Bagan Temples are CLOSING... This is Why! (Myanmar HONEST Review) 🇲🇲
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- Опубліковано 18 лис 2019
- The iconic Bagan temples in Myanmar are a must see for any world traveller. But what is Bagan REALLY like to visit in 2020?
The experience of exploring the ruined temples is not what it used to be. Climbing temples to find rooftop views is becoming a thing of the past, with most temples now locked up and restricted to tourists.
But can you still find temples in Bagan with rooftop viewpoints? And should you STILL visit Bagan? We spent 3 days exploring the plains to find out.
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MESSAGE FROM 2021: During my time in Myanmar, I saw plenty of amazing sights, but there was one constant: the people. Always smiling, always kind and always welcoming. I’ve never known hospitality like it in all of my travels… But these kind people are currently being denied basic rights by an evil military junta who refuse to recognise democracy. Protesters are being detained and everyone is under a full internet blackout. I stand with the people of Myanmar against this oppression 🇲🇲
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don't climb on the temples and pagodas....
@@osmo21 everyone was climbing on temples I'm Burmese I know
Thank you ...come visit again when military dogs grovement over...
As Cambodian and a fellow southeast Asian I am quite surprised that tourists could climb up temples’ roofs. Allowing tourists climbing to the ancient temple’s rooftops is a big no no at least in my country. It is mainly for cultural reason. Not only that our heritage is fragile, the higher parts of a temple is sacred. The fact that tourists could do that in Bagan is rather generous of the locals.
One thing i have to say. It’s a temple/pagoda to us. Not something that we would just “ climb”, please dont be offended. I honestly wanna climb those for amazing view or experience but i would save that urge to climb for the maintenance of these historic sites so that it can be available to many future generations to observe and worship Bagan. We dont want it to disappear.
One of the reason is that one of the tourist girl fell and died by doing yoga pose handstand to shoot photo on the rooftop of minor pagoda in Bagan. That news became hot in Myanmar during 2016 or 17
And some of the tourist camped and slept on rooftop of pagodas.
One day I will must visit Bagan temples.ur videos inspired me to visit Myanmar.love u both.Love from Bangladesh😍😍
as a Buddhist I really respect this place.thank u for ur videos.
Wow, thank you! I hope you get to Myanmar one day!
Before 🙂
Aren’t you from Myanmar? your name is kinda look like Myanmar name tho
WE HIT 4000 SUBS, WOOO! 🎉Thanks so much all of your support! Can we hit 5000 before the new year??? I hope you enjoy this video about a very special place. Have you been to Bagan - did you find any temple rooftops? 🇲🇲
Yeah. As a local, I was wondering why there are many news of tourists falling off the pagodas. Now I found out why. You guys like climbing up to dangerous places. Also, I think I heard a brick cracking while you're climbing up the wall.
Thank
Ah, Bagan 😍 I'll always cherish it as one of the most magical places I've ever been privileged to experience. I count myself stupidly lucky for having amazing sunrises and sunsets for all 3 days I was there - though not always a rooftop and not always because of the view of the sun itself. I almost think part of the fun is hunting around for the perfect view. It will indeed change things, but I guess so does the ever increasing number of tourists (which will be even worse with a UNESCO rating). And absolutely... Myanmar has the cutest kids anywhere! Who then grow up to be very friendly adults. 😀
It definitely is a part of the fun!
thank from myanmar
Why Myanmar people are so friendly ? And why western media created bad things on Myanmar ?
@@yree4treey887 because they stole 24 solid gold Buddhas from them over the past 700 years to build their Europe. Elderado was Myanmar not Guatemala.
You know it’s a good day when One Shot Adventures posts a video, thank you.
Haha that's awesome to hear, thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing with us, your video literally makes me feel like I'm at the Bagan, one of the places I would like to visit.
It is amazing
Very informative video as usual. I went 3 years ago and there was no closed off temples as you said, Back then there was talk of this happening eventually. Glad you finally got a rooftop view.
Thanks Lee. We felt pretty lucky that we found a few good spots, from what I've heard it's nearly impossible now!
