AROUND PYAY

PYU ANCIENT CITY - SRI KSETRA & CLIFF SIDE CARVINGS OF AKUAK TAUNG

We boarded the mini bus just before 5am, expecting it to be an 11 hour journey, as that’s what we had been told and also what I had garnered from uncle Google.  Turned out to be only just over 6 hours!!  Woo hoo!  I don’t think any of the bus journey’s so far have been anywhere near to schedule or the length we had been led to believe, but hey, I’m never gonna complain about a bus trip taking half the expected time!  Tickets from Pathein to Pyay were $10 each.

2 motorbike taxi’s from the bus station were $1.50 each to the  Smile Hotel (and I use that word hotel, VERY loosely), $24 for a dingy room with no wifi or hot water, but the staff seem helpful enough, even with their very limited English.  I had a scooter organized within the hour, from the boss at Myat Guesthouse, some cheap digs at $15 a night if you don’t mind shared bathrooms.

It was straight out onto the shitty tracks and into the bush again, the GPS leading us god knows where again, but we did eventually find Pyu Ancient City – Sri Ksetra, though it was fairly confusing going from site to site.  There wasn’t a lot left to see which is a shame, as some of the old compound’s and structures looked to have been huge in their glory days.

The Baw Baw Gyi Stupar was easily the most impressive, a massive bell shaped structure that stood 153 feet tall, easily one of the coolest ancient remains I have been to, and I’ve been to A LOT!  It was the sheer size and dominance of this single structure, that appeared to serve no purpose other than to proudly proclaim to all those that beheld it - ‘Yep, we’re pretty fucken awesome!’, that made it so amazing to gaze upon.

Rack up another win for the GPS - because we had taken some obscure route through the bush to get there, we avoided paying a $5 per person entry fee!!  We were almost about to leave, totally unaware that there was an office somewhere for you to pay an entrance fee, when we were approached by somebody and asked for our tickets.

 I did offer to pay the money then, but they waved us through and sent us on our way, with an extra $10 to spend on booze tonight!  Considering I just bought a 350ml bottle of rum for 80 cents, $10 goes along way on your booze budget here in Myanmar!

We stopped at UDV Beer Station and Restaurant on the way home, right near the town roundabout, for dinner and well…  beer!  The food is great, staff spoke a little English, plus they have an English menu, beers are cold and the prices are good.  

As well as being a great people watching spot, they almost have wifi, but we managed to tap into the beer garden next door's very slow, but usable wifi.  Internet only exists here in the form of an internet shop, but the speed was pretty good and pricing cheap.

Baw Baw Gyi Stupa