lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

TRAVELRESTRICTIONSForeigners are restricted from travellingby land south of Thanbyuzayat in MonState. Southeastern Myanmar has twoland crossings officially open to foreigners,but visits must be within the citylimits, and you’re generally expected toexit the way you came in.Confusing things even more, ifyou’ve come to Myanmar via Yangon,it is possible to fly, without advancepermission, to the southern cities ofDawei (Tavoy), Myeik (Mergui) andKawthoung but, once there, you’re notallowed to leave the city limits and youmust also return by air.Visiting the untouched beaches andislands of southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi(Tenasserim) Region is a wholeother bag of worms. For details on thehoops you have to jump through toreach this region, see p 110 .MON STATEMagnificent Mon State (mân'¨p–'ny') is so fullof wonders that it’s a wonder that the wholeworld isn’t wondering about holidaying here!There are two dominant colours: the gold of azillion breathtaking temples and the green ofa million, zillion flouncy palm trees. Travellingin this region is generally easy (at least, forMyanmar) and distances short; yet, strangely,few visitors seem to make it down here.HistoryOnce native to a broad region stretchingfrom southern Myanmar to Cambodia, theMon have been absorbed – sometimes willingly,sometimes unwillingly – by the morepowerful Bamar and Thai cultures in Myanmarand Thailand respectively over the lastthousand years.Though no one knows for sure, the Monmay be descended from a group of Indian immigrantsfrom Kalinga, an ancient kingdomoverlapping the boundaries of the modernIndian states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.They are responsible for much of the earlymaintenance and transmission of TheravadaBuddhism in mainland Southeast Asia.Since 1949 the eastern hills of the state (aswell as mountains further south in TanintharyiRegion) have been a refuge for theNew Mon State Party (NMSP) and its tacticalarm, the Mon National Liberation Front(MNLF), whose objective has been self-rulefor Mon State.In 1995, after years of bickering and fighting,the NMSP signed a ceasefire with theMyanmar government. Still, reports continueof fighting, instances of forced labour andharassment of Mon villagers. Partly becauseof this, there remains much emigration toThailand.Mt Kyaiktiyo (Golden Rock)kYŸik'qI"riu"etC='%057Floating in atmospheric clouds high abovethe coastal plains and, it seems, almostwithin touching distance of the heavens isthe prayer- and wish-drenched, balancingboulder stupa of Kyaiktiyo.This sublime and magical monument isa major pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddhists.Its image adorns many a local’s carwindscreen or family hearth and every goodBuddhist dreams of the day they finally seteyes on this holiest of shrines.The atmosphere surrounding Kyaiktiyoduring the height of the pilgrimage season(from November to March) is charged withmagic and devotion, especially when theglinting boulder is bathed in the purple,sometimes misty, light of dawn and dusk.Pilgrims chant, light candles and meditateall through the night. Men (only) are permittedto walk along a short causeway and overa bridge spanning a chasm to the boulder toaffix gold leaf squares on the rock’s surface.For a mere tourist, Mt Kyaiktiyo is a sightand an experience to rival the wonders ofthe Shwedagon Paya or the breathtakingbeauty of Bagan. Like any proper pilgrimage,a visit here involves a certain amount ofhardship and nobody should approach thisholy mountain lightly.The constructed plaza around Kyaiktiyo isthe typical Myanmar mix of religious iconographyand commercial development: monksand laypeople meditate in front of goldenbuddha statues while, several yards away, rosarybeads and toy wooden rifles are for sale(these are especially popular with monks!).There are several other stupas andshrines scattered on the ridge at the top ofMt Kyaiktiyo, though none is as impressiveas Kyaiktiyo itself. Even so, the interconnectingtrails sometimes lead to unexpectedviews of the valleys below.93MON SOUTHEASTERN STATEMYANMAR MT KYAIKTIYO (GOLDEN ROCK)