Pyay: An Ancient Gem by the Irrawaddy River

• Helloမင်္ဂလာပါ
  [mingala ba]
• Goodbyeသွားပါ
  [swarr ba]
• Yesဟုတ်သည်
  [hote ne]
• Noမဟုတ်ဘူး
  [ma hote bu]
• Please/You're welcomeကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ်
  [chay zu tin ba de]
• Thank youကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ်
  [chay zu tin ba de]
• Excuse me/Sorryခဏလို့
  [khan loe]
• How are you?ဘယ်ဘက်လဲ
  [be ba le]
• Fine. And you?ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ်။ မင်းလဲ
  [chay zu tin ba de. mingal le]
• Do you speak English?အင်္ဂလိပ်မက်ဆိုးလဲ
  [ingelein ma hket loe]
• I don't understandမဟုတ်ဘူးသေးပါ
  [ma hote bu se ba]

• I'd like to see the menu, pleaseမီနူလင်နဲ့ကိုယ်တို့ပါပဲ
  [menu lang ne koatote ba ba]
• I don't eat meatသာသနာမဟုတ်ဘူး
  [sa thana ma hote bu]
• Cheers!အင်္ဂလိပ်စိန်း
  [ingelein sein]
• I would like to pay, pleaseငွေငွေချေးပါတယ်
  [ngwe ngwe chay ba de]

• Help!ကျက်လုပ်ပါ
  [kyat loat ba]
• Go away!အင်္ဂလိပ်တင်ပါ
  [ingelein ting ba]
• Call the Police!ရှေ့ဝါးမောင်ခံပါ
  [shwe wa maung hkan ba]
• Call a doctor!ဆော့ရှေ့ပါ
  [shwar shwe ba]
• I'm lostငါ့မှာလား
  [nga ma lar]
• I'm illငါ့ဆိုးလား
  [nga shor lar]

• I'd like to buy...ဝယ်ခွင်းမပါပဲ
  [wai hkwang ma ba ba]
• I'm just lookingကြည့်ရေးလို့
  [jyay le loe]
• How much is it?ဘယ်ဘက်လဲ
  [be ba le]
• That's too expensiveဤဖြူစည်းပါပဲ
  [yeh pyu saing ba ba]
• Can you lower the price?စျေးနိုင်ပါသလား
  [se neing ba sa lar]

• What time is it?ဘယ်ဘက်လဲ
  [be ba le]
• It's one o'clockတစ်နာရီ
  [htat nari]
• Half past (10)ဆယ်လေး
  [sa ley]
• Morningနန်းလန်
  [nan lan]
• Afternoonနေ့လန်
  [ne lan]
• Eveningညနေ
  [nya ne]
• Yesterdayမနေ
  [ma ne]
• Todayယနေ
  [ya ne]
• Tomorrowမနက်
  [ma ne]
• 1တစ်
  [htat]
• 2နှစ်
  [hnac]
• 3သုံး
  [son]
• 4လေး
  [ley]
• 5ငါး
  [nga]
• 6ခြောက်
  [chauk]
• 7ခွေ
  [hkwae]
• 8ရှေး
  [shay]
• 9ကိုး
  [ko]
• 10တဆယ်
  [htasay]

• Where's a/the...?ဘယ်လက်ခဲ့လဲ
  [be ka gyi le]
• What's the address?ဘယ်လိုလဲ
  [be lo le]
• Can you show me (on the map)?မြောက်ပဲပြောပါသလား
  [myauk ba pyau ba sa lar]
• When's the next (bus)?နောက်စရာလဲ
  [ne ka ra le]
• A ticket (to ....)လက်မွတ်ပါတယ်
  [ka mawt ba de]

Pyay, which was originally known as Prome, is deeply rooted in the ancient Pyu civilization. The Pyu people were among the earliest inhabitants of the region, and their presence dates back as far as the 2nd century BCE. Pyay was one of the most prominent city-states of the Pyu culture, which flourished for over a thousand years. The city was a hub of Buddhist culture and learning, as evidenced by the numerous stupas and monasteries that dot the landscape. The Pyu were known for their advanced urban planning and irrigation systems, which helped sustain their agricultural economy for centuries.

