Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
With a breezy location on the Ayeyarwady River, Pyay is the most interesting stop on the
Yangon-Bagan Highway. The city's glory days date back to the ancient Pyu capital of
Thayekhittaya, the partially excavated remains of which lie 5 miles (8km) east of Pyay's
other stellar attraction: the dazzling Shwesandaw Paya.
Myanmar folk alternate the town's pronunciation between 'pyay' and 'pyi'. The Brits,
apparently, couldn't deal with the confusion and called it Prome. The current town site
became an important trading centre during the Bagan era. The Mon controlled it when
King Alaungpaya conquered it in 1754. Pyay boomed, along with the British Irrawaddy
Flotilla Company in the 1890s. Today, it remains an important transit point for goods
between northern and southern Myanmar. Soak up its lively atmosphere along the river-
front and at the roundabout, at the centre of which is a gilded equestrian statue of Aung
San.
