed 6 nights in this very clean, relaxing and affordable hotel. And didn’t want to leave. As you can read in other reviews, the hotel is a bit dated, but apart from that, this was the best place we stayed in Myanmar. The rooms, with their own veranda, are big and very clean. The breakfast menu (some days we had a nice buffet) seemed maybe a bit limited, but the food was good and the portions big. The hotel is located outside of the busier area, and a 10 minute walk from the restaurants in Nyaung Oo. The clean pool and well kept garden were a treat after a day exploring the Bagan area (on an ebike, for rent at the reception). We even spend a couple of days relaxing at the pool. And the staff was really, really nice. Everybody was extremely friendly and helpfull. We highly recommend this place and would definitely stay here again!

Lovely hotel close within walking distance to Old Bagan. The staff are very professional, very friendly - always greeted with a good morning/afternoon/evening. Assisted many times with taxi's and the bus back to Mandalay. The rooms were splendid, very clean when we arrived first day and were cleaned on request. Showers and air conditioning were fine, no issues at all. I ate in the restaurant on 3 separate occasions and chatted with the stand in manager, who told me a bit of history surrounding the hotel and his journey into the hospitality business. The food was great by the way. Overall a very satisfying stay and would certainly stay agin if i returned to Bagan. For your info the fare into New Bagan is about £2.20p and takes about 20 minutes.

I had a wonderful stay at the At Bagan Hotel and definitely recommend a stay there and if I come back would stay there again. Even though the hotel wasn't completely finished everything looked very nice and worked well. The italian staff and the local staff were very helpful and welcoming. They helped me arrange the bus to Kalaw, the e-bike that I rented for a day and contacted some places I needed for the rest of my stay in Myanmar. The rooms were really nice and the bed comfortable; I had a very nice (and needed) shower. And the wifi was excellent!!! I was able to skype well with my family for the first time during the trip. Great, great value for money!!!

Shwe Na Di Guest House was clean, spacious, and convenient. It's really close to Shwezigon Pagoda, which means further away from all the main pagoda and monastery ruins, but you'll probably rent a bicycle/electric bike regardless of where you stay and it's not too far then. The breakfast was good (make sure to ask for the samosas because they don't serve them except by request), and they're generous with seconds so don't hesitate to ask for more (when I asked if I could get pineapple instead of watermelon, the server just brought me a plate of pineapple in addition). My only two real issues are these: 1. Accommodations in Bagan are certainly inflated from elsewhere in Myanmar (the most I paid anywhere during my visit), and while I think that Shwe Na Di's price is fairly competitive, other people definitely paid less than I did (I guess I just booked at the wrong time?), but I also saw some kind of haggling going down in the lobby the morning I was leaving, and had I known I could do that, I wouldn't have booked in advance. It was low season though, so maybe you can't during peak tourism. 2. I wanted to visit Mount Popa, and I read on several sites that locals will deny the existence of the (more cheaply priced) bus option, and when I asked the man at the reception desk, he worded it almost exactly as I was told it would be online. Even after telling him that I'd read online that people would lie about the bus, he insisted there was no bus and the only way was by shared taxi (which could be booked through the hotel at almost three times the price as what I was told a bus would cost). Now, maybe that would have happened at any hotel I stayed at, but the attitude of that employee towards me continued to be short and curt for the duration of my stay. The rest of the staff was extremely nice and welcoming though.

Really nice and helpful staff that spoke good English and the hotel facilities are very clean and has a cosy feel to it. Although its a bit off from the center of Bagan, they have a ready-available transportation service that is very affordable and as a young woman, I felt very safe being able to ride around with the hotel's own drivers. Bagan is divided into three fairly distributed main areas and when visiting the temples you need to drive around the whole area anyways, so the location of the hotel really does not matter that much. And you have one of the best views from Myanmar Han - its right infront of one of the mountain/hillsides with a temple on top. The environment of the hotel is really nice, really loved the atmosphere.

Me and my friend stayed here for one night. Right after we arrived in Bagan, after taking an overnight bus from Yangon, we took the sunrise tour being offered by the taxis in the bus station. Though we get the same price as what the hotel offers, I suggest you book from this hotel in advance. It took some time for us to negotiate with the taxi driver to arrange the sunrise tour for us at a reasonable price. And believe me, better to do the sunrise the moment you arrived (I mean of course when you arrived un Bagan before sunrise haha). You will witness one of the best sunrise in your lifetime. Hehe. Rooms are clean, location is great. But we love the most about this hotel, is the buffet breakfast! Really great food! Promise! They also arrange tours. But since we enjoyed the company of the taxi driver who took us for sunrise, we also hire him to do temple hopping and Mt Popa. But anyway, you can book as well from this hotel, no worries on that. They also arrange our bus going to Mandalay where they drop us on the doorsteps of our hotel in Mandalay. We don't regret staying in this hotel. I really love their food. We will definitely stay here again! Highly recommended!

