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Published: February 21st 2010
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All becos of this Rock! Was mesmerised by Steve McCurry and Felix Hug's photos of Golden Rock.
The reason why I chose Myanmar for my CNY trip.
Didn't expect that it was so difficult to get to Golden Rock, or maybe it's a way to "test" one's devotion and commitment to this holy place.
As we didn't manage to get an early flight back to Yangon, we only arrived in Yangon at almost 3pm on the day we were suppose to visit Golden Rock. We booked a vehicle in Bagan to bring us to Golden Rock, and with the delay, we were also glad that the driver was agreeable to change the booking one day later. With the change, our plans were a bit haywire for the next 2 days. The driver brought us to Seven Diamond to see if we could do anything to make changes to our hotel bookings in Mountain Top Inn and Kandawgyi Hotel for these 2 days. Unfortunately, we couldn't make any changes or cancellation. No choice but to rebook a night stay in Yangon and another night at Kyaikto Hotel at Golden Rock. Instead of forfeiting one night stay at Kandawgyi Hotel, we
used it to store our stuff which we didnt need in the mountain! Such luxury! We spent > US$100 to store our bags!
To console ourselves, it was also a blessing in disguise, cos
1. We were able to stay in Yangon to enjoy a good reunion dinner at Traders Hotel Yangon.
2. We didn't have to carry full load up on a steep climb to our lodging in the mountain.
3. We manage to catch both sunset and sunrise with the new plan.
4. We could do the pilgrimage on Chu Yi of CNY.
After checking in our baggages at Kandawgyi Hotel (it was so comfy we almost didn't want to leave), we embarked on a 4-5 hours car ride to Kinpun. My goodness... it was so hot! The car wasn't air-conditioned, and even the air that was blown against our face was warm. And worst, the scorching sun was following me throughout the journey.
We finally made it to Kinpun at ard 3pm. Next was the truck ride. After waiting for the truck to be filled to the brim with almost 30pax, the truck sped to an incredible speed to get to the Yatetuang Bus
Terminal. The truck ride was like a roller coaster ride and we didnt't even have any empty space to hold on to. After a nerve-wrecking ride, we have to take a 45mins trek up to the Kyaikto Hotel. Though the trek was steep, we wasn't too difficult to scale, and people even have a choice to take a sedan at a mere US$6-7.
After a 7 hrs journey, we finally made it to the hotel! So touched! After leaving our bags in the room, we quickly went up to the Golden Rock to catch it during sunset! To our surprise, it's not only a rock, but a whole plaza, with guesthouses for locals, shrines and many other statues. The rock was really precariously perched on a cliff. According to the legend, there was a strand of Buddha hair enshrined on the rock, which supposedly looked like a hermit's head. It's the hair that kept the rock in its position. Quite a gravity-defying sight! After walking around to take the rock at it's best angle, we went back to hotel for dinner and had an early night to prepare ourselves for sunrise tomorrow.
We went back to the plaza at around 5.30am to catch sunrise. The plaza was very much bustling with devotees who might have been praying through the night. The whole ambience was so dignified and serene, with women sprawled around different corners of the plaza to pray silently and men going near the rock to offer gold leaves on the rock. A pity women were not allowed to touch the rock, we could only see from afar.
Having exhausted all angles to take the Rock, we decided to quickly go back for breakfast and back to Yangon quickly to enjoy our luxurious hotel. As we walked down, the sunrise was again so charming that we can't resist but take a few more looks at it.
Once again, we had to trek down (this time much easier on our lungs, but require more effort to balance and prevent myself from rolling down the steep steep slopes). Another truck ride and 4hrs drive back to Yangon, we finally completed our Golden Rock Pilgrimage sucessfully! Contented!
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