Naypyidaw

Naypyitaw Myoma Market is Naypyidaw’s commercial center. Thapye Chaung Market and Junction Centre Naypyidaw are two more retail centers. There are two medium-sized retail malls in the “hotel zone,” Junction and Capital, both of which feature a grocery and restaurants. Junction also includes a movie theater.

Things To See

• King Statues. Three massive statues portraying Burmese history’s three most prominent kings: Anawrahta, Bayinnaung, and Alaungpaya U Aung Zeya.
• National Herbal Park. Plants with therapeutic benefits from all of Burma’s main areas are on display. The park has thousands of plants with hundreds of different kinds. Free.
• Naypyidaw Safari Park.
• Naypyidaw Zoological Gardens. It first opened its doors in 2008, with 420 animals and a climate-controlled penguin habitat. It is Burma’s biggest zoo since most of the animals were transported from Rangoon’s zoo at the same time as government personnel were making the same trek. When a well-known comedian said, inevitably, that “all our animals are heading to Naypiydaw,” he was imprisoned.
• Uppatasanti Pagoda (Peace Pagoda). A well-known landmark in Naypyidaw. The pagoda, which holds a Chinese Buddha tooth relic, is a duplicate of Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda and reaches 100 meters tall. It also has a Maha Hsutaungpyae Buddha image in the Maha Pasadabhumi Gandhakuti Chamber, four jade Buddha images in the pagoda’s hollow cave, a 33-meter-high flagpole, a Bo tree garden with the Maha Bo Tree and images of the 28 Buddhas, Marlini Mangala Lake with the chamber of Shin Uppagutta, and a pagoda museum.

Things To Do

• City Park (Behind the city hall). Every night, a musical light display is performed in a park featuring a playground and a water fountain complex.
• Golf. Nay Pyi Taw City Golf Course and Yaypyar Golf Course are the two golf courses in Naypyidaw.
• Ngalaik Lake Gardens (~10 km from Naypyidaw). A tiny water park near Kyweshin Village on Ngalaik Lake, located beside the Ngalaik Dam. Water slides, resorts, accommodation, and a beach are all available.

Naypyidaw is nestled between the Bago and Shan mountain ranges. According to official statistics, the city has a population of 924,608 people and a land area of 7,054.37 km2 (2,723.71 sq mi).

Chaungmagyi Dam is a few kilometers north of Naypyidaw, while Ngalaik Dam is a few kilometers south. The Yezin Dam is located to the northeast.

BY PLAIN

The current airport in Ela was renovated to take larger planes to manage increased traffic to the capital. It is located 16 kilometers (10 miles) southeast of Kyatpyae. All domestic airlines have now listed this airport as a destination: Myanma Airways, Yangon Airways, Air Mandalay, and Air Bagan.

Only army generals and a few international guests fly to Naypyidaw, with the rest of the population using the bus.

BY RAIL

A train departs Yangon at 12:00 and arrives in Naypyidaw at 21:00. (9 hr).

BY BUS

A bus from Yangon to the capital takes approximately 4 hours and goes along the new 8-lane toll motorway, which appears out of nowhere at a drab juncture.

BY CAR

Yangon and NPT are connected by a recently constructed toll highway. If you’re traveling from Yangon, it’s 320 kilometers (200 miles) long, with a service area that includes a gas station and an absurdly costly, filthy, and tasteless restaurant just before the halfway mark.

BY MOTORBIKE TAXI

In Naypyidaw, this is how people get around.

BY TUK-TUK

Similar to those found in Bangkok, but known in Myanmar as “thaw lar gyi.”

Naypyidaw is divided into several zones. The city still lacks many of the amenities that one would anticipate in a major cit.

RESIDENTIAL ZONES

Apartments are assigned according to position and marital status in the residential districts, which are well planned. There are now 1,200 four-story apartment buildings in the city. Apartment buildings’ rooftops are color-coded according to the jobs of their tenants; buildings with blue roofs house Ministry of Health staff, while those with green roofs house Ministry of Agriculture employees. There are roughly 50 mansions in which high-ranking government officials dwell. However, many of the city’s people live in slums.

MILITARY ZONES

High-ranking military commanders and other essential officials dwell in a complex with tunnels and bunkers that is closed to the public, 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) away from normal government personnel. A military base is also located in the city, which is only accessible to civilians and other authorized individuals with written authorization. The roads inside the military zone have eight lanes to allow small planes to land.

MINISTRY ZONE

The Ministry Zone in the city houses the offices of Burma’s government ministries. The appearance of all the ministry buildings is the same. A 31-building parliamentary complex and a 100-room presidential residence are also located there. The city hall building, which has many features of Stalinist design but a Burmese-style roof, is also located in this zone.

HOTEL ZONE

On the city’s steep outskirts, the Hotel zone features a number of villa-style hotels. Currently, there are twelve hotels in or around Naypyidaw. Eight of them are in the Naypyidaw Hotel Zone, while the other two are on the Yangon-Mandalay Road in Laeway (Lewe). In preparation for the 25th ASEAN Summit in Naypyitaw in November 2014, forty villas were built near the Myanmar Convention Centre. The government began construction on the villas in 2010. Due to a lack of money, the project was eventually placed out to bidding for private sector investors to complete. The procurement process’s details are unknown, but 10 companies were picked to engage in the activity, including businesses controlled by significant business individuals with strong ties to the government.

The competitors and spectators of the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, which were held in Naypyidaw, were housed in 348 hotels and 442 inns.

MARKET / SUPERMARKET

RESTAURANTS

ENTERTAINMENT

CLOTHES / SHOES

TRANSPORTATION

• King Statues. Three massive statues portraying three of Burmese history’s most prominent kings: Anawrahta, Bayinnaung, and Alaungpaya U Aung Zeya.
• National Herbal Park. Plants with therapeutic properties from all of Burma’s major areas are on display. At the park, there are thousands of plants representing hundreds of various species. Free.
• Naypyidaw Safari Park.
• Naypyidaw Zoological Gardens. With 420 animals and a climate-controlled penguin habitat, it opened in 2008. It is Burma’s largest zoo, as most of the animals were transported from Rangoon’s zoo at the same time as government personnel were making the same trek. As a result, a well-known comedian was inevitably imprisoned after declaring that “all our animals are going to Naypiydaw.”
• Uppatasanti Pagoda (Peace Pagoda). In Naypyidaw, this is a well-known landmark. The pagoda, which rises 100 meters tall and includes a Buddha tooth relic from China, is a duplicate of Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda. It also has a Maha Hsutaungpyae Buddha image in the Maha Pasadabhumi Gandhakuti Chamber, four jade Buddha images in the pagoda’s hollow cave, a 33-meter-high flagpole, a Bo tree garden with Maha Bo Tree and the images of the 28 Buddhas, Marlini Mangala Lake with the Shin Uppagutta chamber, and a pagoda museum.

• City Park (Behind the city hall). Every night, a musical light display is held at this park with a playground and water fountain complex.
• Golf. Nay Pyi Taw City Golf Course and Yaypyar Golf Course are the two golf courses in Naypyidaw.
• Ngalaik Lake Gardens (~10 km from Naypyidaw). A tiny water park at Kyweshin Village on Ngalaik Lake, near the Ngalaik Dam. There are water slides, resorts, accommodations, and a beach on the property.

Naypyitaw Myoma Market is Naypyidaw’s commercial hub. Thapye Chaung Market and Junction Centre Naypyidaw are two other retail centers. Two medium-sized retail malls, Junction and Capital, are located in the “hotel zone,” each with a grocery and eateries. Junction also includes a movie theater.