Where, Oh Where, Is the Bagan Viewing Tower? (BAGAN FROM ABOVE)

[@PlanetDoug]

TIMESTAMPS: 0:43 Discussing the Nan Myint Tower; 2:34 Today's E-Bike; 5:53 Bagan-World Heritage Site; 7:28 Is This My Road?; 9:29 Maybe This Is My Road?; 14:02 Perhaps THIS Is the Right Road?; 18:08 A Sign! But Where Is the Arrow Pointing?; 20:35 At Last! I Found the Tower!; 22:49 Buying My Ticket; 26:16 Going Up the Elevator to the Enclosed Observation Deck; 28:32 Spiral Staircase Up to the Outdoor Deck; 29:24 View Toward MT. POPA; 30:53 View Toward Shwezigon Pagoda; 33:03 View Toward Sulamani Temple; 35:49 360-Degree View; 37:13 Time to Go Down; 40:02 MUSICAL INTERLUDE-Fast Forward Ride Around Nyaung U; 41:32 Conclusion and Summary

[@dashingmay]

Doesn't Google map have a turn by turn direction? If not, hopefully soon

[@PlanetDoug]

I'm not sure if it does or not. In this case, I was using Maps.me, and I spotted a nice curvy small road or trail that seemed to go directly to the viewing tower. It was marked clearly on Maps.me, and that's what I was looking for at the beginning. It was hard to find, and then it ended up going nowhere. If I'd gone there directly by the main roads, it wouldn't have been so difficult. Both Google Maps and Maps.me had the main roads clearly marked. So the trouble I had finding the place was just me being a dummy and trying to do it the hard way. 😃

[@acheartist]

If you focused on the local cuisine, you'd be the Canadian Bourdain. No, I love you just the way you are. Your twenty hour train ride video sold me and now, I am your biggest fan. Been watching all day and thank you for "taking your audience with you" on your adventures.Wishing you all the very best life has to offer and confident you will find it. Teresa in Colorado

[@tonymoly8739]

Great idea to visit the Nan Myint Tower to get a bird's eye view of a part of Bagan to some extent as it only costs a fraction of the hefty sum of US$300-500 that we have to pay to see Bagan from a hot-air balloon. I'll certainly put this in our itinerary for Bagan. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@PlanetDoug]

I enjoyed it. Even if the hot air balloons were operating, I doubt that I'd have paid the $300 to ride in one. I'm sure it would be a wonderful experience. I've never been in a hot air balloon anywhere. But that is a lot of cash. The tower surprised me in that it was farther away from the main cluster of major pagodas and temples than I expected. But it was still a great experience for the price. Just seeing the tower itself with the funky spiral staircase, the big crafts store on the main floor, etc was fun. And I thought the views were great. I do regret not bringing my bigger camera, though. I don't have a super-telephoto lens, but my basic zoom lens would have gotten me a much nicer view of the temples that are farther away. So if you have a camera with a zoom lens (or a lightweight pair of binoculars), it might be a good idea to bring them. I used to travel with a nice pair of binoculars, and I used them all the time. But then they broke, and I never got around to replacing them.

[@vinperez177]

Thank you for sharing this video. I was in Bagan last June 2019 but I didnt get a chance to climb the tower because it wasnt in my to dos. I just accidentally saw it up close when I got lost on my way to one of the temples. Likewise, I didn't see it as an eyesore. Watching your video was nostalgic. Mabuhay from the Philippines :)

[@Jean-Naimar]

I was lucky to see the wonderful views from the temple terraces 5 years ago. This year when I was told I cannot go upstairs anymore I didn't even want to see it from so far away.... I can watch my pictures, much better! One of the best experience in the world gone forever.

[@PlanetDoug]

Yes, you were lucky to go there when you did. It's a shame that you can no longer climb up most (or all?) of the temples and pagodas. The rule is understandable, of course, as far as protecting these important historic temples from wear and tear and damage. But it does take away some of the charm to not be able to climb up to the tops and get a view of the areas. I did hear a little bit once and a while about certain pagodas that you were still allowed to climb. Someone left a comment after one of my videos with coordinates of some of these temples. But I don't know if you really can climb them or not. And I didn't see any that were still open.

[@Jean-Naimar]

@@PlanetDoug Before, can climb 2 or 3 only. Sure, I understand about protect them and can be dangerous after earthquakes too. Maybe Unesco rules? I am living in Thailand, did you trip here already? If you have time to visit Mrauk-U in Myanmar, wonderful place and no tourists.

