KYAIKTIYO PAGODA ("GOLDEN ROCK")
"SIMPLY AMAZING ROCK! I JUST LOVE THE GOLDEN ROCK DAY TOUR!"
Well after reading all the bad reviews about this place, I must say I am extremely disappointed with some people's 'mediocre' experience of this truly amazing spectacle. Either by moaning at how difficult it was to get there or that the rock was not quite as big as they'd expected it to be!
Firstly, nothing rewarding in life should be easy – I engaged a tour network called World Heritage Network who arranged my hotel accommodation at Mountain Top Hotel and provided me a local english speaking guide to take me to the top of Mt Kyaiktiyo where I can see the Golden Rock. After a few exchange of emails with them on safety issues and some information about the Golden Rock and you can also email them here: worldheritage101@yahoo.com and after visiting their website: www.whnmyanmar.blogspot.com
I have decided to take up their tour. Nothing was out of the ordinary about my journey from Yangon to Mt Kyaiktiyo but when we arrived at the truck terminal, I was warned by my guide that the truck journey up will be an experience for me. He didn’t elaborate more and I soon realized the ride in the truck up the hill was very difficult to endure but it was a thrilling experience! Plus, the locals in the trucks are the most wonderful people so embrace them at every opportunity and they will touch your soul forever. Once the truck ride is over and your insides are back to correct position you will be faced with the final few minutes walk to your hotel. I stayed at Mountain Top Hotel arranged by the network and it has an amazing mountain view. There are many locals especially children on your way to your hotel, so smile at them and they will smile back. Enjoy the walk.
Secondly - how big do you want a rock to be?? It is 25ft high, has a 50ft circumference and weighs approx 600 tons. Now if that's not big enough for you then by all means don't bother making the journey! I'm not the most religious of people so this fascinated me more from a geological sense... Bear in mind this rock is resting precariously on the edge of another impressive cylindrical rock and can (by all accounts) be rocked backwards and forwards by no more than 3 men. If that is not amazing enough for you then I don't know what is? So to those that are thinking of coming here... Please do so with a view that it is not easy to get to unless you engage World Heritage Network as what I did. Without them, you will find lots of difficulty with the locals and you probably will get lost in the mountain. So don’t take the risk. I recommend never travel alone by yourself to this place if you can’t speak Myanmar or neither know the way nor the mode to get up there. Anyway thank you World Heritage Network for making my trip there memorable.
... Commented by Matthew A. Smith, London, UK
I have decided to take up their tour. Nothing was out of the ordinary about my journey from Yangon to Mt Kyaiktiyo but when we arrived at the truck terminal, I was warned by my guide that the truck journey up will be an experience for me. He didn’t elaborate more and I soon realized the ride in the truck up the hill was very difficult to endure but it was a thrilling experience! Plus, the locals in the trucks are the most wonderful people so embrace them at every opportunity and they will touch your soul forever. Once the truck ride is over and your insides are back to correct position you will be faced with the final few minutes walk to your hotel. I stayed at Mountain Top Hotel arranged by the network and it has an amazing mountain view. There are many locals especially children on your way to your hotel, so smile at them and they will smile back. Enjoy the walk.
Secondly - how big do you want a rock to be?? It is 25ft high, has a 50ft circumference and weighs approx 600 tons. Now if that's not big enough for you then by all means don't bother making the journey! I'm not the most religious of people so this fascinated me more from a geological sense... Bear in mind this rock is resting precariously on the edge of another impressive cylindrical rock and can (by all accounts) be rocked backwards and forwards by no more than 3 men. If that is not amazing enough for you then I don't know what is? So to those that are thinking of coming here... Please do so with a view that it is not easy to get to unless you engage World Heritage Network as what I did. Without them, you will find lots of difficulty with the locals and you probably will get lost in the mountain. So don’t take the risk. I recommend never travel alone by yourself to this place if you can’t speak Myanmar or neither know the way nor the mode to get up there. Anyway thank you World Heritage Network for making my trip there memorable.
