Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of a tall stupa-spire on top. Just south of here is another small square brick shrine, the
Lay
Myet Hna
, its collapsing walls held together in a cage of big red girders.
Re-entering the walls and heading north you'll reach the small eighth-century
East Zegu
Pagoda
, with its four entrances (all now bricked up) and heavily moulded brick doorways
andpilasters, althoughtheoriginal roofhasnowbeenreplaced byalargeconcrete daub.One
final hop north brings you to the
PayahtaungPagoda
, just east of the museum. Dating from
the tenth or eleventh century, this is the largest and finest of Thayekhittaya's shrines: a big
squarebrickbox,eachofitsfoursidespenetratedbyasolitaryundersizeddoor.Amini-stupa
sits on one corner of the roof next to three superimposed terraces which look as if they once
supported a rooftop stupa-spire, although no trace of this remains.
Shwedaung
Regular pick-ups run from Pyay to Shwedaung
A popular day-trip from Pyay is to the
Shwemyetman Pagoda
in the town of
Shwedaung
,
15km south of Pyay on the Yangon highway. The temple is famous for its bespectacled
Buddha: a huge seated image wearing a natty pair of round spectacles and bearing a faint
but unmistakable resemblance to John Lennon. One tradition holds that the statue was first
equipped with eyewear by King Duttabaung in the fourth century after he went blind -
whereupon the monarch promptly regained his sight; another, that the glasses were added to
the statue to provoke local interest in the Buddhist faith (although the statue's original spec-
tacles were stolen long ago and the image now wears modern replacements). Whatever its
origins, the statue is believed to have the power to cure poor eyesight and other ocular dis-
eases - a case near the statue is full of glasses discarded by visitors who claim to have had
perfect vision restored during a visit to the temple.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: PYAY AND AROUND
By bus
The bus station is 4km east of the centre along Bogyoke Rd - to get there from the
centre either catch one of the pick-ups that shuttle up and down Bogyoke Rd or catch a mo-
torbike taxi (K1000). The only bus to Bagan currently leaves in the late afternoon; alternat-
ively, catch a bus to Magwe and pick up a connection there. If you're tackling the adventur-
ousoverlandroutetoSittwe and/orMraukUbybusyou'llmostlikely alsohavetochangeat
Magwe, but it's worth asking just in case any direct services have become available.
Destinations
Magwe (4 daily; 5hr); Mandalay (2 daily; 13hr); Nyaung U (1 daily; 8hr);
Ngapali (1 nightly; 12hr); Yangon (6 daily; 6-7hr).
Bytrain
Nightly services to Yangon leave from the main station right in the middle of town.
There's also an overnight service to Bagan departing from Shwethekar station, around 10km
east of the centre.
Destinations
Bagan (1 nightly; 10hr); Yangon (1 nightly; 8hr 30min).