Yes,most of them are closed both for local and tourists due to the destruction of temples. There were cases where some chip off the paintings on the wall damaging them. It’s really sad that we can’t visit them like we used to.
Your video inspired me to visit Bagan again.And i will explore more about Bagan.Thank you for your honest review
Thank you for watching!
Fulling with traditional & cultures ❤️ what a amazing country 🙏
I agree!
You'll always be the Top of the World to me. That's where my Mama was born. Long live Myanmar. Such a special place. If I go I won't come back. Ever. Be with my Buddha.
another great vid, the views looked amazing, defo just put this on my bucket list
Cheers as always Connor! When you find the views, they are definitely worth it!
What's the point if they're closing?
I was in Bagan back in 2017 with my fiancee. We go visit her family every year in Yangon. Except in 2020 after Covid-19 hit. Great video. Thank you.
I always really enjoy your narration and editing, you're very talented. It's sad that things have to change so much but it's understandable when places need to be protected. Although if it's just to charge tourists too much money - then that's pretty sad. Glad you explored it fully. We find that going a bit further away from the other tourists gets great results! Omgosh - I don't blame you for avoiding those bees! Well done for finding your own spot! 😍
Thanks! Yeah the bee temple was pretty tense haha
So glad you didn't risk the killer bees. You had me worried there for a minute. This was fascinating. Thanks for taking us on the adventure.
Thanks for watching!
Of course they didn't go past the killer bees otherwise this video wouldn't of aired, it's just them creating drama.
Beautiful video. Wish I could go there❤️
It is an amazing place!
Cool video of the temples and nice pedicure mate!
You guys so lucky, cos even I am Burmese people I didn’t have opportunity to get there. I am really pleased when I watching your mini tour video at bagan. Thank you guys for your video. Peace ✌️
Bagan was the first ever place my family took me for a road trip, I miss it. It've changed a lot.
There is a told story that why the buddha pagoda are so strong and can stand over thousands of years Because there was a king in Bagan and he was really strict. While they building temple and pagoda he told the builder " IF a single needle can pass through the bricks your hand will cut off." quite a scary right! the rest is the story.
I've always wanting to visit Myanmar, Bagan specially, and this video is really helpful.
Aww snap, we are planning on visiting Myanmar next month, and just like you, we are thinking of Bagan temples for watching the balloons. I know that you don't want to share it here, but would it be easy to find locals in Bagan to point out (for a fee) where to find the un-gated temples? And can you visit these gated temples during the day?
And you get yourself a new subscriber :) Keep up the great work, Ryan!
Yes there are many locals around to give you directions, especially at sunrise and sunset as it's good business for them. But I have no idea how many temples are open now as this was filmed about a year ago. Regarding your second question, I'm not sure what you mean? We visited over 30 gated temples - they are all in the video haha
I watch this many times. Super love it , myanmar is my bucketlist hoping to be there by soonest ..
Beautifully done. Stunning shots. Very dangerous climbing though!
I think it looked more dangerous on video than real life... But thank you!
There are some tamples that you can climb and watch the sunset or sunrise. Goverment dont allow everybody to climb on the top of the tamples because the tamples are really old and got damaged by earthquake on 24 august 2018. And some ppl fell down and died who climb the tamples in last few years ago. So we cant climb on the tamples anymore but there are some places for views where are really safe and allow for us. You can ask your hotel i guess. So you will not miss sunset or sunrise. I hope you enjoy in my country. But plz take care yourself when you climb on the tamples. 😍😍😍
I love your intro and how you narrated your story on this. It is a bit sad to know that they are closing some of the temples and you cannot cilmb on top of it anymore. But glad you were able to do it before they closed it up. There are really some tourists who doesn't respect some of the countries culture and places that we ourselves are destroying it. I don't ever think I will have the guts to enter that temple with the killer bees on it. I like how you were able to find a temple and climb it and the views are amazing. I haven't been to Myanmar so I would love to visit this contry sometime.
