A VISIT TO RAKHINE STATE OF MYANMAR (MRAUK-U)
Tuesday, 28 February – Sunday, 4 March 2012
Leader: Khun Euayporn Kerdchouay, Senior Consultant, The Siam Society
 |
Victor Couto, de gravura antiga (by Wouter Schouten). View of Mrauk-U in the XVII century : in first plan the Portuguese settlement. 1676. As a courtesy to http://en.wikipedia.org/
Mrohaung or Mrauk-U (called Arakan by many foreigners who visited the area): According to local chronicles Arakan has a long history as an independent state from very early time before the Christian era. But we learn from a number of inscription and antiquarian remains that a Hindu or Hinduised dynasty was ruling at Vaisali about the 2nd century B.C. It was succeeded by the Candra dynasty in the middle of the 4th century. There were 16 kings in this line and total regnal years was given as 230. Dven Chandra was the first King and the 16th and last was Dhrti Candra. After some years of interregnum there succeeded a third dynasty which lasted from the end of the 6th century to the beginning of the 8th century. Anandacandra, the last king of that dynasty, recorded the genealogical list of his predecessors in his Sanskrit inscription on a four-faced stone pillar originally set up in Vaisali. The chronicles give a much later date for the Candra dynasty but inscriptions are corroborated by coins of those kings. These early kings professed Mahayana. Centuries later the pillar was removed to the Shitthaung pagoda at Mrauk-U where it is now preserved.
The Arakanese established themselves about the middle of the 10th century and soon after moved successively to the new capitals of Pyinsa, Parin, Hkrit and Launggyet. Their religion became more Hinayana and by the 11th century Arakan became subject to Pagan. The kings of Ava tried to reassert their suzerainty and invaded Arakan in 1404. Minsawmum left Launggyet and took refuge in Bengal which was already under Muslim rule.
When Nazi-ud-din became Sultan of Bengal in 1426 Minsawmun prevailed upon him to restore him to the throne of Arakan as his tributary, and after many years of exile he was ultimately re-instated in 1430. Three years later he shifted his capital and found Mrohaung or Mrauk-U. It remained the seat of the Arkanese rulers until 1785 when Arakan was invaded by King Bodawpaya of Amarapura and removed the protector of the country, the Mahamuni image, to his capital. Two hundred thousand Arakanese are said to have fled to India. These events laid the seeds for the first Anglo-Myanmar war, fought in Arakan in 1825. The conquerors found the old city of Mrauk-U pestilential to its troops, and removed them to a small fishing village at the mouth of the Kaladan River, which today remains the capital of Rakhine State, Sittwe.
The Arakanese kings of Mrauk-U, though Buddhists, saw fitting to use Islamic names in addition to their own names and even struck medallions bearing the Islamic confussion of faith in Persian script.
Mrauk-U lies on the rocky plain or watershed between the Lemro and Kaladan rivers intersected by ranges of hills and numerous canals. The hills provided natural defence and rendered the city the most secure spot of the capital of Arakan. The ruins of the fort are still in existence. As in old Myanmar capitals, the architectural activity was the outcome of strong religious fervour.
The monuments which dotted the plain and capped the ranges of hills mostly dated from the 15th and 16th centuries. Their interest lies in the fact that some of them are unlike in style of anything met with in the rest of Myanmar: they were temples as well as a forts at the same time. Most of them are of stone and brick, but those entirely built of stone are generally among the best preserved monuments at Mrauk-U.
From Tuesday, 28 February – Sunday, 4 March 2012, the Siam Society will organize a study trip to visit the splendid capital cities of ancient Arakan. Members will spend 1 night at the hotel in Sittwe, 1 night in Yangon and 3 nights at hotel in Mrauk-U.