... Commented by Matthew A. Smith, London, UK
“What a fantastic journey to the Golden Rock with a good guide !!!”
The amazing thing about going to Kyaikthyo is not just seeing the cliff hanger Golden Rock, but the journey to the destination. I engage a network called World Heritage Network that arrange a local guide and transport for me to travel to Mt Kyaiktiyo from Yangon. Turned out it was one of my most amazing trips I have ever been. You can contact them in this email: worldheritage101@yahoo.com or check out their informative website: www.whnmyanmar.blogspot.com which I found quite useful for planning my trip to Yangon. You need to travel 4 hours by car from Yangon with a stopover for Lunch at Sein Lai Tin Restaurant which houses a mini zoo. Upon reaching the base camp at Kin Pun, a small village town, you need to take a sardine pack open-top truck twisting 11 km road up to the mid point of the mountain. Be warned the truck will not leave if it is not filled to 42 persons. You may have to wait until it is fully filled. It is really a roller coaster ride. My guide was with me and warned me that I will have an interesting experience sitting in the truck as you will feel that you are sitting in a “motion-master” seats at the theme park. Very fast and very exciting. I think this will be the Golden Rock’s second adventurous attraction for any foreign tourists besides its usual religious attraction. The network I engaged also arranged for my stay at Mountain Top Hotel which was amazing too with a wonderful mountain view. It’s the best hotel one can find at the top of Mt Kyaiktiyo. When at the top, you can feel the sight of the locals and plenty of roadside stalls. A very good way to meet the locals. The Golden Rock seem like the climax of the whole journey. The glitter of the Pagoda Rock against the background of the mountains especially during sunset is so mesmerising. Once you touch it, you can then understand the magnetism of this amazing Rock.Don't miss the chance to visit the Golden Rock if ever you are in Yangon.Get a good guide with good transport because you will need one to show you the way and to bargain for you with the locals to get a better truck up. I never felt so relax and comfortable in a difficult and interesting journey like this one. I thank you World Heritage Network!
.....Commented by Pun Thamsirat, Bangkok, Thailand
.....Commented by Pun Thamsirat, Bangkok, Thailand
“An incredible spiritual experience exploring The Golden Rock”
When we arrive Yangon, we have no idea what is nice to explore until we chanced upon a global network called World Heritage Network that recommended us to visit the “Golden Rock” Pagoda located at the top of Mount Kyaiktiyo. They offered us a local Myanmar guide who speaks good English andtransport to drive us there. After checking out their proposed itinerary in their website: www.whnmyanmar.blogspot.com we decided to take up the tour and see what we see.
Getting to the Golden Rock was a bit of a pilgrimage, as it should be, for it is one of the holiest sites in Burma. The truck terminal, where the real journey began, is about five hours from Yangon by car. Each truck left only when every row of wooden planks in the back was crammed full, with six people per row. A bone-shaking half hour ride followed, then it was a slow, steep, mid-afternoon slog in extreme heat, up to the Golden Rock. Our guide was friendly and kept asking us whether we are okay with the ride as it turned out that riding the truck is the only mode of transport to go to the top of the mountain to visit the Golden Rock.
When we reached the top, however, we realised that it was worth the effort. The Golden Rock at Kyaikto, which perches precariously on the edge of a cliff, is believed by the Burmese to be held in place by a single hair of the Buddha.
Apart from the dramatic Rock covered in gold leaf, there was a nice holiday atmosphere, with many more Burmese pilgrims than tourists making offerings and milling around. If you have a couple of days to spare, I would highly recommend the trip by engaging World Heritage Network to provide you a local Myanmar guide that speaks good english. You can email them here: worldheritage101@yahoo.com as these guides are trust worthy and friendly. They deserved to be praised in this review.
.....Commented by Sandy L. Garrison, Sydney, Australia
.....Commented by Sandy L. Garrison, Sydney, Australia