The bee temples was really crazy haha
Great video with great narration! your voice got such emotion~ btw, you guys aren't afraid of height? Omg .. just seeing how you climb up while holding camera in one hand .. ;')
Thank you! Luckily I am not scared of heights and the structure felt very stable - it looks more scary in the video though haha
I saw it in local news in Burmese. According to their survey, as more tourists came to Bagan, there were more damages to Bagan. I guess it is smart to limit the climbing to the temple as a way to prevent further damages to the temples. There were responsible tourists as much as not so responsible tourists.
I have heard the same, it is a shame but it makes sense...
@@OneShotAdventures Some people just ruined it for everybody. Some (local and tourists alike) even steal little Buddha from Bagan (not from shop but from temples) as souvenir. These archaeological artifacts were sold in black markets.
@@namkhamged That is very sad...
Great adventure👍🇲🇲
Nice video.
Bagan was my favorite place there. Hoping to be back in normal so i can go back thete .i love everything in myanmar the culture and food was so so so good
Great video,
Amazing
Traditional
Country is Myanmar.
Wow such a shame, it must have been an amazing experience exploring the temples when they were still open! Do you know of anywhere else similar to this where the temples are still accessible (minus the killer bees!!)? Thanks for sharing :)
There are still a few temples that are open in Bagan - and it's still a great experience regardless. I've heard that Mrauk U is much more open, but it's quite difficult to get to
Question--seeing you climbing/in the temples barefoot, is that a thing you have to do (to be respectful of the temple?) That is what I would think.
Have to say, with my fear of heights thing, I couldn't watch while you were filing the climbing high scenes!
Another great video!
You are exactly right - you should be barefoot when inside all temples/pagodas in Myanmar as a mark of respect. Which can definitely make some of more the unkept temples quite interesting to get around!
I am burmese
but I have *never* been to bagan in my life
I feel sorry for u
I've been there for about 4 or 5 times
Its overrated dont worry
I've been there many times😌
Wow! We really wish that we went to Myanmar and Bagan when we where travelling in the region 2 years ago. We are a bit worried that all the temples with rooftops will be closed the day we finally will visit Bagan. Beautiful video as usual!
Myanmar is amazing! Most of the temples will probably be closed now, but you never know...
the reason why rooftops are closed coz a tourist fell off from top and she just died!
no
Si sad news i was there 3 days in 2015 and all was open, old bagan is a magic place
Things have changed, but it's still magical :)
Sadly hear that the temples are closed. I'll be visiting in March 2020
You might still be able to find some open ones. I recommend downloading the maps.me app, it has lots of information and updates about access
I would like the number of limited tourist to enter Bagan at a time. If too many tourist coming at the same time, it is going to compromise the experience of being there. Tourist going there to see another crowd of tourist is not gonna be nice. Your video is great. I had been to Bagan around 15 years ago and enjoy the fullest of its beauty. ❤
I think that would be a good idea. Although, the temples are so spread out that we didnt really encounter that many crowds
Thank you very much. The media in our country is going astray
I was there January 2016...before the earthquakes. It’s good that they closed them. I climbed one for sunset, and it was packed! I climbed back down. How was your e-bike? Mine always needed a battery mid-day.
The e-bike was pretty good! We stopped and charged it for an hour or so at about the same time (which was fine by us as we started so early haha)
Its such a shame that it was difficult to get a decent view. Another reason could be to force tourists onto the hot air balloons.
In 2006 there were no tourists in Bagan or any hot air balloons. lol This region is incredible.
Wow they are definitely trying to control temple visitors for some reason. But it also seems like this is the reason to visit the town. Therefore, I would think it would be more dangerous for tourists trying to find a temple than just letting people go to some. I understand closing some of them for preservation or repairs. Idk, it’s a lot to consider. Great video nonetheless!
Definitely lots to consider!
I love Myanmar 😍🥰😘
Yep, that was the main reason why I wanted to go there as well! Oh man, looked like I missed the peak. Yes way to make er to the roof top, views are amazing! Way to keep given er!
Thanks man, the rooftops were awesome!