Sri Ksetra, located just outside modern-day Pyay, was the largest and most important Pyu city. It is believed to have been founded around the 5th century CE. The city played a crucial role in the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia. The massive walls and grand stupas, such as the Bawbawgyi Stupa, are testaments to the city's former grandeur. Sri Ksetra was an important center for trade, connecting the Indian subcontinent with Southeast Asia through overland routes.

In the 9th century, the Pyu city-states, including Sri Ksetra, came under the influence of the emerging Burmese Empire. The Burmese, led by King Anawrahta of the Pagan Dynasty, conquered the Pyu territories and assimilated their culture and administrative systems. This period marked the end of the Pyu civilization as an independent entity and the beginning of Burmese dominance in the region. The Burmese Empire adopted many aspects of Pyu culture, including their script and Buddhist traditions.

In the 19th century, Pyay fell under British colonial rule after the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852. The British renamed the city from Prome to Pyay and developed it as a significant administrative and commercial center in Lower Burma. The colonial period brought significant changes to Pyay's infrastructure, including the construction of roads, railways, and schools. The British influence is still visible in some of the architectural styles found in the city today.

During World War II, Pyay was occupied by Japanese forces from 1942 to 1945. The city became a strategic military base due to its location along the Irrawaddy River and the railway connecting Yangon to northern Burma. The occupation caused significant hardship for the local population and led to widespread destruction of infrastructure. After the war, Pyay, like the rest of Burma, struggled with the challenges of rebuilding and achieving independence from colonial rule.

In the post-independence era, Pyay has continued to develop as a regional center of commerce and culture. It retains its historical charm with numerous ancient sites, such as the Shwesandaw Pagoda, which remains a major pilgrimage destination. Modern Pyay is a blend of its rich historical heritage and contemporary Burmese culture. The city is known for its vibrant local markets, traditional festivals, and the warm hospitality of its residents.

Pyay is located in the Bago Region of Myanmar. The nearest major airport is Yangon International Airport, approximately 260 kilometers southeast of Pyay. From Yangon, you can reach Pyay by bus, train, or private car. Buses are the most common way to travel and typically take around 6-7 hours. Trains are slower and less comfortable but offer a scenic journey through the countryside. Private cars or taxis provide the quickest and most convenient option.

In Pyay, local transportation options include trishaws, motorbike taxis, and regular taxis. Trishaws are an economical and eco-friendly way to get around for short distances. Motorbike taxis are faster and can navigate through traffic more easily. Regular taxis are available for longer journeys and provide more comfort. For a more immersive experience, consider renting a bicycle to explore the town at your own pace.

The official currency in Myanmar is the Burmese Kyat (MMK). While some hotels and larger establishments may accept credit cards, most transactions in Pyay are cash-based. It is advisable to carry sufficient cash, especially for smaller shops, markets, and street vendors. ATMs are available but may not always be reliable, so withdrawing cash in larger cities before heading to Pyay is recommended.

Pyay is generally a safe destination for tourists, but standard safety precautions should still be taken. Avoid walking alone at night, especially in unfamiliar areas, and always keep an eye on your belongings in crowded places. There are no specific high-crime areas targeting tourists, but it is always wise to stay vigilant and be aware of your surroundings.

In case of emergency, dial 199 for police assistance or 192 for medical emergencies. The local hospital in Pyay can handle most medical situations, but for serious conditions, you may need to be transferred to a larger facility in Yangon. It is advisable to have travel insurance that covers medical emergencies. Pharmacies are available in the town for minor health issues and over-the-counter medications.

Fashion: Do dress modestly, especially when visiting religious sites. Avoid wearing revealing clothing. Religion: Do show respect for local customs and traditions. Always remove your shoes and cover your shoulders and knees when entering temples and pagodas. Public Transport: Do be polite and patient when using public transport. Give up your seat to elderly or disabled passengers. Don't eat or drink on public transport. Greetings: Do greet people with a slight bow or by saying 'Mingalaba' (hello). A handshake is also acceptable. Eating & Drinking: Do try local foods and accept food offerings graciously. Don't waste food, as it is considered disrespectful.

To experience Pyay like a local, visit the bustling markets where you can find fresh produce, local handicrafts, and traditional foods. Engage with locals, who are often friendly and eager to share stories about their culture and history. Don't miss the opportunity to visit the Shwesandaw Pagoda, one of Pyay's most iconic landmarks. For a unique experience, take a boat trip along the Ayeyarwady River to see the rural life and beautiful landscapes of the region.