Golden Rock (photo + 3 letters)

One of the shrines - Golden Rock (Gold Hill) - located in the town of Kyaktio (Kyaiktiyo), 200 km from Yangon. However, to get to the Golden Mount is not so simple. Private car travel to the excursion area is prohibited. The only public transportation - bus, which are light trucks with an open body, which stuffed up to thirty people. Driving on mountain serpentine in such conditions - entertainment not for the faint of heart. But the continuation of the path is poor. Tourists do not drive up to the most golden mountain, and land on the distant approaches. Then we have to walk, that in the unbearable heat is very difficult.





Only at the foot of a stone shrine porters on duty, ready to bring up and you and your luggage. But their services are used by only the wealthy pilgrims and tourists. Most travelers go up to the peak of their own. Fortunately, on the way to the top and then come across merchants offering local "energy drink" - sugar cane juice, which perfectly restores power. Here peddling all sorts of balms, ointments and souvenirs.

Actually the mountain itself is not a relic. The value of the stone is located on its top. It seems that touch this huge boulder hovering over the abyss, and he will fly down, but the stone miraculously retains its precarious situation from time immemorial. golden rock, gold goraKak say the monks, it is bound to the sky a hair of the Buddha. In this legend is very easy to believe, since the laws of physics are baffled, unable to explain why the stone hangs from a cliff at an incredible angle, still has not rolled down.



Women are not allowed to the stone closer than 10 m (probably afraid that they dropped it into the abyss). Men can pass freely to the shrine, where the tourists are on a par with the locals. It is allowed to touch the stone, look at him, taking pictures - these actions will not cause disapproval from myanmantsev. Moreover, the curious foreign men even offer local pilgrims knock lump together so that they could personally make sure that the stone "vibrate" if its rock, but miraculously keeps an unusual position.

City Kyaktio is for Burmese Buddhists kind of Mecca. Visit at least once in their life on the Golden Mount is committed to each. Pilgrims, even the poorest, be sure to donate money to the gilding stone or shrine adorn themselves with gold leaf. Especially for this purpose at the entrance to the site, where there is a stone sold a plate with gold plating.



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