I got you bro! Ok let me to say myanmar is open to all tourist before and because the increase of tourist been there in bagan the local need to be secured the temples because they don’t want to be in harmed like to go up to the roof. It is good to take photo
You just searching for good place to view sunset and sunrise for 3 days. Bagan is beautiful. It is curtural, ancient and historical. Bagan is the city of Myanmar Kingdom. And there are many historical temples and padodas. Those histories are interesting.
That tower you'd mentioned is not owned by government but one of the tycoon of myanmar
Just finished a few days in Bagan. According to my very knowledgeable guide, the main reason the authorities stop the climbing is because they dislike that many are disrespecting the fact that these are religious monuments and climbing them like playground toys. Much like this vlog.
I also spoke to many knowledgeable locals who had different reasoning. It depends who you talk to. The tourism board actively encouraged it until very recently. We NEVER entered any temple that had a no entry sign or was gated off. But thanks for not watching the video properly 👍
One Shot Adventures It’s just a basic matter of respect, regardless of signs saying ‘no climbing’. Imagine people treating the cathedrals of Europe the same way. I guess we can have a difference of opinion.
Steven Prestrelski many cathedrals in Europe offer rooftop views also. I have climbed up to the top of Notre Dame etc. If you had watched the video properly, you would have seen that there was representatives of the archeological zone on the doors of some of temples - who welcomed people to climb up to the rooftops. Are they being disrespectful too? It's ignorant to call people disrespectful after talking to one local guide.
In life, there are things you can do and things you should do. Regardless of what I’d heard from the local guide, watching you running all over Bagan trying to find a pagoda to climb was IMO disrespectful of the fact that others uses these as places of worship.
Is it disrespectful to climb to the roof a cathedral in Europe just to get a view of the city? People use cathedrals for worship. As long as you obey local laws and rules, I don't see an issue.
I wouldn't mind climbing, actually. It's only a problem if you are on top of a Buddha statue. They should build certain structures dedicated to climbing, with Pagan era architecture of course. The problem is UNESCO. UNESCO objects adding anything. They want to kick Pagan out of World Heritage List if you add anything.
Am I the only one who felt nervous that you were going to drop your camera or fall when you were climbing to the top of that one spot? LOL. I think I projected my own fear of heights onto you there! Sorry! It is a shame that so many of the sites are closed off. I feel like your suspicions may be correct, sadly.
Haha I've had a lot of people say that. It definitely looks worse through the wide angle lens!
I am 10 to changing 11. Bagan is a most interesting place I have visited. But some reasons you can't climb pagodas or temples.
have you seen the bagan dance?That is fantastic.
☺
🙏
Why Myanmar people are so sweet ?
Gee, thanks.
yes, you will find wildlife inside those temples. So be aware of snakes. Even in daylight, some of the temples are dark inside, have had narrow stairs to the top and underneath rocks especially in faults poisoning scorpions wait for a bite. We experienced Bagan without any restrictions many years ago. But after the earthquake they were shut down because of the danger, rocks were falling and it was nit safe anymore.
☺
It's such a shame that they're closed now but I can kinda see why. Tourism is increasing a lot and I hate when inconsiderate tourists trash places which would likely start to happen. It's better they're preserved instead. Oh shit, bees! Nope, nope and nope. I'd run away as well. So glad you got the view you wanted in the end. Were your feet not sore walking alone the wall? Eew that viewing platform really does suck. Hmmm I see what you mean about questioning their motives. It saddened me to see all the tour buses. It's so hard to find anywhere authentic these days. Lol, I really am binging on your videos today!
I think a year in South East Asia has hardened our feet haha. To be fair, it's very easy to avoid tour buses in Bagan. It's such a vast area and they tend to head for a handful of places.
If you wonder why the temple has large entrance door because they make that large to easier to pass-through the size of the elephant. because those days the king rides white-elephant. from what I known. idk tho.LOL
So fun to go exploring when it's dark. You must've felt like Indiana Jones. It looks really incredible there. Definitely need to go back and do some proper exploring.
don't destroy the site by treasure hunting like Jones the western savage
It is in my country
The gate is lock beacuse the president pleasure the thresaure of Bagan.
🤝👍👍👍
Do you know what the meaning of Pagan.
