Naypyidaw, also spelled Nay Pyi Taw, officially replaced Yangon as the capital of Myanmar in 2005. It is officially known by the acronym NPT.
Naypyidaw is unique and a little bizarre. It's a large and fully laid out city but with insufficient inhabitants and buildings for its size, so you can experience the unprecedented Asian scenario of never getting stuck in traffic. Whether this weird situation will remain when Myanmar's economy begins to boom is another matter since the lack of gridlock is certainly not down to superb road planning and cutting edge traffic control. What helps are the eight-lane boulevards and Parisian-sized roundabouts. Naypyidaw was a rather secretive construction project by the ruling military junta in the early 2000s and, in November 2005, was suddenly proclaimed Myanmar's new capital.
This is a common form of transport in Naypyidaw, but it can be risky. Similar to those in Bangkok, although called a "thaw lar gyi" in Myanmar. Taxi drivers hang around the shopping centres and bus station and you need to negotiate with them. For foreigners the asking costs can be high at US$5 for even relatively short journeys. Distances between locations are large so finding a taxi needs some effort (best to ask the hotel to help). An example fare from Feb 2017: 7000 kyat for a 20-minute journey from the Golden Lake Hotel to the Myoma Bus Station. Arranged in advance at the hotel.
1 Defence Services Museum, Zeyathiri Township. An enormous half open-air, half housed complex celebrating the country's military. For a country with so many pressing needs you may find this multi-million dollar vanity project hard to stomach, but it's free, and anyone interested in military hardware and history will easily be occupied for some hours. It's a very long walk to see everything. If possible, hire a scooter from your hotel, register at the office 300 m beyond the entrance gates (bring passport) and then park at each of the three main buildings. Otherwise, brace for a walk of several kilometres, at least most of which are under covered walkways.
City Park (Behind the city hall). Park with a playground and water fountain complex, which hosts a musical light show every night. Golf. Naypyidaw has four golf courses, Nay Pyi Taw City Golf Course, Yaypyar Golf Course, Yan Aung Myin Golf Course and Royal Myanmar Golf Course. Ngalaik Lake Gardens (~10 km from Naypyidaw). A small water park along Ngalaik Dam, near Kyweshin Village on Ngalaik Lake. Has water slides, resorts, lodgings and a beach.
1 Satori Japanese Restaurant Naypyitaw, Myat Pan Thazin St, နေပြည်တော်, ☏ +95 9 677 066677. Bento boxes and sushi and ramen. (updated Jul 2018)
Myanmar beer is very drinkable and there are several different types. Locally produced whisky is very cheap, 5,000 kyat a litre, even for the best local brands. Wine is also available including local red and white wine. International wines are available, usually around 8,500-15,000 kyat. The Junction and Capital supermarkets have sections selling wine, beer and whisky.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
In Sep, Naypyidaw typically sees ~30°C daytime highs and 30 rainy days.
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