Bayin Nyi Rock Climbing

DESCRIPTION:
Bayin Nyi is a Buddhist temple site built next to and on a karst formation and cave that pays homage to Buddhism in conjunction with Nats. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_(spirit). The climbing is outside of the temple complex. If you are looking at the temple from the parking lot, the climbing is left of the temple. When standing in the parking lot, there is a small concrete road 50 yards left of the main entrance. Take this until you seem some boulders near some temple buildings. There is a small road that trends left from here and circles the entire mountain. You will soon pass some small hot springs on your left, and you will reach Karaweik Wall on the right hand side of the path (the karaweik is the giant chicken boat that you will see). During rainy season (June through late September) Bayin Nyi floods and turns the karst mountain into an island. The main wall (Karaweik) floods but Natyaykan, Alamo Wall, and The Rabbit Hole all stay above water. You can get there by asking one of the boatmen to take you to Nat Yay Kan Goh (Spirit Lake Cave), they will drop you off on the shore, and you can tell them when to pick you up. Round trip the boatmen charge 1000 kyat.

Because of the annual drop off in climbing traffic for months at a time during rainy season, be prepared for dirty climbs if you're coming right after the crag dries out (October). Best to bring a big brush at that time of year.

It is very important to respect the norms of the monastery while climbing at Bayin Nyi, show over-the-top respect to the monks. Monks are revered, almost deified, in Myanmar. Smile, wave, say hello and comply with any requests. Make sure to remove shoes before approaching any pagodas or monastery areas. This includes the small pagoda that is halfway through the cave on the way to Alamo Wall. Additionally, don't drink alcohol at the crag or near the monastery. Women are expected to dress more modestly than men, especially relevant for lounging in the hot springs. If you really want to contribute to maintaining the relationships with the monks, feel free to donate food parcels or money to the monastery.

Mosquitoes can be abundant during certain times of the year, bringing mosquito spray or lotion helps, but the mosquito coils are much more effective.

Food and Water can be bought in the parking lot tea shops at all times of the year except rainy season when the shops get flooded out annually.

GEAR:
Fixed Gear is discouraged mainly because of the visual impact and because during the process of bolting we found several of our draws and biners going missing. We finally asked at the monastery and they returned a treasure trove of long lost gear that the young novice monks had managed to remove from the wall. How little monk novices managed to remove biners from the crux of a 5.12, I have no idea, but most likely better to not leave gear on the wall.

CRAG ORGANIZATION:
The West Facing Crags (morning shade until about 12:00):
Karaweik (the main wall with a good variety of difficulty)
Big Fish (the overhanging wall on the right end of Karaweik, a few overhanging climbs)
Nat Yay Kan Area (a smattering of climbs near the cave entrance with varying degrees of quality and difficulty)

The East Facing Crags (afternoon shade after 12:00):
The Alamo (mostly short, hard and moderate routes)
The Rabbit Hole (longer, hardish routes on excellent stone)