I can see why the local govt locked all staircases up to the temple rooftops, you’re risking your life for just a nice view?! Not worth it!
Point any direction in Bagan, i bet there is a pogoda.
True!
It's too bad about the rooftops. But I can kindof see where they are coming from. That first spot you climbed up the wall to the top, that looked so precarious! I would have been so freaked out by the height! And not all tourists, but some tourists can be so destructive and disrespectful! We have to deal with that a lot with the national parks and ruins here in Utah. So I can understand why, but it's to bad.
Such a cool place! I wonder why there is such a high concentration of temples in one area? and they are all different too! I wonder what life was like for the people back then?
It is a shame, because the open exploration was part of the original charm of the place. But from a preservation/safety point of view, I understand it. Some people still climb around the outside of closed temples, but we never did that. We only ever scaled the open ones.
Hi Nomadic Buff, the area is actually the city of 1st burmese dynasty, Bagan Empire. The kings and people are devout buddhists n they built Buddhist pagodas stupas temples and monasteries throughout their city.
It says that Even widows built temples then. King n the rich built big n sophisticated ones. The citizens built pagodas too.
Ohh.you go inside to the temple at night? are you not affried.
They called tombs as temple?
who says these are tomb?
It is because too many tourists climbing the temples and temples are old enough to fall apart at any time and it is safety for tourists as well. One of another reason is when there are no security guards around temples, it is dangerous for tourists who are alone in the darkness in the middle of nowhere.
That is certainly some of the reasons.
Actually Began got unesco world heritage . I think that`s why they ban climing but I am not sure .
Yes that is true!
No they banned climbing before UNESCO. Due to earthquakes in 2016, the Pagodas and Temple there become more dangerous. That’s why.
Bagan was a dynasty. Each king and prince had build a Pagoda for year by year. Now our generation can appreciate it. If we go through some of the famous pagoda bio data then we will understand it and appreciate it truely. We should welcome more tourists by maintaining sacred site so that our generation can appreciate it till the end of the world. May you find the inner peace in Bagan.
Mass tourism has destroyed much of Southeast Asia. On top of that numerous obnoxious foreigners who treat the locals like crap. Sad about the temples.
Luckily I haven't seen that many rude foreigners, but sad if its true
@@OneShotAdventures Lived here twenty years. The expats that live here and speak Thai avoid such places because they understand chances are good many foreigners managed to piss off the Thais. If you understood Thai you would understand how much we are disliked because of many rude foreigners.
1:19 what’s wrong 😢
9:04 woo 🤙
Most temples closed because of maintenance.Because of earthquake effects, temples are in danger state But I want to give advice is that don't climb like him because it is really dangerous.Temples need maintenance.
Wow, what a different experience. The first time I visited Bagan was 2013. We used very very bicycles and horse carts to get around. We encountered maybe 1 or 2 gates but they were to sections where there was damage or work being done. Other than that you could go or climb wherever you wanted. Many of the rooftops had stair access so no sketchy climbing was required. I am not surprised things have changed since then. So many more cars and busses now have pushed out the horse carts and so many more tourists climbing on temples have made it more unsafe and cause more damage. Hopefully these measures help preserve this beautiful place for hundreds more years.
Visiting Bagan is a lot more than just climbing on the temples. You can see from this why they are closed - too many visitors climbing. Try to enjoy this amazing place by not making it your personal parkour tour.
Try watching the video before making sweeping statements
Bagan temples are closed especially for 2 main reasons.
Firstly, Bagan has recently become UNESCO site and so it is not allowed to go the top of the pagodas ,where used to be highly appealing sunset viewing places and always full of tourists in the evening, to maintain these thousand-old ones for long term.
Moreover, there was a huge earthquake just before bagan had become UNESCO site and it damages a lot of temples badly and some temples are even destroyed . It becomes a big challenges to the ancient temples' strength and visitors' security and that's why a reason for no climbing restriction .
