Bagan Balloons

Voted as the 2010 Olympus E-System Community Picture Of The Year.

Hot air balloons are flying over Bagan every morning. The flight is relatively short (around one hour) because the air is not cold enough when the sun rises above the horizon in Myanmar. Watching them fly slowly in the silent morning is an unforgettable experience.

Bagan was the ancient capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma and is located on the eastern bank of the Irrawaddy River. The ruins of Bagan cover an area of 42 square km. The majority of its buildings were built in the 11-13th century. It is estimated that as many as 13,000 temples and stupas once stood on this 42 square km plain in central Myanmar, and Marco Polo once described Bagan as a "gilded city alive with tinkling bells and the swishing sounds of monks' robes". Approximately 2,200 remain today, in various states of disrepair.