The tentative programme will be as follows:
Day 1: Tuesday, 28 February 2012 |
|
| 07:15 a.m. | Meet at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Intl. Airport; check-in counter for BANGKOK AIRWAYS. |
| 09:15 a.m. | Depart Bangkok for Yangon by Bangkok Airways flight PG 701. |
| 10:05 a.m. | Arrive at Yangon Airport and transfer to domestic terminal for a flight to Sittwe (Akyab), the capital city of Rakhine State. |
| 12:00 Noon: | Depart Yangon Airport by Air Bagan flight W9 309. |
| 01:45 p.m. | Arrive at Sittwe, a port city of the Rakhine State at the mouth of the Kaladan River. |
| - | Transfer to local restaurant for lunch; visit Buddhistic Museum at Mahakuthala Kyaungtawgyi and sightseeing in the Sittwe city. |
| - | Check-in at Shwe Thazin Hotel, dinner and overnight at the hotel in Sittwe. |
Day 2: Wednesday, 29 February 2012 |
|
| - | Breakfast at the hotel. |
| Morning: | Proceed to Mrauk-U by chartered boat. Once a centre for one of Myanmar’s most powerful kingdoms. King Minzawmun founded Mrauk-U in 1433, which lasted 352 years. He was much feared by the peoples of the Indian subcontinent and central Myanmar. |
| - | Arrive at Mrauk-U and transfer to the hotel; lunch at the hotel. |
| Afternoon: | Visit the Palace site and the Archeological Museum, The Le-myet-hna pagoda and Mahabodhi Shwe-Gu. |
| Evening: | Dinner and overnight at Shwe Thazin Hotel in Mrauk-U. |
Day 3: Thursday, 1 March 2012 |
|
| - | Breakfast at the hotel. |
| Morning: | Visit Shit-Thaung pagoda, Andaw-Thein pagoda, Htu-Kan-Thein, Phara-Ouk, Laung-Pan-Prauk and Sakyamanaung. |
| Noon: | Lunch at local restaurant. |
| Afternoon: | Visit the city of Dhanyawadi, the oldest site yet discovered in Arakan, dating from around the 4th century. (The only remains of the art of Dhanyawadi are the sculpture which have survived around the Mahamuni shrine, north-east of the palace site.) Visit the site of Mahamuni image. |
| - | Visit an excavations site at Koe-Thaung pagoda. This temple is the largest in Mrauk-U. It measures about 77 meters on each side. This temple is also known as the temple of 90,000 images. (The images however belong to the middle-Mrauk-U style, or middle of the 16th century.) Witness a sunset at Shwe Daung pagoda. |
| Evening: | Dinner and overnight at Shwe Thazin Hotel in Mrauk-U. |
Day 4: Friday, 2 March 2012 |
|
| - | Breakfast at the hotel. |
| Morning: | Proceed to the borders of Chin State by boat. |
| - | Visit the Chin Villages near the border of Rakhine & Chin State. The Chin are one of the largest ethnic minority group in Myanmar. The Chins are found mainly in western part of Myanmar. They also live in the nearby Indian states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur and Assam. They probably came to Myanmar via the Chindwin valley in the late 9th – 10th century A.D. and settled in the present Chin State around 1300-1400 A.D. |
| - | Picnic lunch at the village. |
| Late afternoon: | Return to Mrauk-U. |
| Evening: | Dinner and overnight at Shwe Thazin Hotel in Mrauk-U. |
Day 5: Saturday, 3 March 2012 |
|
| - | Breakfast at the hotel. |
| Morning: | Proceed to Sittwe city by boat. |
| Noon: | Lunch at local restaurant in Sittwe and proceed to Sittwe Airport. |
| 02:00 p.m. | Depart Sittwe Airport for Yangon by Air Bagan flight W9 310. |
| 03:45 p.m. | Arrive at Yangon Airport and transfer to the hotel. |
| - | Check-in at Chatrium Hotel in Yangon. |
| Evening: | Visit the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda and proceed to local restaurant for dinner. |
| - | Overnight at Chatrium Hotel in Yangon. |
Day 6: Sunday, 4 March 2012 |
|
| - | Breakfast at the hotel. |
| Morning: | Sightseeing in Yangon city. |
| Noon: | Lunch at local restaurant in the city and transfer to Yangon Airport. |
| 03:10 p.m. | Depart Yangon for Bangkok by Bangkok Airways flight PG 703. |
| 04:00 p.m. | Arrive at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Intl. Airport. |
Booking
Bt. 63,500 or Bt. 66,500 for non-members. Single room surcharge Bt. 4,000. There is a 4% surcharge for payment by credit/debit card to cover bank charges. A deposit of Bt. 16,000 and a copy of your passport must accompany the booking. Payment in full is required 14 days before the start of the trip (i.e. by Tuesday, 14 February 2012). Please pay by cash or cheque payable to ‘The Siam Society’. Alternatively you can deposit/transfer the money to the Siam Society travel account at the Thai Military Bank, Asoke Branch saving account no. 053-2-18000-7. Please fax or e-mail the deposit or transfer docket to us.
Includes/Excludes:
The contribution includes airfares, airport transfers, 16 meals, accommodation for two persons per room, sightseeing as mentioned in the programme and other costs incurred to make this trip possible. It excludes visa fee to Myanmar, personal expenses, etc.
Cancellation charge:
Cancellation after booking: Deposit forfeited
Cancellation after ticket booking: Deposit forfeited
29-15 days of the start of the trip: 30% of the tour cost
14-10 days of the start of the trip: 50% of the tour cost
Less than 10 days or cancellation without notice: No refund
The Siam Society reserves the right to change the programme as necessary. Seats are limited. Please book your place as soon as possible.
For further information and bookings please contact Khun Prasert (ext. 504) or Khun Ekkarin (ext. 506) on 0 2661 6470-7, fax 0 2258 3491 or e-mail: ekkarin@siam-society.org. Office hours: 9:00am.–5:00pm. Tuesday–Saturday (except holidays).