(Photo: Jason Eppink)
According to legend, the Buddha gave a hermit a single strand of his own hair, which was made of gold. The hermit gave it to a local king named Tissa. In exchange, King Tissa used his magic to pull an enormous boulder out of the sea and place it on a cliff. Then the king built a pagoda on the top of the boulder to serve as a shrine for the golden hair.
This is the Kyaiktiyo Balancing Pagoda in Burma. The entire rock and shrine is painted with gold. For a thousand years, pilgrims have come to the base of the rock to pray.
-via The Presurfer