Weekend Escape to Myanmar

Long weekends coming? No place left in mind to visit for a short holiday? Look no further than what this exotic country, 40th largest country in terms of area size: <Myanmar >

A short break away from the stressful life back in city. Here’s the quick guide to visiting Myanmar for probably 3-4 days.

Visit Mount Kyaiktiyo (Requires 2 Days/1 Night)

Also more famously known as Golden Rock, located in Mon State, Myanmar.  This is one of the three most sacred religious sites in Myanmar, along with the Shwedagon Pagoda (Yangon) and the Mahamuni Temple. Pilgrims come here from far and wide to worship and add gold leaf to the huge rock, which seems to defy gravity by delicately balancing on the edge of the 1100-meter high mountain.

Journey to Golden Rock 

Most visitors will arrive Myanmar via the international gateway city, Yangon. From Yangon, it is 3.5 hours ride (200km away) to the base camp of Golden Rock. Please factor in the peak traffic hours in Yangon (morning peak time: 7am- 9am) which could easily mean your ride to Golden Rock may takes up to 5 hours to reach the mountain base camp. Along the way, one may by pass the memorial park that were built for foreigners who perished during world war in Burma (Myanmar old name). This park is one of the few rather serene and well maintained place in the country.

One will pass by the Bago division where many fruit plantations are located. Bago produces pineapple, pomoleo fruits. This is also where the future international airport, expected to be completed in Year 2022, will be relocated from Yangon. Bago city is 80km away  from downtown Yangon.

The journey up Mount Kyaiktiyo involves taking an extremely crowded open-top truck from the mountain base. This is a 45-60 minutes adrenaline “roller coaster” ride up whereby one could experience the Formula 1 Drivers fast zipping speed. An alternative way to reach the mountain top is to hike (6-7 hours) up the mountain slope and experience villagers life along the way.

A key point to note is that there is no fixed departure timing of the open-top truck. The driver will wait for it to be filled up before departing. There are total of seating capacity of 42 at the back (7 rows) and few more seats in front.  The transport fare varies depending on which seats one takes.

For instance, each passenger pays 3,000 Kyats (approx USD2.50) for front seat. The open top back seat costs 2,500 Kyats and if one is feeling adventurous, go for the standing one which costs around 2,000 Kyats.

The locals are often seen selling rain coat to visitors before boarding the truck. It costs around 1,000 Kyats and it is often a wise investment. As one travels up the sloppy mountain, there are many clouds often blocked by the mountainous terrain which will result frequent rain in the area. The weather may look fine but it could change drastically within minutes.

Upon arriving, there are around 3 hotels to choose from at the top of the mountain for the night accommodation. Should one be travelling during the peak season (Oct- Feb), please book the accommodation before hand. The hotel that we had stayed in do not have air conditioner which was anyway not needed due to the cooling temperature. The entrance to Golden Rock is just a 15 minutes slow hike up from the hotel.

If you do not want to hike up, you can choose to be ferry to the top like a king on this sedan chair seen below.

Usually if time and weather permits, it would be best to visit the Golden Rock during evening time. One could see the day and night view together with the sunset which definitely adds a majestically feeling to it.

As the road at night is a little dark, the hotel we stayed in provides torch light. Please bring along torch light while walking in the night. The area at the top of mountain have limited WiFi as reception is poor in the region. However, we are pleasantly surprised that for city dwellers like us, only in the hotel lobby area , one could be able to enjoy good internet connectivity.

A typical scene of what one can witness along the way up the mountain trail…

Yangon City  

After touring Golden Rock  (2 days/1 night), head down to Yangon city and experience what this enchanting city could bring to you! A scene of the city hall area in downtown Yangon..

The best part to stay in Yangon could be in Chinatown area due to its close proximity to key tourist attraction areas and both the morning & night market that it offers. The morning market scene…

As Burma was once colonized by the British, one could see well preserved colonial buildings right in the heart of Yangon together with modern buildings popping up.

And what’s visiting Yangon without stepping into the world famous Shwedagon Pagoda that sparkle brightly in the heart of Yangon. The best time to visit Shwedagaon during rainy season is during the early morning hours as the sky usually pours in the late afternoon time. Should one be going during drier months, (Late October- March), go during the evening time would be the best so that you can witness the different feel of this pagoda have to offer in sight.

Late Afternoon time, sparkles under the sun.

Evening time, sparkles under the sunset.

Late evening time, sparkles under the moonlight.

If you are more keen to visit Myanmar after reading this, I have written previously on general information for tourists going to Myanmar found here. Other than Golden Rock, tourist usually visit Inle Lake as well or what I could call it the Maldives of Myanmar, read more at this link.

Last but not least, happy travelling to Myanmar, the Land of Golden! Watch the video below on this trip to Golden Rock & Yangon!

Categories: Asia Region