Myanmar (Burma) - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 544

ACCOMMODATION
Mya Nan Dar 10 Main Rd T 052 22275 or T 09
31755255. The cheapest rooms here are simple boxes
without their own bathrooms, but they're nevertheless the
best budget deal in Bago, not least because they are all
equipped with a/c. You also get breakfast, hot water and
wi-fi in the rooms. $16

complex; men can join the pilgrims
beside the Golden Rock itself, and even
add to its lustre (five sheets of gold leaf
K1700), while women must stay a short
distance away. Women are not supposed
to wear trousers, shorts or miniskirts;
men should also dress appropriately.
It's worth pressing on past the rock and
the Yoe Yoe Lay hotel for fifteen minutes
to reach Kyi Kann Pa Sat , where you can
join locals throwing coins up onto a ledge
for good luck. here's also a cave shrine
with a very narrow entrance.

EATING
Shwe Li Kannar St. Many locals reckon that this place
serves the best Chinese food in town. It's on a side street
a little away from the frantic main road, and serves a
standard set of dishes - such as fried prawn chilli for
K4600 - in a clean dining room. Daily 10am-9pm.
Three Five Hotel Main Rd. A large and gloomy - but
conveniently located - restaurant serving decent Chinese
dishes. They start at around K1800 for noodles. Daily
7am-10pm.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
The transport hub is the town of Kyaikhto - not to be
confused with Kyaiktiyo (the name of the mountain and
the pagoda) - on the main highway, with Kinpun around
14km to the northeast. Motorbike taxis (K1500) and pick-
ups (K500) run between Kyaikhto and Kinpun.
By bus Some buses go right into Kinpun and stop outside
Sea Sar Restaurant ; others stop at Kyaikhto and passengers
are transferred to Kinpun by truck (usually included in the
bus ticket price).
Destinations Bago (4 daily; 3hr); Hpa-an (daily; 5hr);
Mawlamyine (5 daily; 4hr); Yangon (4 daily; 5hr).
By train The train station is in Kyaikhto.
Destinations Mawlamyine (3 daily; 4hr 30min-5hr);
Yangon (3 daily; 5hr).
By pick-up Pick-ups to Hpa-an (5hr) run from 6am
until 1pm, most of them starting in Kyaikhto rather
than Kinpun.
By motorbike It's possible to visit Kyaiktiyo as a day-trip
from Bago; a motorbike and driver costs around K20,000
return, including waiting.

7

DIRECTORY
Internet KMD, Main Rd (daily 7am-11pm).
Money CB Bank, Main Rd (currency exchange daily
11am-2pm).

KYAIKTIYO
One of the holiest Buddhist sites in the
country, Kyaiktiyo Paya draws large
numbers of non-believers among its
throngs of pilgrims, primarily thanks to
its spectacular location. he small
pagoda was built atop the Golden Rock,
a boulder 15m in circumference and
coated in gold leaf, which is itself
perched on a larger rock; it's a
precarious-looking setup which is
supposedly kept in place by one of the
Buddha's hairs.
he starting point to get up to the rock
is the town of Kinpun and the full 11km
hike takes at least four hours, but almost
everyone shortens the walk by cramming
into the back of the open trucks (daily
6am-6pm) which depart when full
- they are less frequent as the day goes
on. Some trucks run only to the old
Yathetaung terminal (45min; K1500
each way) from which it's an hour's walk
to the top. Most, though, now run all
the way to the top (1hr; K2500 each
way) so that it's only a ten- to fifteen-
minute walk to the rock.
A government fee of K6000 is collected
at the top, shortly before the main

ACCOMMODATION
Most travellers on a budget stay in Kinpun, since all the
hotels at the top are expensive.
Sea Sar Just off the main road, Kinpun T 09 8723288.
The quiet main compound here - a short way behind the
restaurant of the same name - has pleasant bungalows,
and there are cheaper rooms in a block very close to the
starting point for tru cks to the Golden Rock. No discount
for single occupancy. $12

EATING
There are plenty of Chinese and Burmese restaurants on
the main road in Kinpun.
Mya Yeik Nya Overlooking the truck terminal. More
inviting than most restaurants in Kinpun, mainly thanks
to its subdued lighting, although the friendly staff also
help. Chinese or Burmese dishes cost around K3000. Daily
4am-9pm.