[@PlanetDoug]

Yes, I've been to Thailand a few times. My first trips were many, many years ago, and that is when I did most of my traveling and exploring there. I went to the usual spots that people might visit - all the sights in Bangkok, then ChiangMai, and then down to the islands, like Koh Samui and the others. It's a beautiful country. Recently, though, I've only been to Bangkok for brief stops in transit.

[@WanderEats]

That was a very majestic view from the tower.. wow!

[@PlanetDoug]

It was a nice view. But I actually wished it was closer to the "action" - like right in the middle of the big temples near Old Bagan. I know that's heresy. People were upset with this tower even sitting so far away. There's no way they'd be allowed to build such a tower right beside the Ananda Temple or Sulamani Temple. But, personally, I wouldn't mind, as long as it looked nice and didn't cause other problems. Even so, I enjoyed the views I got. But if I went back, I'd definitely bring binoculars or a telephoto lens.

[@WanderEats]

@@PlanetDoug yeah sometimes I wished I have a camera with the ability to zoom but I prefer to be portable so its a price to pay I guess.

[@wanlenyong3463]

I want to say thank you very much to you. I travel with you although I cannot go myself in person. I am old,I really enjoy watching your travel blog . Thank You.

[@PlanetDoug]

You're welcome. I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. That's a great thing about KZbin and the Internet in general: you can travel vicariously all over the world now or even just look at places through Google Maps Street View. I do that all the time.

[@arty2k]

5:30 You caught a time traveller on bike!

[@PlanetDoug]

That's funny. I didn't notice that when I made the edit. Dude just vanished.

[@yananneteoh9818]

You've achieved what you wanted , view from a window and height for lovely range of hills, greenery and nice layouts and pretty pictures from the top. It's nice they have staff around and some people about. I hope you'll go to vast China next!

[@PlanetDoug]

Yes, at long last, I got my view from up above. 🙂

[@hanwin651]

Just to say thank you very much ! I travel with you although I cannot go myself in person from my busy schedule ! I really enjoy watching your travel blog !

[@PlanetDoug]

Thank you. I hope I can soon go to lots more interesting places and take you along with me through these videos. Cheers.

[@i-will-get-you-there]

very good video..... I enjoyed it ... Thank you.

[@PlanetDoug]

You're welcome.

[@jamesl4573]

I had dinner at that restaurant where there is a “viewpoint” room and it was that particular room where dinner was held. It was during a trip to Bagan in January. Your video brought back the memories!

[@markfire1923]

BTW I love your videos and getting use to of your unique style...thanks.

[@PlanetDoug]

Thanks! I think I instinctively come from the point of view of a diary or journal. Before this, I always kept a written journal. I'd write nearly every day. And I took a lot of pictures to record my experiences. So the journal "style" (if you can call it a style 🙂) kind of creeps into my videos, too. So they do get a bit long, right? And they're not exactly high energy. Just yesterday, I stumbled across the Myanmar videos from "The Budgeteers". Paddy Doyle from the Budgeteers did a 4-part video series on Myanmar with the travel vlogger Steve Yalo. They had all the music, slow motion, drone shots, fast cuts, and exotic locations that you normally see in a KZbin travel vlog. I'm not sure I could ever do something like that. As I said, my instincts go in a different direction...

[@pumkok]

Amazing video. Thank you.

[@PlanetDoug]

You're welcome. Thanks for the compliment. 👍

[@pumkok]

For a long time, I wanted to see this tower in Bagan. It was one of the reason why UNESCO refused to put Bagan in the world Heritage list. Thanks to your video, I have finally seen it. Previously, I thought it was an ugly and monstrous tower but that was not the case. It blended quite well with the other archaeological temples. Thank you once more. Keep up the good work.

[@jimmyng6852]

Perhaps I might prefer the sights around the villages and neighborhood rather than the viewing tower. The joy I always get in my travels is when I interact with the locals, try talking with them and eating their food. Good to hear that you will be getting back to Kuala Lumpur after you are done with Mandalay. Great if we could meet up while you are in KL, I am leaving to Yangon on 21 August.

[@PlanetDoug]

I know what you mean. My usual pattern (from before I started shooting video) was simply to walk around regular neighborhoods and markets with my camera and take pictures. I seemed to have a lot more opportunities back then to meet people and talk and interact. These photo galleries from Indonesia might give you an idea of what I mean. www.thecyclingcanadian.com/photo-galleries/indonesia-galleries/ Things have changed quite a bit since I switched to shooting video. I wonder why that is. Maybe it has actually had kind of a negative impact on my travel experiences. Shooting video has isolated me more than I'm used to. It's something to think about. I was always comfortable taking pictures of people and talking to them at the same time. But I haven't been as comfortable including local people in the videos. I guess it feels more intrusive. Perhaps I'll have to make a special effort to get over that barrier with the video camera.