This is a very nice hotel if you have limited budget. The rooftop area is nice both day and night. The staff are very friendly and helpful. There are a lot of books relating to Myanmar at first floor, with complimentary drinks and biscuits on the ground floor. They are now installing a lift which address most of the concern on climbing up to rooftop or 3rd floor room for elderly person. But the stairs are fine for me. You can basically arrange for all your plans in Bagan via their helpful staff, with friendly e-bike rental just directly opposite. No fancy facilities and need ride to more happening places, but at least it is quiet and can sleep soundly at night.

I truly enjoyed my stay here. It's at the start of New Bagan, so a bit out of the way, but only a 5-10 minute walk into New Bagan (which isn't big anyway). I stayed here for 7 nights, rented an e-bike (not from in front the hotel though, there are better ones to get in New Bagan) and then the location is great. Close to some very nice temples and it's easy to drive everywhere. Bagan is one of the most amazing places I've been and this hotel complements this feeling nicely. Get up early for a sunrise, drive around a bit and get back around midday to lounge around the pool a while before getting out again for the sunset. This was basicly my schedule for the whole week :) Very nice to relax at the pool at the hottest times of the day. The rooms are very nice too, get a room around the pool and you can use the poolwifi. Big rooms, with a tv, nice beds and a good bathroom. Special mention to the staff of this hotel. They are extremely friendly and service minded. They even insist of making your toast at breakfast, filling up your tea or coffee and making eggs. Also when sitting around the pool you can see staff cleaning the floors and area multiple times a day. They are truly amazing and very hard working. I will surely go back to Bagan and will be staying here again.

Pro: staff is adorable and they will do their best to make you feel very welcome. You can hire electric bicicles from them. Tv has an english movies channel which is you when you want to spend one quiet abd chill night (as wifi not working). Location is in new bagan and near to many restaurants and small shops. Hotel is quite new and very clean. Cons: wifi is not working but well it is a bit the same problem everywhere in bagan except if you stay in a fancy hotel. The room did have windows but they cannot be opened but it is a small detail. To sum up: good value for money, we recommend this place!

we had great days in bagan because of the incredible bagan lotus hotel. it's out of bagan or nyaung u but it is the best plce. great outdoor area with pool and fitness studio next to it.there's a bar with happy hours as well! our room was perfect with comfy beds, aircon, room service, drinks in the fridge, super nice bathroom with nice toilet articles like shampoo, lotion, ...The staff was lovely and soo helpful. the breakfast was delicious and a lot because it is a buffet with coffe, juice, bread, fruit, ric, soup and anything you want to have. we rented an e-scooter twice which was great to explore the bagan temples and old bagan, new bagan and nyaung u. perfect stay, want to go back if we come back one day! they even booked our bus to yangon!

We stayed here for 2 nights. We arrived very early on the night bus (6am) and the staff found us a room within half an hour. We were extremely grateful for this as we had been travelling all night. They have a lovely pool which we relaxed by as well as a spa. We didn't use the spa so can't comment but it looked lovely. They will provide you with pool towels and arrange tours/motorbikes etc. The only negative point was that we organised the hiring of an escooter though the hotel. We paid a little more than if you organised it yourself but we had been told it was more reliable. Sadly, this wasn't the case. Our escooter ran out of battery after only a couple of hours use and we had to push it back from Old Bagan. The staff weren't very apologetic and told us we must have been using it for longer than 8 hours - we hadn't! We eventually agreed to pay a slightly lower rate for the bike and everyone was happy. Overall, a good stay and I would stay again

aung mingalar have ticked most of the boxes with this hotel - and i think they offer good value for all the facilities they provide (we did stay in one of the more expensive doubles). the rooms are fitted to a high standard and the staff are very pleasant. the only downside that i can think of is that there is a monk who chants (on a microphone) throughout the night at one of the pagodas situated near the hotel. i didn't find this too much of a problem but my girlfriend struggled to sleep with all the noise. my biggest tip for bagan would be to rent a bicycle as soon as you can. get out of tourist strip and go temple hunting in old bagan (turn left out of aung mingular). bicycles are the best way as you can go offroad and at your own pace. we found it easy and safe although do try and start riding back before it gets dark - unless you've got strong torches!