114BAGAN & CENTRAL MYANMAR
BAGAN
and sparkling wine and snacks after you
land and watch them get packed up again.
Although sunset fl ights are off ered (de-
pending on weather conditions), the sunrise
ones are preferable as the cooler dawn air
allows pilots to fl y the balloons at lower al-
titude for a closer view of the temples. See
p 187 for details of the company’s balloon sa-
faris in Shan State and Bagan. C Courses
Flavour of Myanmar Cooking Class COOKING
(%09-863 5066, in Yangon 01-375 050; http://www.myan
marcookingclass.com; US$50) This Good News
Travels cooking course is a half-day food-fo-
cused experience that can be tailored to the
level of cooking you’re comfortable with and
is interesting even for those not wanting to
learn to prepare Myanmar food. Kicking offaround 8am, participants visit New Bagan’s
market to go shopping for ingredients.
Several dishes are then prepared at a fully
equipped outdoor kitchen at the cooking
school in New Bagan, with some of the food
afterwards being packed up into tiffi n boxes
and taken to a local monastery to present
to the monks. The morning ends with lunch
back at the cooking school.Bagan Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary
Resort COOKING
(%60048,60049; http://www.thiripyitsaya-resort.com)
This resort off ers a variety of courses, includ-
ing a three-hour cooking course covering
four or fi ve traditional dishes for a maximum
of four participants ($60 each). Other classes
include a photography tour ($230; six hours)
with a local professional shooter, Burmese-
language lessons ($100; six hours), medita-LEE HOOPER: HOT-AIR BALLOON PILOTBest temple
Dhammayangyi Pahto (p 159 ). It’s the most mysterious. You can spend hours there learn-
ing about its history, and still learn new things.Best non-temple thing to do
A sunset cruise on the river (p 113 ) can be a great way to end the day.Best shopping
Tun Handicrafts/Moe Moe’s (p 126 ). Run by a lovely lady who produces good-quality
laquerware. The range on display is just the tip of the iceberg – ask to see the special
room, with the really nice bits. All the prices are negotiable, and Moe Moe does lots of
charity work and generally has a good heart.Best restaurant
The Black Bamboo (p 118 ).Best nightlife
Shwe Ya Su (p 119 ). It’s the only nightlife in Bagan! A great place to unwind with a cold
beer.Best place to hang out with locals
Sarabha III/Gyi Gyi’s (p 122 ). All the locals love eating there, which is always a good sign.
The beef curry is amazing.Secret spot
Bagan is the country’s only producer of pon yay gyi, a black bean curd used in a lot of Myan-
mar cooking. It’s basically the Burmese version of Marmite or Vegemite. The factory in Ny-
aung U, called Lucky Owl, is an amazing place to see the fascinating process, which is one of
the most environmentally friendly I have ever seen. Peanut husks are used as fuel for cook-
ing and the left-over beans are used as pig feed, so there are literally no waste products.
Lee Hooper, Chief Pilot for Balloons over Bagan, has been fl ying hot-air balloons over
Bagan since 2003