I believe that some of you are headed for up country after a few day's stay here in Yangon, to visit well -known places like Mandalay, Bagan and Inlay. You'll find at those places what you have come here to fine--the heritage of an ancient and exotic civilization which   has flourished since the eleventh century A.D.  But culture may not be everybody's cup of tea and I suspect that some of you are simply interested in seeing and hearing alien sights and sounds, visiting scenicspots, shopping for foreign souvenirs and so on. I have two off-beat and highly satisfying trips to suggest for such people both of then involving very pleasant mountain-climbing. One of them is the seven- and-a-half-mile climb to the Kyaik-htee-yoe Pagoda, lying about 3,600 feet above sea level.

 Kyaik-htee-yoe is probably the second most famous and revered pagoda in Myanmar with the exception of the great Shwedagon, of course.  Just as a pilgrimage to Mecca is a Muslim's goal of life, a visit to the Kyaik-htee-yoe Pagoda is considered  a must by most Buddhists in Myanmar.

 When a weekend is immediately preceded or followed by a public holiday, that is, when there are three holidays thrown together the pagoda is so crowded that thousands of pilgrims have to sleep on its platform under the open skies. One reason why the pagoda  is so "special" to the Buddhists in the country is that it is believed to enshrine three strands of the Buddha's hair. What makes the pagoda especially marvellous is its precarious position: it stands on a boulder that seems to be defying the force of gravity as it hangs from the spur of a cliff. . If you give the boulder a push, it shakes!  The boulder is said to have been placed there by no less a being than the king of the Devas or gods according to the legend of the pagoda.

 Kyaik-htee-yoe is a Mon -an indigenous race-name meaning the pagoda that stands on the head of a hermit. To go back to a part of the  legend, the hermit that got to keep the three strands of the Buddha's hair on his head insisted on his death bed that they be enshrined on a boulder similar to his head ! 

Accordingly, the King of the Devas found one from the sea anti placed it on the edge of the cliff where it has lain through millenniums in spite of earth quakes and other forces of nature that tend to pull things down.  The pagoda is less than a morning's drive from Yangon-just 104 miles from the city to Camp Kimmon-the base camp where you start climbing.

You can go up by car from Camp Kimmon to the foot of Mount Hermit which is about a mile's, that is, less than an hour's climb from the Kyaik-htee-yoe Pagoda.  But I wouldn't recommend it since it would deprive you of many pleasures of Kyaik-htee-yoe-climbing. You can also ride a crudely -- fitted palanquin to the top for a fairly steep fee, but the novel experience is not worth the discomfort.  One big reason for the popularity of the pilgrimage to the Kyaik-htee-yoe Pagoda is the highly refreshing and exhilarating climb itself which must be a never-to-be-forgotten experience to most comers.

An average person can easily do the seven-and-a-half  miles climb in five or six hours in spite of some steep stretches that have acquired such formidable names as the-mountain where-grand -pa -turns-back, and the ascent-that-chokes-the- golden -breast.  After negotiating those notorious climbs; you'll come to realize that their frightening names are little more than exaggerations.

What's so nice about the climb is that you can make as many stops as you like for rest or refreshments along the way at numerous food and drink stalls that line the mountain path. At some of these stalls, you can enjoy rare treats such as the meats of the braking deer, the sambur and the wild chicken. You'll find the meats--deep fried Myanmar style--fairly tough but delicious.

While you are at it, you can also sample other Myanmar fries such as gourd-fritters taken together with lettuce and cabbage and appetizing sauce. The drinking water from the mountain streams is sweet and pure, but if you feel queasy about drinking it, you can always have green tea or hot water at the stalls.  You can even take a bath and a savoury meal at Camp Yemyaunggyi, a cheerful grouping of rest-houses, restaurant (spirit) shrine and shelters where you can have a bath--hot or cold--for a small fee.

Fershly-cooked, steaming hot Chinese-style dishes can be ordered at most restaurants and they never fail to satisfy even the most choosy of palates.  You can continue the climb with renewed vigour after an hour's stop at Yemyaunggyi for a refreshing bath and a square meal.

Another pleasure derived &from a pilgrimage to Kyaik htiyoe is communion with nature which can be experienced by citydwellers only once in a blue moon.  There are thick forests on either side of the foot-path. most of the way and your eyes can feast on the greenery around you all the time. You can also hear the songs of birds and the breeze whispering among the trees. 

Of course you'll get tired soon after you start climbing but you can rest at a wayside food-stall whenever you feel like it and refresh yourselves with green tea and Myanmar fries or some other woodland fare. Then you will be raring to go again with your adrenalin flowing. 

Another unexpected bonus of the trip will be the chance to make dozens of people--mostly children--happy at the cost of a few dollars' worth of kyats. Perhaps it has occurred to you that most people especially urbanites running their endless rat race have little time or  inclination for acts of charity. But the performance of good deeds is the bottom line of all religious teachings, and here is your opportunity to do it.

