Kyaiktiyo Pagoda (Golden Rock)-No Ladies Beyond This Point

Recommended by Lonely Planet as being one of the top 10 sites to see in Myanmar and looking unlike anything I had ever seen before, I felt it absolutely necessary that I go to see this unusual pilgrimage site. One important thing to note however, is that the rock itself is off-limits to women due to age-old thoughts and superstitions. Nonetheless  I wasted no time in going to see the famed Golden Rock, I wandered through the streets of Yangon until I came to a booking agent called Go-Myanmar located at 90 Bogolay Zay St., (Go-Myanmar.com) this was where I went to book the buses I would take around Burma. I was immediately greeted by an incredibly friendly guy who patiently listened while I explained my planned bus itinerary for my travels around Burma. The whole process took around 15 minutes and I paid for the bus journeys in dollars, the total cost for 5 buses was 82 dollars which was a steal!

Did I mention that I booked my bus to the Golden Rock for that evening? Some may call me hasty, impulsive or downright impatient and this has landed me in hot water once or twice, or if I’m being entirely honest a countless amount of times. I have bolloxed up bookings an embarrassing number of times, if ever I was to name a talent, that would be at the forefront. Anyway, enough about such deeds, this time round was actually one of my finer moments. Nothing. Went. Wrong. Truly amazing. Having booked my bus down to the Golden Rock for 8.30 that evening, I returned to my capsule for a short nap before I set off. I grabbed a taxi from outside my hostel to take me to the bus station, which is miles away! It cost 10,000 kyat for the journey. After what felt like an eternity later, we arrived at the bus station, a huge space full of an indeterminate amount of bus companies. I found the bus company I was looking for without any hassle at all and perched myself on a wire chair awaiting the call to board the bus. A short while letter everyone sprung up from their chairs to hurriedly get on the bus, each person clearly wanting to fit in a nap on the bus, before we arrived at the base of the Golden Rock at a very early hour in the morning. The first hour to be exact, we were due to arrive at 1 a.m.

The bus journey was an altogether very pleasant one, headphones in (one part  pure enjoyment, one part drowning out the very dramatic soap operas screeching in the background), shoes off and a cheeky nap which took up pretty much all of the bus journey.  I would even go so far as to say its total 3 and half hours travel time was too short! This is because of the fact that I too, was one of those people desperate to nap on the bus in preparation for our long night waiting for the infamous pick-ups to start their route to the Golden Rock. Arriving at our destination, we all shuffled sleepily out of the bus, greeted by a chilly night. Luckily, we were dropped off at a local restaurant of which the patrons were trying to get people to stay the few hours in one of the local guesthouses, I can only assume they received commission in return for this ‘service’. To solely satisfy my curiosity, I enquired as to the price of one of these guesthouses for a night. To be honest, I already knew the answer, as Lonely Planet had already informed me that these guesthouses would cost in the region of 20-30 dollars. Tiredness, however, can sometimes wreak havoc over my mostly economical tendencies and I end up splurging on unnecessary but oh so comfy comforts. Alas! This was not to be one of those times, I held tight and decided to wait out the night under the stars at a table outside the local restaurant, alongside many others who also made the same decision. I decided my first port of call was to order some food to fuel myself for the night and upcoming morning excursion. I ordered fried chicken with a side of pan-fried vegetables, it was delicious!

Having finished my delicious food I whipped out the PSP I had been ever so kindly lent for the trip and started playing Final Fantasy IX. To my horror, after only half an hour of game play, it died. The PSP died. No saved game. Disaster. To my chagrin, there were no outlets to charge my electricals, so gaming would have to wait until another day. However, my phone was fully charged and with an abundance of data at my disposal, I started chatting to people from home and away. After a couple of hours, I decided it was time to literally put my head down for some attempted shut-eye. Luckily, I have the ability to fall asleep absolutely anywhere, so this proved rather easy. And, although it was a sleep rife with interruptions, I didn’t feel too exhausted when I woke up just before dawn. As soon as I awoke, I got up and made my way toward the pick-up station. I had no trouble finding my way, as there was a trail of people heading in the exact same direction.

After a short 10-minute walk, we arrived at the pick-up station. It was quite a sight, there were pick-up trucks parked everywhere, conveniently parked next to elevated platforms on which, the people boarded the pick-ups. I was slightly in awe of it all and found myself a little bit apprehensive about boarding one of these beasts. I must have had a doe-eyed/derpy look on my face, as a local elderly man came to my aid. A very friendly man named Bobby with the most dazzling semi-toothless smile I ever did see. He guided me over to a gleaming pick-up truck and instructed me to board it. I sat down on the lightly padded bench and felt my heart racing as I braced myself for the journey up the mountain.

The reason for my mini heart palpitations were due to the fact that I had heard horrifying tales of screaming Buddhist nuns and capsizing vehicles. Suddenly, it was time to depart. We made our way up the mountain at high-speed, twisting and turning, barely having time to glimpse at the scenery before the truck careered around another bend. It continued like this the whole way up but I must admit, despite my fear-addled state, I enjoyed every minute. We arrived around 40-minutes later at the start of the path leading to the golden rock.

All foreign visitors to the rock have to pay an entry fee of 6,000 Kyat, which is small change in return for the truly unique experience you get. With that paid, it was time to take my shoes off, as this a sacred place, put them in a plastic bag and soak up the atmosphere.

On the path leading up to the rock, I found a second golden rock which I could actually touch! A woman. Touching a gold rock only a stones throw from the famed pagoda. Outrageous. I took this opportunity to snap myself in a variety of poses, all in varying degrees of majesticness and twattery. It was fantastic. After this I went to the closest viewing area I could get to, to see the rock in all its glory. There is even a viewing area off-limits to women that’s nowhere near touching the pagoda which baffled me also!

I must admit though, the pagoda is very beautiful, gleaming in the sunlight against a dramatic landscape with the soft chanting of both the men and women who have come here to worship. It was, a truly wonderful experience. The area itself is well-equipped for tourists, having stalls selling all sorts of souvenirs and even stalls in which you can charge your electricals. The age we live in eh folks?!

At around noon, the heat was at its most intense, bearing down on my head and threatening my pasty Irish skin with sunburn. Alas, there were tents set up in the central area to provide shade from the sun and I took it upon myself to take refuge in one. Lying down, I proceeded to nap. NOPE. I heard shouts and looked up to see they were directed at me. It turns out it’s highly disrespectful to have the soles of your feet facing the rock. I immediately turned around and all was well. After my nap I  went to catch my pick-up back to the base and take the bus back to Yangon.  The pick-ups are so awesome! A definite highlight of the day! I was literally careering down a mountain on the back of a truck. After reaching the base, I found the bus station and headed back to Yangon. All in all,  the golden rock was a truly unique experience and a definite must-see destination in Burma. It is very easy to organize the buses via a travel agency, I really do highly recommend Go-Myanmar and the whole trip only takes a night and half of a day. Of course if you have a larger time-frame you could spend a night in the area. It is an awesome sight to see, I will definitely never forget it!