[@Lachmangyawaly]

Nice sir

[@samtun1083]

Very information and we enjoyed watching. Thank you!

[@PlanetDoug]

You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂

[@samtun1083]

@@PlanetDoug Just one thing concern regarding the heat in Asia, you should wear head cover and drink lots of water during trips. I hope it should helps :)

[@joe53214]

nice video sir

[@PlanetDoug]

Thanks! 👍

[@ewengillies9826]

Can't see why the fuss about the tower. Itsbuilt so it doesn't compete weith the others ... far enough away from everything else .. viewing area is well done architecturally as well. A great vlog thanks Doug gives a whole new oerspective of the area. Looks a bit like an iadis in a desert with the sandy area. Bushyboy Oz

[@PlanetDoug]

I had the same feeling. Based on what I'd read, I expected something quite different - like a real tourist trap. But I enjoyed it very much, and I really appreciated the chance to get some perspective on the region from 12 stories up. And, as you pointed out, it's actually quite far away from where the major temples are clustered together. It's closer to the airport than it is to Old Bagan. That seems like a respectful distance. I was surprised it was so far away, to be honest. But I still enjoyed the views.

[@ngulzatung]

I wonder why the tower was not painted more attractively - with brighter colours.

[@petpetpet666]

new subscriber here.great videos!

[@markfire1923]

I am wondering, why you choose KL as your base? I see lots of V loggers operate from Thailand and Philippines, just curious....thanks.

[@PlanetDoug]

I ended up using Kuala Lumpur as a base just by accident, and perhaps through inertia. I was cycling through the Philippines, and I reached a point when all my gear was damaged or completely broken. (Thanks in part to a particularly strong typhoon.) I needed to repair my whole bike, my camera, my camp stove, my tent, etc. I did some research, and it seemed like Kuala Lumpur was a good place to go get all these repairs done easily. (I had an Olympus camera, for example, and there was an official Olympus service center in KL.) So I flew to KL from the Philippines and got all the repairs done. And then I found that KL was a convenient hub for trips to nearby Sumatra and then up to Bangladesh and now Myanmar. I had much bigger plans that involved eventually moving on from Malaysia and traveling to lots of other regions, but some inertia set in. 🙂 I suppose it goes without saying that I really like Kuala Lumpur. I like the mix of cultures here and the great food. There's also a nice combination of the old and traditional and the modern. You can go exploring in traditional wet markets and eat at typical street-side food stalls. But you can also find ultra-modern shopping malls with all the latest camera gear and gadgets you might need. English is widely spoken, which helps a lot. And I guess that's about it. I just happened to find myself in Kuala Lumpur, and I ended up hanging out longer than I expected and returning more often than I planned. 😃

[@DenisePoh]

Aren’t you afraid battery ran out? “

[@arty2k]

Where do you think the battery will run to?😝

[@PlanetDoug]

Right now, I have 4 batteries for the GoPro and a charger that can charge two batteries at a time. So I usually charge up all 4 batteries every night. And so I have 4 full batteries to last one day. That is normally enough. I've never done this, but it's also possible to plug the GoPro into an external power source - like a power bank - and then it would just run for a very long time or forever. I can see that being useful in a studio or for a special video shoot where you leave your camera somewhere for a long time. The relatively short battery life of the GoPro isn't a huge problem, but it does feel annoying at times to constantly have to change the battery. The battery always seems to run out at exactly the wrong time. And when you have the GoPro mounted on a tripod in its cage, it is a bit of a complicated process to take it out and change the battery and put it back in again. It's not a fast or simple thing to do. So, to answer your question, I do worry about the battery running out of power all the time, but I just change the battery and keep going. 🙂👍

[@johnmaclaim1]

There are no specific law for drone ....but drone can operate ..but if u use it around govt. building such congrass house ..police station ..etc..then there are alot of law coming out to bring you custody ..ask for your safety if you are not sure ...

[@PlanetDoug]

I did a bit of reading about drones and drone laws in Myanmar after I shot this video, but it was all kind of confusing. I was left with the sense that you could fly a drone in Bagan, yet there were regulations against flying drones around people or around religious sites. So I couldn't quite sort it all out. I don't own a drone anyway, so it doesn't really matter to me, but I was just curious what the laws were like there. Since the land around Bagan was so flat and clear of obstructions, it seems like it would be an ideal place to fly a drone (as long as the wind wasn't kicking up and the skies weren't filled with hot air balloons).