Mie Mie stopped a cab for me to go to the bus station. My friends told me about this strange fact in the night buses in Myanmar: it is insanely cold. I thought I would be prepared to brave the freezing ac with my hoodie, scarf, long pants and socks. It was not enough.

What’s wrong with them to put the temperature at 12 degrees? I still don’t understand but I guess I won’t change it so I told myself to double the layers the next time I will spend the night while traveling.

What I was really not prepared about was that instead of arriving at 5 am in Kyaiktiyo it was 2 am when they dropped us in a little coffee shop in the middle of a dark sleepy city.
You have two solutions then: staying there and drink coffee one after another or ask for a place to sleep. I didn’t want to be tired for the next day and sleeping on the table was not a solution. Nobody could really explain me how to reach the Golden Rock before but a group of nice young guys from Yangon and doing the pilgrimage decided to be my guardians Angels that day. After resting few hours on the floor in a closet – sorry, bedroom – they showed me the way to take the only transport existing to reach the Golden rock area. One of them even paid for my entrance fee. I was amazed how kind and nice they have been to me.
   
    
    
  

We arrived at the station at 5am after a short walk and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Thousands of people were rushing to sit on these gigantic trucks filled with small benches. They parked inside more people than they should have and we started to climb the mountain. I am glad my mum didn’t know I was where I was because she could have lost the sleep forever. The way they are driving is insane… The fresh air helped me not being sick but those who have weaker stomach didn’t get to the top without using a plastic bag if you understand what I mean.

While we were going up, up, up, the sun started to illuminate the landscape. Magistral sunrise!

  
    
    
  

I was carrying all my belongings as I first thought I would spend the night there and followed the boys to their hotel. Unfortunately, the prices were not adapted to my budget so they kindly agreed on keeping my backpack in their room while I was wandering around.

Breakfast time! You can’t expect western food here but you have to be prepared to eat the best fried rice ever.

  
  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

The golden rock is not a place you want to visit if you prefer touristic area. It has been already twelve hours since I saw the last western looking person and I communicated more using my hands than my vocal chords.

And then a bunch of kids adopted me. I was both confused and pleased when they insisted to offered me a tea, a lychee juice and even a friendship bracelet. I followed them for a bit, learning about their life and dreams before they decided to have a rest in the shadow with their family.
Later I rested under a tree next where a group of friends had snacks. An old lady sat next close to me and start to talk to me in Burmese. She obviously was not offended or bothered that I didn’t understand her and that’s when started the real communication: the one that only the heart can understand. She got the fact that I was traveling on my own and insisted so much to feed me with oranges and juices that my stomach was hurting. Like if being on your own means that must be fed like two people. Like if your soul needed twice the amount of oranges to feel happy. It was cute but I couldn’t put any more fruits in my body so I said “jayzudingbade, ta-taaa!” And explored another part of the Golden Rock.

  
    
  

I didn’t described the rock itself. It’s for sure impressive, this unstable rock stayed still even after many earthquakes and is covered by gold leaves all day long by men. It is something that is still obscure for me: why in each religion men can acceded to some parts of sacred places and not women. Why having your periods make you an impure creature and why when you are born with a breast and a vagina, you are considered like a temptation who can leads every man to the wrong side. I was expecting less judgements and more equality from Buddhism on this side but the fact that Buddha had hundred of lives including some animals and vegetal forms but never has been a woman proved that it is not exactly right. Later during my trip I asked that question to a guide but he was really embarrassed so I didn’t raised the subject anymore with any other locals.

Being more covered up than men, respecting the culture or following some rules specifically made to restrain women to do things like me, I did and will do and it is not my right to rise against any form of inequality in a country where I was not born but I can’t deny that will affect the kind of trip a solo female traveller will experience compares to the one a man would have.

I try not to stop myself when it comes to go or do things just because I’m a woman and that society decided that I should not do, but I try not to be stupid and understand that sometimes it’s just more safe for me to follow the rules. It takes time also to realize that you can be able to achieve a dream or to have the same status than a man when society put in your mind some ideas since you are born.

When I talked to Myanmar women, they are really surprised to see me traveling on my own with my big backpack and not being married or not even expecting any man to help you succeeding in life. I can see in their eyes a bit of horror when I tell them my story. I know the country has been throught a lot and that for most of them the main fight was not to have the same rights than men but have just rights, so I figure that it was unbelievable to have me in front of them already. I thought it was cute and maybe they will slowly change their mind about this subject. Maybe not. And that’s fine too. Each one should decide what their dream is and what is good or bad.

Just to say that women are not allowed to touch the golden rock, you can see it from away.

  
    
    

After few hours, I decided to go back to the city and leave direction Kalaw.