Perched atop a mountain and overlooking the the Ayeyarwady River and Bagan is Tant Kyi Taung Pagoda.

THERE are all kinds of ways to while away your weekend. Some people like to relax in front of the TV following a stressful week at work, while others, like me, prefer crippling hangovers and frustrating tennis matches. But why waste your weekend when there is so much you can see in just two days?

Believe it or not, you can actually make a decent weekend trip to Bagan in just 48 hours, and even toss in a visit to a famous nearby temple along the way.

All you need is a solid plan. Mine centred on some unfinished business in Bagan. My first time there, I had wanted to visit the temple on top of the mountain across the Ayeyarwady River, but it had eluded me.

Before leaving Yangon I did some research and discovered that the temple, Tant Kyi Taung Pagoda, is one of four built in and around Bagan to house replicas of the Buddha’s lower left wisdom tooth.

Unfortunately there were a few hurdles to overcome before I would be able stand at the railing at the pagoda and peer out across the Ayeyarwady to Bagan and beyond: I had to get there, for one thing, starting with an early flight from Yangon to Nyaung Oo airport.

The thought of having to get up before 5am fills me with dread, and that Saturday morning it swept over me in waves. Still, I successfully fought the desire to smash my alarm clock and jumped out of bed, motivated by the fear of waking my housemates.

In short order I packed my backpack, grabbed my camera bag, checked my tickets and went to look for a taxi.

Two mistakes reminded me that I’m not a morning person. First I erroneously told the taxi driver to let me out at the international terminal. Then, after schlepping myself across to the domestic terminal, I lined up for the wrong flight.

Once I finally got on the plane, the flight was blissfully easy and at Nyaung Oo I quickly found a taxi and made my way to the luxurious Tharabar Gate Hotel in Old Bagan.

After showering I met with Tin Shein, the regional manager of travel company Abercrombie & Kent, to discuss my plan.

I told him I wanted to spend Saturday doing the usual Bagan tour in a horse cart and then visit Tant Kyi Taung on Sunday.

He laughed at my ambitious schedule and then told me that to get to Tant Kyi Taung all I needed to do was negotiate a ferry from Bhuphaya Pagoda across the Ayeyarwady River and then pay the set fare of K14,000 for a jeep ride to the temple. He then introduced me to my cart driver, U Myo Nyunt.

Saturday was a blur of the biggest and best known temples in Bagan, including-Ananda Phaya, Shwezigon and Dhammayangyi Pahto.

At the end of the day U Myo Nyunt took me to Shwesandaw Pagoda, where I watched and photographed the sunset.

For dinner that night I chose Sarabha II restaurant because it was next to my hotel and had no desire to go any further. The food was pleasant but not spectacular and cost twice what I would have paid at a street vendor. But I had an ulterior motive for choosing Sarabha II: I’d met an interesting New Zealand couple earlier in the day who were travelling the world and over dinner I quizzed them about their experiences.

The following morning I surprised myself by actually getting up at 4:40. After a quick coffee I walked outside and found U Myo Nyunt already waiting. We rode to Mee Nyein Gone Pagoda and I climbed to the upper levels and watched the magnificent sunrise. There were no other tourists there and I revelled in having such a beautiful site all to myself.

From there we took the cart down to Bhuphaya Pagoda and U Myo Nyunt negotiated the fee to cross the river: Only K9000 for return passage. Better yet, I was the only passenger.

The Ayeyarwady River had swelled considerably since my December visit and the crossing was entertainingly rough. Midway across the river the rolling swell made the bow of the boat lift and crash over the waves while I sat in my seat and enjoyed the radiant sunshine. My only fear was that my newly purchased hat would be blown off.

After we reached the Ayeyarwady’s far bank the ferry captain jumped out, secured the vessel and guided me to the village at the base of Tant Kyi Hill. A Willys jeep awaited us and we climbed in and started to drive up the mountain.

The road was typically horrendous and the driver had to zigzag his way between patches of potholes and scarified tarmac. Fortunately someone had repaired the worst sections by filling the holes with gravel and clay, otherwise the road might have been impassable.

Part way up the hill something dog-sized and red flashed across the road ahead of us and the driver became quite animated, but sadly a lack of quality translator left me completely in the dark about what it was.

Some 20 minutes later we reached the top and I took off my shoes and left them in the car. A stairway flanked by vividly painted dragon statues led from the road up to the pagoda and I walked to the top, only to be blinded by the golden statue that reflected sunlight directly into my eyes.

After cursing my lack of sunglasses I carefully walked around the pagoda and kept my eyes downcast to avoid another scalding until I reached the railing.

The view from the mountaintop was breathtaking. I could see east across the Ayeyarwady to Bagan and beyond, even as far as Mt Popa. The sight of the mountain tapering down to the river’s edge in a series of crests and ravines for kilometres in either direction in a long serrated edge was spectacular.

There were three smaller shrines on top of the mountain and I made sure to check out each one. Most intriguing was a rock pagoda on an outcropping where three sides dropped off vertically for at least 30 metres – an intimidating and exhilarating sight.

It was then time for the ride back down the mountain get back on the ferry for the return trip. By this time fatigue had begun to set in, even though it was only 9:45 in the morning. Even the coffee I drank at a village tea shop failed to wake me up. Luckily the spray of water from the ferry’s bow did the trick, and by 10:30 we found ourselves back at Bhuphaya Pagoda, where U Myo Nyunt was waiting for me.

The rest of the day was spent much like Saturday – riding around to different pagodas and soaking up the lovely June weather.

It was a pleasant change to see Bagan covered in greenery and without the hordes of tourists that swarm across temples and ruin photographs in tourist season. The attitude of the locals was also far more relaxed than I remembered from my last trip.

I returned to my hotel about 5pm and was picked up by a prearranged taxi at 5:20, which took me to the Nyaung Oo airport for the return flight to Yangon.

By 9pm I was cooking dinner at home with the memories and photos of a great weekend safely stashed in my head and camera.

Some basic accounting revealed that my weekend had cost me about $320, with almost no expense spared. Not bad for what I saw and did.

So where will I go on my next weekend away? You’ll have to wait and see.