The Monastery Built on a Volcanic Plug

Taung Kalat, located in central Burma, thirty miles or so from the ancient city of Bagan towers above the earth like some sort of giant's sand castle. Atop it there is a Buddhist monastery which rests upon the precipitous volcanic plug.

Yes, that's right a volcanic plug. It sounds dangerous but at this stage in its life, Taung Kalat poses no threat. A volcanic plug (sometimes called a ‘neck') is formed when magma, on its way up through a vent on an active volcano, hardens inside the vent. While the volcano is active this could well lead to the mother of all explosions and it would, you have to admit, be a shame if this beautiful monastery was to be catapulted in to the stratosphere. However, the volcano is thought (perhaps we should say hoped) to be extinc