This section is dedicated to take away all your "I wish someone had told me that before I went!" experiences. This way, you can spend less time settling in, and more time making new friends in your chosen hostel.
Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) is a name that is used for an area of temples and pagodas in Myanmar and the area contains three main villages -- Nyaung U, Old Bagan, and New Bagan. Bagan is a highlight for most tourists in Myanmar and the area can be seen in two or three days. The bus station is located away from the villages, so when you arrive by bus, you have to take a taxi to get to your Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) hostel, no matter in which of the three villages you stay.
Old Bagan is a more expensive town and does not offer many budget choices. Nyaung U and New Bagan both offer Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) hostels. The hostels in Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) are of good quality and prices are a bit higher than in Yangon. The three towns don’t differ that much, so all three are good places to stay if you want to visit the temples. It is good to have a Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) hostel that is located close to the town centre, as those are the areas where the bike rentals are located (you will have to rent a bike to get around the temple area). All Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) hostels offer free Wi-Fi, but the quality can differ a lot. If you rely on Wi-Fi, check recent reviews of the different Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) hostels to get up-to-date information about the quality of the Wi-Fi. The same goes for the breakfast, which normally is included, but has very different quality from hostel to hostel in Bagan, Myanmar (Burma).
The temples and pagodas are located in and around the three villages. There are different ways to get around -- bicycle, e-bike, motorbike, horse and carriage, taxi, and hot-air balloon. Some Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) hostels offer rental bikes, but it is generally cheaper to rent from a street stall. Hostels in Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) can also organize onward travel (usually by bus) and other tours. The most popular tour from Bagan is to Mount Popa, a hike to a temple on a mountain.
As Myanmar is a country where tourism is developing extremely fast, new hostels are likely to open in the coming years, as has happened in Yangon already. It is therefore worth to compare prices as more competition will mean prices can go down in these areas.
Written by local expertz for Bagan
Paulien