You see you will come across many children and a few adults at the wayside, as you go up.They have improved or (they) are in the act of improving the foot-path by filling holes, smoothing the ground or sweeping it clean. Some have also set up rinking water-pot stands at the wayside so that the pilgrims can quench their thirst easily with cool and fresh mountain-spring water.

 Naturaily, they appreciate any donations that may be forthcoming since they are but poor woodlanders. The sight of their faces lighting up as you put one or two kyats into their crude donation boxes or receptacles is well worth the money you spend. Indeed, this is a place where a few cents' worth of money can make some children really very happy and you. One of the best ways of spending your money, isn't  it? "With malice toward none; with charity for all ;" to quote Lincoln--should be our motto for life, right?

You will notice that most of the small huts that house the various stalls also serve as homes, indicating the harsh conditions that some people have to live under, (the harsh conditions under which some people have to live.) This may arouse your sympathy which, in turn, may induce you to help them by giving them your patronage.

As you come higher, you will find several stalls selling souvenirs such as toy-guns, mugs and "flasks" made of bamboo which should go over big with your children at home. Of more interest to you would be stalls selling woodland products such as cuttings of fragrant wood, orchid plants, medicinal herbs, roots, harks, nuts and leaves of certain plants. skins of wild animals and so on.

The gall of the boa constrictor which is vaunted to be a sure-fire antidote for tetanus is available at these stalls.  If you walk at a fairly good pace, you will get to the pagoda well before sunset, even if you make several stops on the way for rest,  refreshment$, souvenir hunting and photographing.

The Kyaikhto Hotel where you are going to stay is on your left, just a shout away from the pagoda. 1t is highly advisable to make your reservations for this hotel well in advance as it cannot accommodate many visitors as yet.if you cannot get hotel accommodations, you can always ask the pagoda-truss-tees for help and I'm sure. they'll arrange something suitable for you.

You see, it is our deep-rooted custom to provide our guests with the best we have, especially to those who come from far away like you.

he Kyaikhto Hotel is about the only decent place where you can put up during your visit to the Kyaik-Htee-Yoe  Pagoda.But here, I should let you know that even it is not without stortcomings, the greatest of which being the lack of running water. Hot water is out of the question when you can't even get enough cold water. That's likely to be the greatest disappointment in store for you at the Kyaikhto Hotel.

 Naturally, you'll look forward to luxuriating in a bath tub filled with hot water, after tour or five hours of mountain climbing, especially as you are likely to get to the hotel around sunset and the weather there is cool most of the time. But, no such luck. The best you can expect is to pour over your body a few bowls of  cold water from a small tub placed in the bathroom.

perhaps, you can order some hot water to be mixed with  the cold water. There is also a 'bathing shop" where you can get hot water, hut no bath-tub or shower--you'll have to take a pouring-bath as most of  us Orientals do. You'll find it hard to blame anyone for this problem when you consider where you are --on top of a mountain in a developing country.

That explains the lack of  running water. But this problem is going to be a thing of the past soon as the authorities concerned are making arrangements to pump water to the mountain top in stages. The hotel management can hardly escape blame for an other nuisance -- the presence of mice that like to scamper about the bedrooms after the tired travellers have hit the sack.

To make matters worse, the room lights are turned off at 11 p.m.. but the management is considerate enough to provide a candle and a box of matches in case of emergency needs. Another thing you'll have to put up with at this hotel is the room-service that functions only nominally. Except for these handicaps, the Kyaikhto Hotel is a very nice place to stay at Kyaik-Htee-Yoe. Its dining room is worth a special mention as it commands a breath-taking panorama of tree-capped mountains around you, all of  them Lying at your feet as Mt. Kyaik-Htee-Yoe is higher than all the others around  There's a lodging-house to the north-east of the pagoda, among restaurants and shops in case you can't get accommodation at the hotel.

You can also put up at the restaurants for free, the only condition being that you have your metals at the restaurant where you stay. It's a lovely custom retained from time(s)  irnmemorial. Look around from the top of Mt. Kyaik-Htee-Yoe and you'll  see virgin forests rolling away as far as your eyes can see. You will also realize that a trip to KHY is a shutterbug's delight as it abounds in scenic spots. A place you must visit at KHY is the Crow's Mouth (Beak), a cave which featured in the legend of the pagoda.

The short trip is a perilous descent into a virgin forest along a crudely-cut path lined with small stalls selling all sorts of forest products especially medicinal parts of wild animals and plants.One can easily do a term paper or even a treatise here on the curative qualities of forest products. At least, it would be highly interesting indeed to prove or disprove such claims.

 There are a few other places in the neighbourhood of the KHY pagoda which are worth a visit especially the Dat-Paung-Zu Pagoda which is as marvellously situated as the KHY Pagoda itself, but less famous as it enshrines no sacred relic or hair of the Buddha. You are bound to feel a sense of elation and achievement when you get to the KHY  Pagoda after a tiring but  exhilarating climb lasting  several hours. That sense of triumph-that  unique climb, that unforgettable experience-will linger long in your memory as the best souvenir of your adventurous trip to KHY.