But, everything are allowed as before in visiting temples except climbing.
hello from Myanmar
Currently, we can not up to the rooftop of Pagodas in Bagan because most of them are very old and built by a long century ago. So, we need to maintain them as National Heritage of Myanmar. That's why we cannot up to the rooftop. Thanks you
The government is taking people money... Like ughhhh
Ikr, they piss me off😒
One reason is that THE pagodas are thouzand of years old and some of them are even untouched so it is quiet dangerous to climb
Main reason for closing those temple is due to the theft case as well. Some people stole those old Buddha statue and sell to other countries.
That is very sad to hear...
One Shot Adventures Yea. We are really sad to know about this as well. Some temples do not have any Buddha statue inside the temple and once I checked with locals over there, they said some people stole it. I was really shock to hear this kind of thing. 😢
it is haunted
Yeah the temple you said which you climb with no statues was not a temple but it's actually used as a fort it's the remain of it.It's like
Great wall of china .But it's the remain Of ruined great wall of bagan.whatever tho thanks for quality content that i thirsted for.
closed most of roof because that is not safe for people.You can see most of our pagoda are cracked and broken because of earthquake that is not safe for you guy hope you can understand it
That was great pleasure and beauty mixed with frustration and anxiety- very Buddhist!
You were one bit of rotten masonry from doom ffs. Be careful out there mate !
It’s not a good thing to climb up temples though. Your weight can damage the temples, and lately, a few tourists had fallen from them and died.
You should know some of the pagodas in Bagan are haunted at night 😂😂
Seriously?!
Arnt ghosts suppose to be afraid of holy sites????
@@SI-ln6tc No some of them live to protect the pagodas bcs there are hidden treasure in pagodas
Buddha won't hurt you but yeah it's dark inside and creepy 😂🙏
You should not go up to temples any way. Respect the culture. If you like higher up activities, I suggest you go somewhere else for sports activities
Why do temples have stairs leading to the roof then?
That is for monk who go up and clean the temples, for them to have an easy accessible. And also for pagoda representatives. Not for ordinary people like us, who are not wearing robe.
People steal buddha statue.
The reason they are closing is because people are climbing on them when you aren't supposed to.
If you watch the video, you will see that we visited temples with guards on the door who allowed everyone to climb up. So that's simply not true.
@@OneShotAdventures I didn't say that anyone would stop you. Even if there aren't any rules about climbing on them, you still shouldn't. They are historic sites that were never intended to be trampled on by tourists. I visited these temples and learned many interesting stories. One of them was built by a king that was so strict about the placement of the bricks, he chopped the arms of the workers that misplaced bricks. Please, don't think I'm supporting the kings actions. My point is, there is historical significance to these temples. Some of them are being partially reconstructed. Maintenance is expected, but having so many people pass by and climb all over them is damaging the temples and speeding up the process of their destruction. I don't know about you, but I would like these temples stick around for more time so future generations can admire them as we did. Also, sorry if it felt like I was trying to attack you with the statement I made. I simply just want to help keep Bagan in good shape.
I understand your point, but it doesn't change the fact that most of these temples have stairways leading to the roof. They were always intended to be climbed. Just like you can climb to the roof of most major cathedrals across Europe - should you not climb these ancient historic landmarks either? I agree that the amount of tourists should be managed and everyone should respect signs that restrict access.
One Shot Adventures Sorry 😐,because our Myanmar people don’t really like people or tourists climbing our pagoda because we have a god which protect the pagoda and if u don’t respect it u will have bad luck.
The temples close cuz some people draw sketch on the wall and do stupid things that damage the temple I want to explain but Im not good at eng,So sorry mate
They are closed cause people believe that the temple can get destroyed by a single touch or a push
Many of the temples have been reinforced and are very safe
One of the reasons why Bagan closed some of it's temples is because a tourist couple shot themselves...uh... *aggresively cuddling* in there-
😳
Dont try again to get on top of the temples you dare devils.As these are ancient buildings,there may be weak points (in brickworks) due to both their old age and quakes.A lady tourist had been fallen to her death while taking selfie a couple years ago.
Most of the structures have been re-enforced and made safe over the last 10 years. We never entered any temple that was gated off or closed.
No need to climb something that should be respected..... The summit of the temple represents the pinnacle of enlightenment.... The summit is sacred.