The Golden Rock, or Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, is one of those world wonders many of us always had in the back of our minds as a lovely place to see, were we anywhere in the vicinity. And so we constructed this short visit to the giant, gold-leafed, unbelievably precariously balanced boulder topped with a pagoda containing Buddha’s hair. We drive eastward from Yangon to Kyaiktiyo, spend an afternoon and golden morning at the Rock, and then return to Yangon and more Burmese, or Southeast Asian, days.

Day 1: Yangon to Kyaiktiyo • Day 2: the Golden Rock, return to Yangon • Day 3: depart Yangon.