"The busy scene along the river bank close to where the ferry had docked at Nyaung Oo. I felt this painting had been one of the most successful I made while I was in Burma.
Bagan is the most important historical site in Burma. It had been the cente of the Myanmar Empire since the 1st centuryAD. However it's golden period during which time all the temples were built, ran from 1050 till around 1280, when for some unknown reason the area was abandoned.
Despite a number of earthquakes over the years, including a very bad one in 1975, most of the important temples looked in surprisingly good repair, in part I was told, to some extensive restoration.
What made Bagan for me was the freedom I had to walk round and discover the place for myself unbothered by guides and officials. How long it will remain like this, will I guess, largely depend on how big a tourist attraction it becomes. At the time of this visit it seemed the balance was just about right.
Interesting as Bagan was, after two full days it was back to the road for a long bus ride upto Kalaw" - MH