A Journey to Myanmar’s Golden Rock

Despite being listed as a must do in Lonely Planet, many people skip the opportunity to visit Golden Rock on their trip through Myanmar. It is, after all, just a rock covered in gold leaf with a tiny stupa on top. Maybe that description is too basic. The rock appears to be teetering on the edge of Mount Kyaiktiyo and is said to be held in place by a strand of Buddha’s hair. Having given ourselves plenty of time to explore the country, we made it a one-night stopover on our bus journey from Yangon to Hpa-An.

Accommodation Confusion and the Taxi Mafia

The bus from Yangon dropped us off early in the afternoon at a restaurant near the mountain. Touts immediately swarmed us desperate to fill empty rooms. I had already made an online booking because we knew our time would be limited. We were gutted when we realized that the hotel I had booked, that advertised as being at the base of the mountain, was actually a 15-minute drive outside of the town.

At first, we considered leaving our bags at the restaurant so we could go up the mountain before going to the hotel. This would have been the smart move, but our place had a pool and we were desperate to cool off in it. A man working at the restaurant insisted on arranging a taxi for us. This led to us standing around for 20-minutes having no clue what was going on as he chatted to various people down the street. He would look over every so often to assure us he had not forgotten we were there.

Eventually, an empty truck appeared. They quoted us 10,000 Kyat (about $10) each way. This was $2 more expensive than our 1-hour taxi ride in Yangon. We insisted that this was ridiculous and they laughed at us, which was disturbing since their mouths and lips were stained blood red from chewing betel nut.

They refused to negotiate. To their surprise, we walked away. We spoke to another driver, but he also laughed. According to him, there were not many taxis around so they could charge what they wanted. They all looked pretty pissed when a young guy with a pickup truck full of locals approached us and offered a ride for 50 cents each. We had found the local transport! We hopped in the back, relieved to get away from the lot.

A Hotel All To Ourselves

Our hotel was a newly built complex with dozens of buildings. The eager, but professional manager greeted us and led us through their grounds to our room. It appeared we were their only guests. We dropped our bags and took a dip in the pool before heading out again with the intention of hitching a ride back to the mountain on one of the trucks driving along the road. We were surprised to see the manager waiting for us near the gate and he insisted on taking us into town for free.

First, he took us to the WinGo bus station and helped us buy a bus ticket for the following day and he even arranged for a hotel pick up to save us from another trip into town. We were relieved when they showed us pictures of the large, comfortable bus. Our regrets of booking a place so far out of the way had washed away completely. Then he walked us to the garage where massive pickup trucks were filling up for the ride up the mountain.

The Wild Journey to the Top

If anyone is wondering whether or not Golden Rock is worth the visit, the answer is yes for the truck ride alone. The high-speed ride was more thrilling than most amusement park rides. We were thankful that the truck was so packed with people because it prevented us from flying out of our seats.

We watched in wonder as one man clung onto the outside of the truck with his feet supported on a narrow ledge, making his way from front to back collecting fares from each passenger as it barreled up the mountain. The truck made a stop at the new gondola, which we considered taking before we had started, but we were enjoying the high-speed ride too much to get out.

The ride lasted an hour and we realized that we should have left much earlier. The last truck down the mountain would leave at 6 pm and it was already 5 pm. If we missed it we would be stuck for the night. We had also not accounted for the 15-minute walk in each direction from the unloading area to the rock itself. We rushed amongst the last of the pilgrims and past many lazy locals who opted to be carried on long stretchers with lounging chairs on them to avoid tiring themselves out.

A View Worth The Trip

We arrived at the perfect time to watch the sunset. A large group of men crowded around the rock adding more golden leaves to it. Women are not permitted to touch the rock, but really, why would I? I did enjoy the views and the energy created by the surrounding worshippers.

We found a seat on the last departing truck and barely had enough cash to pay the fare. We had not thought about the hefty entrance fee when we were taking money for the day. With the equivalent of 10 cents left in our wallet, we called the manager for a ride back to the hotel.

Completely tired out by such a long day we were keen to get a good sleep. Unfortunately, the building next to ours, which was not part of the hotel, blasted music from 8 pm until 6 am. I was wide awake all night. The next morning I was in no mood for the transportation problems that lay ahead.

Leaving Kyaiktiyo

The bus was scheduled at 10 am and at 10:20 we were still sitting in the lobby. They kept telling us that it was no problem. Eventually, we were loaded into the back of a truck and taken to another location. We were told to wait again before they led us to another location and put us into a minivan. We figured that this minivan was meant to take us to the bus, so the fact that we were squished in the front and I had to practically sit on the stick shift, was ok. It turned out there was no bus. This ended up being our transport for hours all the way to Hpa-An. Well almost.

The minivan stopped at the turnoff to Hpa-An a few kilometers from the town. We were told to rent a motorbike taxi for the last few kilometers. I insisted that we had paid a bus fare all the way to Hpa-An. He admitted that even he did not know what we were doing on his minivan. We had somehow been sold off to him by the bus company without much explanation.

I managed to negotiate for him to pay 50% of the motorbike fare. Because of our luggage, we had to take separate bikes. While my driver knew where he was going, Jon’s did not. Instead of following us, he pulled ahead and disappeared. This happened multiple times resulting in us chasing them around Hpa-An like a scene from a children’s cartoon. When the chase ended we breathed a sigh of relief knowing that we could rent our own motorbike in Hpa-An and be responsible for our own transportation for the next few days.