Myanmar (Burma) - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 558

1km west of National Highway 1 and the same distance
southeast of the centre of town.
Destinations Bago (3 daily; 4hr 30min); Mandalay (3 daily;
8-10hr); Nay Pyi Taw (frequent; 3-4hr); Thazi (2 daily;
5hr-5hr 30min); Yangon (3 daily; 7hr).

Destinations Hsipaw (daily; 12hr 30min); Kalaw (daily;
5hr); Mandalay (7 daily; 4hr); Pyin Oo Lwin (2 daily; 6hr);
Shwenyaung for Inle Lake (daily; 7hr); Taungoo (5 daily;
2hr); Yangon (10 daily; 6hr).
By train The train station is 14km north of Uppatasanti
Paya.
Destinations Bago (3 daily; 6hr 30min-7hr); Mandalay
(2 daily; 6hr-6hr 30min); Taungoo (3 daily; 2hr-2hr
30min); Thazi (2 daily; 3hr-3hr 30min); Yangon (3 daily;
9hr-9hr 30min).

ACCOMMODATION
★

Myanmar Beauty II-IV Pauk Hla Gyi St T 054
25073. This gem of a guesthouse was built in four stages,
with parts II-IV located together on the edge of a village
a short way off the highway (around 3km south of the
turning for Taungoo town centre). The higher the number,
the nicer the accommodation: rooms in IV ($50) have a/c,
heirloom furniture and rice-field views. The bre akfas ts are
truly fabulous and bicycles are available to rent. $20

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
With plenty of bus and train services there's little reason to
stay overnight in Nay Pyi Taw, which is a good thing since
accommodation is very expensive.
Kyauk Me Yazahtarni Rd. Serving Shan and Yunnan
Chinese dishes, mostly for around K3000, this is one of
several restaurants all located on the same stretch of road.
Open breakfast to dinner.

7

EATING
Yangon Food Villa 185 Bo Hmu Po Kun Rd. An a/c
restaurant serving Burmese, Chinese, Thai and Korean
dishes, most of them variations on noodles or rice (Thai
red curry K2700). Daily 8.30am-9.30pm.

PYAY
he lively port town of PYAY (pronounced
“pea”) boasts an impressive pagoda and
provides access to ancient ruins at
hayekhittaya. Pyay sees relatively few
tourists, since most people rush north on
the expressway from Yangon to Mandalay
rather than take the more attractive (but
longer) western route via Pyay and Magwe.

NAY PYI TAW
It seems strange to say that a country's
capital has little to offer visitors, but then
NAY PYI TAW is not an ordinary capital. Its
construction was started from scratch in a
largely rural area in 2002, with the purpose
kept secret until an announcement in 2005
that government o ces would move to the
new site because Yangon was (supposedly)
getting too congested.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
he most obvious attraction in Pyay
itself is the hilltop Shwesandaw Paya ,
which is said to contain strands of the
Buddha's hair and one of his teeth. It's
also worth heading south down Strand
Road towards the bridge across the river,
a pleasant walk past boat jetties and a
1950s Baptist church.
he most interesting day-trip is to
Thayekhittaya (also known as Sri Ksetra;
daily 8am-5pm; K5000), an archeo-
logical site 8km east of Pyay. It was the
capital of a Pyu kingdom from the fifth
to the ninth centuries, but its importance
had faded by the time it was sacked by
Bagan's King Anawrahta in 1057. here's
a small government museum (Tues-Sat
9.30am-4.30pm; K5000) and an 11km
path through the site which includes
three pagodas which doubled as
watchtowers. You can arrange a day-trip
to hayekhittaya from Pyay, including

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
he main reason to visit Nay Pyi Taw is
to get a sense of the city's oddness. Its
eight-lane highways are almost empty
and link a series of grandiose government
buildings and vanity projects. he most
visible of these is Uppatasanti Paya , a
huge pagoda paid for by General han
Shwe to atone for his sins.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
Nay Pyi Taw is very spread out and you're likely to need a
taxi or motorcycle taxi if you want to explore. Expect to pay
around K10,000 for a half-day tour by motorcycle.
By plane The airport is 16km southeast of the city.
Destinations Bangkok, Thailand (3 weekly; 2hr 30min);
Mandalay (2 weekly; 40min); Yangon (2 daily; 1hr).
By bus The main Myoma Bus Station is on Yan Myo Thant
Sin Rd, around 6km northwest of the hotel zone and 11km
west of Uppatasanti Paya.