Rattan ball game in the village of Kinpon Village, Mon State
View from a food stall seat, Kinpon Village, Mon State
View from the hotel room, Kinpon Village, Mon State
Broom production in Kinkun, Mon State
Broom production in Kinkun, Mon State
Site of shelter where brooms are made, Kinkun, Mon State
Lane in Kinkun, Mon State
Lane in Kinkun, Mon State
Cute kids, Kinkun, Mon State
Evening light, Kinkun, Mon State
Food stall with great noodles and tofu, Kinkun, Mon State
Pilgrims at a food stall, Kinkun, Mon State
PANIC WAS SETTING IN as i wanted to reach the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, or the Golden Rock, well before sunset. It was nearly 2 pm now and almost too late to be going up the mountain. I rushed up the street to the bus station, where Burmese pilgrims and foreigners were being crammed into the back of a truck, open to the elements. I just managed to squeeze in, at the very end of a long bench, right by the tailgate. Now i was crowded together with Burmese high school students and European tourists. With 16 kilometres of winding roads ahead and lots of steep drop-offs, the ride looked like it would be another adventure. Soon the truck pulled out of Kinkun. Before long we were flying up the narrow road when suddenly, after a few kilometres, my glasses flew off in the wind. I gave several loud hollers! The truck eventually stopped. It was hard to get down from the high deck, but i managed to somehow. By that time the conductor was long gone, in search of my specs. At last i caught up to him, a hundred metres or so, down the hill. He was holding my once dependable glasses, now a twisted tangle of metal and plastic. As for the lenses, they were no where in sight.
With my daypack i just stood there on the middle of the road. The truck roared off up the hill and into silence. I turned around and trudged back, for three quarters of an hour, in the hot sun. Of course my hat was in the hotel room too. It seemed i was having a silly Tilley moment as well. Clearly i was very disappointed to loose my glasses, and miss out on the Golden Rock too, but then i thought about it. Things weren't so bad after all. Somewhere in my backpack, in the hotel, was a spare pair of glasses. I had also heard on the way here that the Golden Rock might be covered in scaffolding and tarps or rattan mats. The pagoda was apparently being given a good clean-up. All that a little comforting. So i enjoyed the walk back to Kinkun instead. With my strong astigmatism, everything looked blurry in an interesting sort of way, perhaps even a little trippy too for this Boomer in Burma. Gradually the village appeared, in soft focus of course, then the hotel too. Soon i was climbing the stairs to my room. After doing a load of hand wash, i was free to explore the village, with my vintage back-up glasses, from circa 2005. Indeed, things weren't so bad.
In the late afternoon, i found myself on the far edge of Kinpun. The dirt lane, just wide enough for ox carts, led down a gentle slope. The way ahead was a patchwork of light and shadow. Left and right were simple houses of rattan, wood, many with thatch roofs. Next to some of the homes were ox carts with large wooden wheels. The poor community of rural farmers was at least tidy and vibrant. Families in one or two room huts. The adults i met were a little reserved but not unfriendly. Some of the kids overcame their shyness and came up to me. That was especially the case around one of the communal wells. Further along on my walk, were a group of young men, playing with a wicker ball. The net game moved fast and involved only their heads and feet.
Finally, i found myself back in Kinpun again. Shops and stall fronted a long lane, catering to the pilgrim trade. The odd tourist found themselves here too, near the edge of the village. While i was eating some delicious fried tofu and noodles, a gregarious young couple and backpackers from the States, sat down with me. Then an older French woman joined us too. The mood was mellow and friendly. To add to this was the quiet pleasure of watching villagers pass by as the daylight slipped away.
A good all purpose link:
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cool link to a video taken by a tourist – what i missed in the end:
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda (Golden rock), Mon State, Myanmar - YouTube
Through the eyes of a tourist named Harry Mateman:
Burma / Myanmar: the road to the Golden Rock at Kyaiktiyo (hd-video).mp4 - YouTube
Pilgrims up at the Golden Rock:
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