Should You Take A Balloon Ride In Myanmar?

Bagan, Myanmar

Photography by Lucas Stoffel can be licensed on Shutterstock and Getty Images

Balloons Over Bagan by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures. A glorious sunrise over the plains of Bagan with balloons dotted over the horizon. You want to be the person in the balloon! And then you look up the price… shock and horror flood through your mind. You were promised a cheap holiday in South East Asia!

Ballooning was far and away the most expensive thing we did in our week in Myanmar. We took domestic flights and stayed in beautiful hotels. It definitely wasn’t a budget trip and the balloon flight was still 25% of our total trip cost.

Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!!

The Experience: Balloon Ride Myanmar

Waiting to be picked up at 5.30am I was filled with anticipation and just a touch of anxiety. Was it going to live up to the expectations? Were we getting value for money? Was I going to regret the decision? Could I have had the same experience from the ground watching the sunrise? All these questions were quickly put to rest.

We arrived in the pitch black to little field with tables and chairs set up with tea, coffee and some pastries. As the sky started get the first hint of grey we enjoyed our breakie and waited for the remaining guests to arrive.

Occasionally a burst of flame would shoot up as the balloons were prepared for take off.

Once everyone had arrived it was time for the safety brief. The six balloon pilots were introduced and we were quickly sorted into our groups.

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Balloons Over Pagan by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

All Aboard

The anticipation built as the balloons were inflated around us. In the next field balloons start to take off and before long we heard “all aboard” and it was our turn.

Part of the magic of ballooning in Bagan is the number of balloons around you. The flight itself was incredible with phenomenal views over the plains of ancient temples, but for me, having the experience with twenty other balloons drifting across the horizon was the real highlight.

Before long we had passed the temples and were off in the countryside. As we passed villages the locals would race outside to wave in fascination as we passed. We were close enough to see their cattle, herds of goats and the fields of peanuts, chickpeas and rice paddies.

In no time at all we were landing. Ours was a gentle touch down near our landing crew who were waiting with champagne to celebrate a fabulous morning.

Where does your money go?

1. All the balloon pilots were westerners. As they introduced themselves we heard British, Australian and German accents. We had the lovely Allie who had bucket loads of experience and is a senior balloon trainer back in the UK. After the flight we heard about the trip she is taking with her husband to go ballooning over Mongolia. In short, you need this level of experience to operate in a country like this, where weather forecasts cannot be relied on. At the end of the day experience costs money.

2. Like the pilots all the equipment was imported. Everything from the baskets to the ropes to the actual balloon.

3. For each balloon there had to have been about ten locals helping with pick ups, serving the coffee, launching the balloon and driving to the landing site. It was quite the production! I learned later that the balloon industry in Bagan employs over 400 locals.

4. Everything else. Did a travel agent book your flight? There would be a commission there. How did you find out about ballooning? That’s the marketing budget. I imagine the public liability insurance for an operation like this would by huge. Plus the usual overheads that come with running a business.

To be honest I’d be worried if ballooning didn’t cost this much!

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Shots from the Sky by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Can you get the same experience from the ground?

At our first sunset the topic of the cost of ballooning came up and we listened in. Certainly for a backpacker spending months in SE Asia the flight is the equivalent to about a week of travel. Quite a few people justified that it was better from the ground anyway because you want a photo looking up at the balloons.

The following day we headed to a nearby temple to watch the sunrise and see for ourselves. It was fantastic and made for some unbelievable photos. However there was something extra special knowing that yesterday I was one of the lucky ones up there in the sky.

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Balloons Over Bagan by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Other things to consider

Seasons

Some times of year are better than others. The balloon season in Bagan runs October-May. We travelled in January in the height of the high season and the time that has the most stable weather conditions. Safety will always come first and at other times of year flights may be cancelled for days on end. If this is a bucket list adventure for you make sure you time it right.

#Bagan #Myanmar #Buddhist #SouthEastAsia #Buddha

Angkor Wat, Cambodia: 5 Tips and Tricks

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Photography by Lucas Stoffel can be licensed on Shutterstock and Getty Images

Angkor Walking Tour by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Visiting Angkor Wat? Read my tips first to make the most of your trip.Visiting Angkor Wat is one of the very top things to do in all of Southeast Asia. The Temples of Angkor are undoubtedly one of the most incredible sights in the world and one of the most stunning places I’ve ever seen! But they are no longer a secret – these temples get pretty crowded which kind of ruins your idea of that perfect Tomb Raider or Indiana Jones moment!Angkor Wat is a magnificent sight, the crown of the once mighty Khmer Empire, the icon of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the largest religious building in the world and a sight you’d be crazy to miss and one that’s worth battling the crowds for.But there is so much more to see than just Angkor Wat, there are so many temples to explore and the complex is so enormous that it can be hard to know where to begin. If you want to avoid the crowds and make the most out of your Angkor experience a bit of forward planning is a good idea.So here are my tips to help you avoid the crowds and make the most of your visit to Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Far from being lost to the jungle, now the Temples of Angkor are one of the most popular spots of the Southeast Asian tourist trail and receive over 2 million visitors a year. Which means that sadly the most famous temples are pretty crowded which takes a bit away from the adventure and experience.

But there are few things you can do to avoid the worst of the crowds:

Tips: Go to Angkor Wat in the off season

The peak season for visiting Angkor Wat is in the cooler winter months of November to March which is also the most crowded time. April and May are unbearably hot but you could visit in the rainy season(June – Oct) like I did and enjoy cheaper prices, less crowds and amazingly luscious green countryside! The weather kept most of the tourist away but didn’t disrupt our sightseeing too much, it hardly ever rained in the morning and by the afternoon the rain was a refreshing respite.

