Rocking Gold

When one thinks about traveling to visit a rock, you might not be very inspired to go, but when that rock is defying gravity by one strand of the Buddha's hair underneath you might be a bit more intrigued. Then when you find out it's covered in gold leaves and a tiny pagoda sits on top of it all you might just book a ticket. Well that's exactly what we did. 

Being one of the top buddhist pilgrimage sites in Burma you get to meet many wonderful and talkative monks while placing your own slice of gold leaf on the rock. (Ladies not allowed). When Cassie and I finally walked away from this site we were actually pretty impressed. That rock really is sitting there pretty precariously. It really shines like no rock I've ever seen before and I understand why Monks make the long journey to see this lovely site. 

Neon Buddha

Just outside downtown Yangon is the heart of Burma, the Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in the country. It's believed to hold four relics of the buddha enshrined within, including eight strands of his hair. Standing a whopping 99 meters above the city this gilded pagoda shines like the smile of the 14th Dalai Lama. According to legend, The Shwedagon Pagoda was first built 2,600 years ago. Making it the oldest pagoda not only in Burma, but the world.

The most fascinating thing to us was the surprising Vegas-style lights behind all the Buddha statues glowing in heavenly enlightment. Defenitly makes for some of the most entertaining buddha statues we've ever seen. Although I wouldn't think it would be very conducive to meditation.