Lake in Burma – Praying Mountain | Another Hoax

~TimePass~ received (from Bharat B & Parag S) this ‘amazing’ picture depicting a natural rock formation on the edges a lake in Burma. Just looking at the image one is inclined to be amazed and in awe of how wonderful the picture is. The description that follows the picture suggests and implies that this is the work of mother Nature and we should respect it, protect. Nothing wrong in that at all. Nature has to be protected. But not because of the contents of the picture, since it is a HOAX.

The picture was so amazing that it was just too good to be true. Off to the world encyclopedia aka Google! And confirmation that this image is indeed a HOAX. 

Let’s start with the picture(s) in question:

Normal View

The description per the hoax email:

In a moment you will see a unique photograph…..

What’s so special about this?
This is a picture of a rock formation near a lake in Burma . The photo can only be taken on a specific day once a year when the sun rays touch the rocks at a certain angle.
Tilt your head to the left and then look at it again  ….

Did you notice anything different?
Yes or no?…..

Now I will turn the whole scene vertical….

Nature is Great …….. 
Respect it & Protect 

Turned 90deg Clockwise

Looking at the images, there will be the obvious jaw-dropping and the oohs and aaahs. However, the images are too perfect, too precise, to be the work of Mother Nature. That too, has to be the obvious conclusion.

A Hoax-busting web page which confirms that this is a HOAX:

Website: Hoax-Slayer | Praying Mother and Son Rock Formation

It writes: However, not surprisingly, the image is in fact a work of art and does not depict an actual landscape. The picture is a children’s book illustration by renowned Korean artist Kim Jae-hong. The image and other similar illustrations in the sequence can be seen in photographs of the children’s book displayed on a Korean blog post.

As the website linked above suggest, the images do exist. However, these are not of any natural wonder but images created for a book, published in Korea for children. The images were created by a Korean artist named Kim Jae-Hong

Image from: Snopes.com

Here is a Korean Blog ‘Reading in the Sky’ (hope the translation is correct) showing the actual pages from the book. Again, from translation the name of the book seems to be ‘Children of the East River’.

The link to the blog page is: Children of Ice|Reading in the Sky

But the question also arises: Why then does the email indicate that this is somewhere in Burma?

Another hoax-busting webpage answers this question:

Website: Piffe | Mother and Son Rock Formation

It writes: This is a very smart urban legend, since its creator chose to locate it in Burma ( Myanmar ), a country almost completely closed to visitors and tourists. So it is almost impossible to verify the validity of the picture. In Spring of 1983, we were very fortunate to visit Burma for a week. Nobody told us anything about that picture and not a word about it either in the Lonely Planet Guide on Burma.

Don’t believe what you want to see;

Don’t see what you want to believe.

Also read:

• Paintalicious | A Spectacular Rock Formation In Burma
• Snopes | Awesome Rock
• Piffe | Mother and Son Rock Formation

8)

~Rakesh