We left the bikes at the hotel today and will collect them again tomorrow as today involved going into the town where a fleet of small trucks are used to ferry visitors up the nearby mountain to visit Kyaiktiyo Pagoda or “Golden Rock” as it was better known.

Cars were banned from travelling up the mountain road up to the Rock due to the amount of crashes. So now a fleet of trucks are used to do the job with a well managed entry and exit procedure as the road is extremely tight and steep with many hair pin bends and no room for error. For those of you who enjoy a good roller coaster ride, then this ride is for you!

Once up the mountain we checked into a hotel as the sunset over Golden Rock was a spectacular site we were told. As the day went on it was clear that we were not going to see the sun set as it was cloudy and raining and for the first time since Spain the temps were only in the “teens”.

After settling into the hotel we had a wonder around the area, which was solely geared for tourists. Fortunately the rain stayed away for most of the daylight hours left.

It is said that the rock is only being held in place by a well placed strand of Buddha’s hair which stops the rock from falling. Visitors buy small stamp sized pieces of gold leaf and rub it into the rock as part of religious practices.

As this area is a religious site, shoes were band from the immediate area around the rock and congregation areas nearby.

Weekly Statistics

Distance traveled this week: 1,348km

Average speed to date: 53.1km/h

Average fuel consumption to date: 4.8 litre’s per 100km