14 Oct

It was 6am when the overnight bus reached the ancient city of Bagan. The passengers around me began to rustle--reaching for bags and shedding layers of warm clothing. I rubbed my eyes and looked out the window. Taxi drivers had already crowded the door, and the sky was growing pink.

It had been nine fitful hours of attempted sleep, but it didn't matter. I had arrived to the place that topped my bucket list for the last five years—one of the world's greatest archeological sites—16-square miles of pastoral land, decorated with more than 2,000 Buddhist monuments.

I jumped in the first cab I saw and headed to the hostel. And after a quick shower, I rented an electric bike and spent the next two days exploring.