Young Monk Angkor War by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Go the opposite way round

One way to avoid the crowds is simply go the other way round. Most tourists will stick to the same routes so by mixing up your route a bit, deviating off the main path or road or even just by avoiding the main entrance and going in a different direction around the same temple (most have more than one entrance) you should be able to escape some of the crowds.

Head further away to explore some of the less popular temples

There are so many temples in Angkor but most tourists will try to rush around Angkor in one day ticking off the big, famous sights like Angkor Wat, Ta Phrom (the tomb raider temple) and Bayon (with the huge faces) but there’s so much more to see and some of my favourite memories are sitting alone in the mossy green ruins of an unknown temple far from the crowds at the famous attractions.

Shiva at Angkor Wat by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Take your time

The Angkor Wat temples are located near to the town of Siem Reap which is well set up for tourists and has many accommodation options, restaurants, bars and other activities.

Don’t even think about spending only one day at Angkor Wat, even 3 days visiting Angkor Wat wasn’t enough for me! And don’t think that once you’ve seen one temple you’ve seen them all because there is a huge variety of styles and levels of decay that mean every temple has something different to see. Get the 3 day pass (US$40) and try to spend a week in Siem Reap if you can and split the 3 day pass across a week.

There is so much to see but temple fatigue can set in quickly. There are lots of things to do in Siem Reap so alternate your days visiting Angkor Wat with days spent relaxing in Siem Reap, having a massage or Khmer cookery class, visiting the Angkor national museum or going shopping. You can also explore the idyllic countryside by horse back, visit the bird reserve or floating villages at Tonle Sap nearby, watch a classical dance or just have a night out on pub street.

Taking your time will make visiting Angkor Wat even more amazing and enjoyable if you don’t try to cram it all in at once.

Siem Reap, Cambodia: 5 Amazing Temples

Angkor Wat Temples by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Visiting the Angkor Archaeological Site, or as more people call it, Angkor Wat, is the number one thing to do for travelers in Cambodia. Over 1,000 temples and ruins that are 1,000 years old cover the forest landscape. If you only have 1 or 2 days in Siem Reap to go and visit the temples, it is tough to know what temples to dedicate your precious time to. This article covers the 5 best temples see visit at Angkor Wat.

There are numerous ways to navigate Angkor Wat. You can sign up with a tuk tuk guide and have him drive you around. You can research your own route and take bikes or a tuk tuk. Or, you could sign up with an organized tour through your hotel or another company. I hired a tuk tuk guide through my guesthouse for two days. I saw 18 temples while completing the small circuit and the grand circuit, both commercialized routes through the park.

The 5 Best Temple at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap

While it was the easy decision, my tuk tuk tour lacked efficiency. A handful of the temples I spent precious time seeing were not that spectacular; they just happened to be on the same planned route as the main attractions. The ideal way to maximize your experience and time here would be to handpick all of the temples you absolutely need to see and then create your own route. Who has the energy and will to do that though?

Here are 5 temples you cannot miss at Angkor Wat. I have ranked them in order of my preference. There are other temples that are bigger and more well-known, perhaps even more spectacular, but I found some of the smaller and less famous ones to be more unique and fun to explore.

Bayon Temple

Bayon Temple by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Bayon is the temple of faces. The upper level has several towers built around the main temple in the middle, each with four giant faces carved into the stone blocks comprising them. On the ground-level, a maze of narrow corridors and hallways with support pillars are fun to explore. All in all, Bayon had everything I was looking for: unique architecture, grand size, and not too many tourists.

Ta Prohm

Known as the Tomb Raider temple, Ta Prohm is the second most famous temple I saw on my trip. Mostly crumbled in ruins, the temple has dozens of massive trees growing up through the walls and main areas of the grounds. Surrounded by mossy, ancient walls, the interior complex is divided into several areas easy to get lost in. Ta Prohm felt the most mystical and captivating to me, mainly due to the roots and trees intertwining with the stone and the collapsed areas of the temple. Unfortunately, it is also very popular and hordes of tourists (especially huge groups of Chinese tourists), were shouting and yelling the whole time. I bet if you went to Ta Prohm at sunrise instead of Angkor Wat, which is what everyone does, it would be nearly empty.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

By the far the largest and most grand temple, Angkor Wat is the main attraction in the entire park. The sheer scale of its outer wall, inner gardens, and central structure is amazing. At most times of the day, it is swarming with tourists, even at 5 AM for sunrise, which is when I visited. I didn’t put this as number one on my list because it lacks a certain mysterious feel that the other temples have. No mossy walls, less intricate carvings in the stone, nearly no loose stones or visible ruins, etc. In short, it’s gigantic but it’s not as cool or authentic feeling as other temples.

Aspara Dancer by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Aspara Mask by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Other Amazing Temples at Angkor Wat:

Out of the 18 temples I visited, there were a few other ones that stood out to me that didn’t quite make my top 5:

1. Baphuon Temple – this temple has the most epic path leading up to its central area. Hundreds of feet on a narrow bridge past trees and ponds take you into the grounds.

2. Ta Keo Temple – Ta Keo had the steepest stairs and most layers to climb. If you want to climb to the top of a multi-layered temple using your hands and feet, be sure to stop here.

3. Pre Rup Temple – Pre Rup is a common place for tourists to watch the sunset at the end of the day. The temple itself is an impressive platform with a great view of the surrounding areas. However, I didn’t understand why sunset over the forest was so popular when you could see the sunset over temples elsewhere.

Keep in mind, I only saw 18 of the hundreds of temples in the Angkor Archaeological Park. To watch short, sweet video of my time exploring the Khmer ruins, check out my video from the Angkor Wat Archaeological site here.