Kyaw Hla Maung, or “Mr. Rocky” is a historical researcher and a great source of knowledge on Rakhine history. Now in his sixties, he has led an interesting life. He’s studied and lived abroad and speaks English well (through a Myanmar accent).
A passionate historian, he commissioned research on the origins of the Burmese language, and proudly showed us a large chart of the findings at a temple that we visited. He has vowels and consonants tattooed to his body and as a young man used to secretly study ancient Burmese scripts in the forest with his friends. He was arrested several times as a student for using forbidden scripts. His personal stories are amazing.
Rocky’s
knowledge of the area, English vocabulary and passion for history and archaeology make him an excellent guide. He accompanied us to Wethali and asked
our driver to stop at an archaeological excavation site and a monastery on the
way.
At the
excavation site, we walked inside a 4th-8th Century
religious building where Brahmin, Hindu and Buddhist statues have been found.
As we looked around, at least 50 men and women worked to uncover walls that
experts believe are part of a water management system. This site was buried
during a volcanic eruption.
We made
another stop at a monastery where the monks are building a Buddha Museum to
showcase the ancient relics and Buddha castings that they have possession of. We were privileged enough to be shown the collection privately.
When you
book Rocky as a guide you’ll need to book a driver with appropriate
transportation too. A jeep or air conditioned van are best for the bumpy,
unsealed roads around Mrauk U. You might get coated in dust in a jeep, but it’s
all part of the adventure! The road to Wethali was a good sealed road, but the
roads within the village were rough and at one point, our driver, Mr. Rocky and
my partner even got out to move some large rocks aside so that our jeep could
get through.
Your guesthouse should be able to help you book transportation.
Your guesthouse should be able to help you book transportation.
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