Pyay, Myanmar (Burma)

Pyay (Prome or Pyi) is best known for the nearby archaelogical site of Sri Ksetra-known as Thiri Kettaya in Burmese. It is an important trading centre between Lower and Upper Myanmar and crossing point to the Rakhine Yoma and Thandwe (Sandoway). Thiri Kettaya was the Pyu capital until the 8th century and finally destroyed by King Anawratha from Bagan in 1057. Pyay is a stopover for the site of Thayekhittaya. It also has a nice paya, Shwensandow paya. We went to Pyay to visit the ancient site of Thyekhittaya. We rented a car to visit the site. Some guidebooks say you can do it by bike, but it's a really long and hot ride ! We payed 3 US$ for the taxi for the whole day. There's a museum at the entrance. They wanted to open it for us only, but we had to pay 5 US$ each and it's just 1 room. Coming from Bagan, you might be a bit disappointed with the ruins. The fun of this place however is that you have to discover everything by yourself (a guidebook says you'll feel like Indiana Jones). This might change, there are already some roads and we did get help from a local farmer. It's fun to spend your day here, and there's a market nearby. If you still didn't have enough of paya's, you can still visit the Shwesandow pagoda. It's on a hill top, so you have a great view of Pyay. All roads lead to Pyay, at least some important ones from Yangon, Bagan and Ngapali Beach do, not forgetting the mighty Ayeyarwady River. But the trouble is most visitors just keep on going. It's laid-back enough, with river views and nearby ruins older than Bagan's. The central statue of Aung San on horseback is 2km west of the bus station, just south of the main market, and a block east of the Ayeyarwady