Just past the Bu Paya, is the mighty Ayeyarwaddy River. The Bu Paya occupies an impressive location since it can be easily seen from the river. The Ayeyarwaddy, formerly known as the Irrawady River, is one of the mightiest rivers in Asia. Just like the other mighty rivers in Asia, the waters of the river come from the melting ice of the Himalayas in Tibet, China. The Yangtze, Yellow River both in China, and the Mekong River of Southeast Asia all share the same origin. The Ayeyarwaddy River flows through much of Myanmar and empties out into the Andaman Sea.
However, in the extremely hot summer here in Bagan, the mighty Ayeyarwaddy River is not so mighty. In fact the level of the water is considerably lower. However during the rainy season, the water gets swollen that it almost fills up to the brim. Little wonder that an earthquake managed to bring down the Bu Paya. There quick a number of boats along the Ayeyarwaddy and I would assume that there were river trips but no one seems to be bugging me about them. I suppose that everybody was too hot to bother about me. That is the way I like it though.
Like other major rivers in the region, the Ayeyarwaddy River is also a major mode of transportation in Myanmar with boats continually plying the waters. There is in fact a boat ride tourists can take from Bagan to Mandalay which will take 3 days. i can’t seem myself doing that though since it would be too long and too expensive. This river is definitely the lifeblood of Myanmar and you can probably say that the Burmese empire started along the banks of this river.
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