146BAGAN & CENTRAL MYANMAR
YA N G O N–BAG A N HI G HWAY
few hours of laid-back exploration, often in
isolation. Known to Pali-Sanskrit scholars as
Sri Ksetra (Fabulous City), Thayekhittaya is
an enormous Pyu city that ruled in the area
from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. Local leg-
end links its origin to the mythical King Dut-
tabaung, who supposedly worked with ogres
and other supernatural creatures to build
the ‘magical city’ in 443 BC. The earliest Pali
inscriptions found here date back to the 5th
or 6th centuries.
Seeing the 5.5-sq-mile site means ei-
ther walking the 7.5-mile loop around it or
hopping on the back of an ox-drawn cart
(K5000; 3hr) for a bumpy, dusty journey past
the spaced-out temples, most just outside
the oval city walls. It’s a good idea to have a
knowledgeable guide as well. Bicycles aren’t
permitted. Note that the site and museum
fees go to the government (see p 21 ). 1 Sights
At the entrance to the site is the small, gov-
ernment-run Sri Ksetra Museum (admission
$5; hTue-Sat 10am-4pm) with its posted map
of the area and various artefacts from exca-
vations, including Hindu deities, 6th-century
Buddha images, Pyu beads and silver coins.
Behind the museum to the south, the
road soon follows the remains of the old pal-
ace walls. Ox-cart drivers – at a speed that
ebbs and fl ows according to the mood of theox – make a counterclockwise loop of the fol-
lowing sites.
The fi rst stop will be at a recent excavation:
a large brick building that is thought to have
been a palace. After 2.5 miles or so, the road
passes Rahanta Gate, where fragments of the
overgrown brick gate run alongside the dirt
road. Immediately south is the Rahanta cave
temple, thought to date to the Bagan period
and last repaired in the 1920s, with eight Bud-
dha images lined along the south wall.
About a mile south, the Bawbawgyi Paya
(Big Grandfather Stupa) is Thayekhittaya’s
most impressive site: a 50yd cylindrical stu-
pa with a golden hti on its top. It’s among
the oldest and least obviously renovated Pyu
sights, dating back to the 4th century. It’s
the prototype of many Myanmar pagodas.
Two-hundred yards northeast is the small-
er cube-shaped Bebe Paya, which has a
cylindrical top and a few Buddha images in-
side; its thought to date to the 10th century.
Just north is the squat Leimyethna Paya,
which has a visible iron frame keeping it to-
gether. Inside four original Buddha reliefs (a
bit cracked, some faces missing) are visible.
On either side of the roads around here, look
out for long ruts in the ground; they were
once brick moats.
A couple of hundred yards to the north is
a fork in the road: to the right (north) is a
tin-roofed cemetery; to the left (west), onBUSSING IT ACROSS THE BAGO YOMAVictoria Tofi q and John Greenhalgh, British travellers we met in Ngapali in 2011, told us
about their overland journey from Pyay via Taunggok, which took 18 hours and involved
three changes of transport:
VT: When we went to Pyay bus station, the people pointed to a picture of a minibus. We
found a tiny van seating just eight.
JG: They were worried about my height – it was very uncomfortable, impossible to sleep in.
VT: There were 10 checkpoints on the road between Pyay and Taunggok – our guest-
house in Pyay prepared 10 photocopies of our passports and visas for the driver to hand
out at each one. We arrived at the fi nal checkpoint very early in the morning, so had to
wait several hours until it opened at 4.30am.
JG: When it did open, we found we could have easily walked from there to Taunggok bus
station! We decide to continue on to Ngapali when we found a big open-top pick-up truck
leaving at 7am for Thandwe – that cost K2500.
VT: It was packed with people and piled with sacks of produce, but had lots of atmo-
sphere. We saw the sunrise and drove past beautiful landscapes and waving children.
JG: At Thandwe we boarded a smaller pick-up that brought us to Ngapali for K2000 each.
VT: The road was bumpy all the way, so we didn’t sleep and it was very tiring – it’s really
roughing it! But it was also the most interesting journey of our visit. And Ngapali is a
beautiful place at which to recover.