Golden Rock
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27th March, we left our hotel by boat, we went through the lake, and we took our car we left two days before, that took us to
Heho airport. We went to Yangon, where we arrived at 10:30 a.m., we took the car and we went to Kyaittiyo Paya, the famous Golden Rock.
The journey was rather long, about 4 hours, and we took a break for a lunch in a hotel not far from Kyaittiyo.
When we came at the heart of the mountain, we embark to a lorry, with other 43 passengers, mostly Burmese pilgrims, and we started to go up.
40 minutes after, we left the lorry and we continued by foot.
The climbing to Golden Rock is rather hard and the temperature, those days, was about 35 degrees (at 5:00 P.M.), and some pilgrims preferred to be carried by local coolies, in confortable sedan-chair, rather than walking (the service price was 8 dollars). We decided to walk and after 10 minutes we reached our hotel, that was on the way. We left our luggage in the hotel and we continued. 40 minutes after, with two short breaks, we arrived to Golden Rock, immediately before the sunset.
The rock is famous because it stays in unstable balance more then 2500 years, resisting to winds and earthquakes, that are very frequent in this zone. The legend says that the rock is supported by 8 Buddha's hair. It's really golden because the visitors applicate the12.37 29/04/2008 golden sheets on its surface.
The zone of this monument is full of shops, caffetterias, restaurants and motels. Many pilgrims sleep on the pavement, under the sky. The atmosphere was very suggestive, with people praying and meditating around the Golden Rock.
Around 8:00 A.M. we started to descend toward our hotel. The descent wasn't very pleasure because the road wasn't illuminated. Thanks to one book about Burma that I red before our tour, I took an electric torch, and everything was ok. Early in the morning, the next day, we descended at the heart of the mountain, we took our car and we left for of Yangon. Along the way, we visited a village where the local fishermen sell dessicated cat fish. In the same village, we saw construction of a house, too.
The next stop was in Bago, an ancient capital of Burma. We visited Shwemawdaw Pagoda, dedicated to Buddha and to Nat spirits. We also saw Kyaik Pun pagoda, with 4 seated Buddha, 30 meters heigh.
We continued our journey towards Yangon, where we arrived in the early afternoon. And so this diary of mine comes to an end. I hate leaving greetings for the last page, so I'm using this paragraph of penultimate page to reiterate how fantastic this trip was and to recommend that everyone who has the opportunity to visit Myanmar. In any case, it is good to check the political situation in the country before making a decision. If you watch the news, you know that Myanmar is often present and rarely for good things, as far as politics are concerned. Everything else is great. It is enough to choose a quieter moment. |
Burma Start page Yangon Yangon |
