Today the weather is, drum roll please - HOT. Just for something different. We left Yangon early this morning and headed for Bago then onto Kyaikityo.
We visited an amazing Monastery in Bago that houses over 500 monks. Our wonderful guide timed our arrival so we could watch the procession of monks heading for lunch, which for them is 11am. I have never seen so many monks in one place..... More came, then more, then more, it was astounding.
After leaving the Monastery we continued to travel onto the Golden Rock Pagoda. Like most religious sites I have ever visited they usually sit atop mountains and include millions of stairs. From what I understood of this particular site there was a road which took you most of the way. However it was never mentioned that you needed to travel that stretch in a truck, in the heat, with 60 other pilgrims. Imagine our surprise!
It was hilarious. We were whisked out from our mini van, climbed some rickety stairs to reach the back of the truck and squished onto a seat that wasn't built for fat white people. Everyone was yelling in Burmese and we just sat there looking completely perplexed wondering what would happen first. It was a debate on whether we would die of heat stroke or our legs, which were going numb, may fall off due to lack of circulation. Eventually we realised that they were yelling at us as it was a requirement that there was six people on each row of seating. As if. Clearly we are slightly different from most locals given that they weigh around 2kgs each, are about 10cm wide and 5" tall. Yelling continued and we agreed to pay for the extra seats. Eventually our truck started, then stopped, then started again. It was at this point we learnt that it would only take approximately 1 hour to reach the top.
Us packed into the truck trying to depart.
At least the fare of $2.50 included life insurance, ha ha ha
On our way, finally........
Going up!
Arrived - yay for us....
Dinner maybe?
A young child being carried up the mountain.
The Golden Rock - Legend states that this precarious position of the boulder is held though centuries by virtue of the power of the Hair relic of Gautama Buddha enshrined in the pagoda.
The boys were able to walk out to the rock and touch it, us lesser of the species had to watch and wave.
Latest Burmese fashion trend.
Sherpa Burmese style. We left all our bags down the bottom and just carried a small pack back with us.
Very hi-tech viewing apparatus.
View of the Golden Rock at night.
