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WStat Says: Kyaiktyo (pronounced 'CHAI-tee-oh') is one of the most revered holy places in Myanmar.The small village of Kyaikto lies about 100 kms northeast of Yangon.From here one can take a transport-lorry halfway up the mountain, from there a steep path leads, crossing some small...
WStat Says: On the way to Kyaiktiyo one can find a lot of open-air beer-pubs, serving a delicious draft.beer.Most of the burmese breweries have been founded at the beginning of the last century by german expatriates. So you can savour a very good and cheap drink, wherever you find the...
hydronetta Says: Once you reach your final destination on Golden Rock, allow yourself some time to enjoy the 360o views around the surrounding hills and plains at far.
hydronetta Says: Before you enter the Golden Rock area by the end of your anscent, you first pay your entrance fee (in US$). They write down your name and nationality (statistics??). Luckily the ticket entitles you to visit Golden Rock as many times as you wish within a few days. Then at the...
hydronetta Says: If you visit Golden Rock then you'd better do that both at day and at night. As the Golden Rock is brightly illuminated at night the gold leafs reflect their yellowish colour. Given the atmosphere with candles and people praying it is a very inspiring experience.
hydronetta Says: This mystical pagoda built in the enshrinement of Buddha relic stands on a gold gilded boulder, precariously perched on the edge of the hill over 1100 km above sea-level. The pagoda on top of the boulder is called in Mon language Kyaik-I -thi-ro, which means "pagoda carried...
Helpfulness
When you start ancending to Golden Rock, you'll find numerous open air restaurants all over the way. We picked up one for locals almost opposite to Mountain top Hotel. Food was bad: meat was cold, very spicy and hard to eat, only the freshly cooked noodles had some quality. Apart from that, the price was one of the most expensive we paid in Myanmar. So better check out where other foreigners eat. Lonely Planet guidebook was not af great help in the subject...
In general Kyaiktiyo is expensive in terms of accommodation and food
Written Jan 11, 2007
You can't expect night life in a pilgrimage centre like Kyaiktiyo, but nevertheless it's a place where you stay later at night watching the people passing by, lighting candle and praying.
But just by the entrance we even met a group of youngsters that played their guitar singing local songs...
Written Jan 23, 2007
hydronetta Says: The last part of ancent to Golden Rock is mostly done on foot. It is socially interesting to see monks, elderly, youth, families all climbing up the whirling road to the pilgrimage site
hydronetta Says: Pilgrims and foreign tourists that visit Kyaiktiyo spend the night at or near to Golden Rock. As it is logical a lot of personal items must be carried (blankets, food, kids!! etc).We saw a lot of locals carrying these huge baskets in their back, where you can put anything...
hydronetta Says: Where the trucks drop you off, it's another 45minutes (at least) walk up to reach Golden Rock. As we decided to visit the area at night and during daylight, that meant double effort.It was ok for the night ascent, but the next morning I felt my feet joints bit bruised and...
hydronetta Says: Now if you think that getting to Kinpun base camp (where the buses end up their trip) is enough to take you to Golden rock, then you're totally mistaken. Best things are to come!! From there it's a 35 minutes ride in the pumpy back of a truck along with 50 other travellers...
Street stalls: Shopping on your way up
hydronetta Says: Numerous stalls line up your way to Golden Rock. Apart from food stalls the remaining are mainly souvenir ones most of them selling religious items. It was interesting to see that most of these stall owners actually live there at the back of their shops
Street stalls: Natural medication
hydronetta Says: If you're interested in herbal or traditional medicine, then the numerous stalls on the way up to Gloden Rock will certainly attract your interest. Insects, herbs everything you might need for alternative treatment...
hydronetta Says: Golden Rock is a unique place to witness Buddhist spirituality and deep faith, specially at night with candle light. People of all ages praying and meditating...
hydronetta Says: Unlike westerners that seek more comfort, locals prefer to spend overnight in Golden Rock simply by bringing their own blankets and make their own bed on the floor.I wouldn;t mind using my sleeping bag as well but as I was told foreigners are not allowed to do so.
Helpfulness
Though the road up to Golden Rock is paved, there are some short cuts with stairs (specially at the last part). So if you return at night take a torch with you as it is possible to fall down.
Also take your time going up, it can be tiring, specially if the day is hot. Luckily there are food stalls in every turn with readily available refreshments.
Coming down is faster but watch your step as you might start rolling...
Written Jan 22, 2007
Helpfulness
You may need the strong locals who carry your backpack to the Golden Rock from the middle camp. FYI, they charge within 1500-2000k for one way.
Unique Suggestions: Simply walk away if they charge more than 2000k.
Fun Alternatives: They're numbers of strongmen at the middle camp who will approach you for a good deal.
Written Mar 4, 2005
at the fishermans village near kyaitkyo we came across this young man with a deity balanced on his head.. I remember seeing this in Tamil Nadu in India.
I vaguely remember it being called Kumbum but i will check on it and correct myself
Written Apr 18, 2004
Favorite thing: Friendly people and great weather.
Fondest memory: Burmese from all over Myanmar .
How I wished I could have the simple mindset like the burmese I've met in Kyaiktiyo.
Updated Mar 4, 2005
The Balanced Boulder of Kyaiktiyo...
The Balanced Boulder of Kyiaktiyo, along with Shwedagon Paya in Yangon is one of the two main pilgrimage sites for the Burmese Buddhists. The paya on top of this boulder is said to contain one hair...
You may find HARD ROCK Cafe everywhere in the world, definitely NOT in Myanmar, but GOLDEN ROCK
The quiet and serene feeling makes the rather uncomfortable trip to the basis of the pilgrim-path to the Golden Rock worthwile, after having used the "official" transport-lorry up to the hotel.
I've finally made it there three times and it's supposed to be great. We'll see if my ultimate dream come true :)
No visit to Myanmar would have been complete without visiting the wonderful Kyaiktiyo pagoda. This natural wonder is located on top of mountain Kyaiktiyo at 1102m above sea level. It is recognized as...
Build your own Kyaiktiyo page
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