Explore the Buddhist heritage of the former capital of the Rakhaing dynasty, Ramu

The temple Lamar Para Buddhist Temple, hidden in the forest, is harder to find than the others; it's very well concealed. Of course, the local tuk-tuk drivers can still take you there with pinpoint accuracy. From the name, it's evident that this is a Burmese temple. Entering through the hidden gate, you'll find a different world inside, with three complex wooden structures that are more intricate, layered, and dilapidated than any you've seen before, yet also more beautiful and filled with a sense of desolation from the passage of time. The building closest to the gate is likely the home of the temple's caretaker, where several Rakhaing people are seen idly working at the entrance. A teenager, upon seeing visitors, goes to fetch a bunch of keys. The middle building is probably where the monks meditate and recite scriptures, and possibly live. It's the most beautiful of the three, and after the teenager speaks with an old monk inside, seemingly getting his permission, he runs out to help open the door to the third building. Inside the third structure, a musty, damp smell prevails, and it's too dark to see clearly until the teenager turns on a dim light, revealing a gilded Buddha statue with a benevolent face in front of you, flanked by four or five smaller jade Buddhas on exquisitely carved pedestals. Perhaps due to the temple's antiquity and the dim lighting, there's a sense of eternity in the air, an indescribable presence that you can feel but can't express. From the outside, the building seems to have layers upon layers of complexity, but from the inside, it's just one tall hall. After leaving the hall, the teenager points to the middle temple, suggesting a look inside. Initially reluctant to disturb the chanting monks, you enter to find four gilded bronze Buddhas in front of the hall, along with many Buddhist posters. Unlike most temples' cleanliness, the area in front of the Buddhas is cluttered with bottles, jars, warm pots, and other household items, with an old monk sitting on the floor. Unlike most Rakhaing monks, the old monk seems in good spirits, allowing photography and even suggesting taking pictures of the Buddhas. Lamapara Bara Khyang also has an almost forest-covered bell tower, and the sound of the bell is ethereal in the woods. Back in Ramu, the town has two temples, including a brand-new one where a Chinese-speaking caretaker gives a detailed introduction to the temple's history. The highlight is the huge gilded bronze Buddha on the second floor of the main hall. The temple has several other halls, but they are newly built with light yellow walls and red tiles. In fact, the temple has a long history, but it was burnt down during a conflict in 2012. (For more details, search for the Ramu Violence incident). On the riverbank of Ramu, amidst a small grove, stands the most famous temple, U Chit San (Rakhine) Ramu Buddhist Temple. Before the Mughals occupied Chittagong, this land was always a Buddhist state of the Rakhaing people, and Ramu was even the second capital of a Rakhaing dynasty for three centuries, which explains the abundance of Buddhist relics here. U Chit San Temple is also a typical Burmese temple with a complex structure, crowdedly situated in a yard that looks like a small park. Entering the two-story hall, dozens of Buddhas of various sizes and expressions are worshipped, exuding divinity in the dim light. Scriptures are stacked carelessly on a cabinet to the side, and a few barefoot monks are undisturbed, calmly going about their business. Compared to the previous temple, U Chit San Temple has the solemnity, detachment, and mysterious atmosphere of a Buddhist temple. It's a temple with a strange charm, and you sit under the shade of trees in the outer courtyard for a while, enjoying the rare quiet. Another temple popular with local tourists is Bimukti Bidarshan Bhabna Kendro, which is also only accessible by tuk-tuk. However, the main attraction of this temple is a 100-foot-long giant clay reclining Buddha, which, for me, isn't particularly interesting.