The Hidden Corners of Bangladesh | The Buddhist Afterglow of Cox’s Bazar
Cox’s Bazar is the pride of Bangladeshis as a tourist destination, I can confidently say that if you ask ten Bangladeshis where is fun in their country, nine will cue to Cox’s Bazar. The city is surrounded by hills on the north, east, and south, and the beach on the west, 110 kilometers long, is one of the longest beaches in the world. Of course, this beach is also divided into several parts, from St. Martin's Island back to Cox’s Bazar, passing Inani Beach, and went directly to this beach.
Many peculiar new moon-shaped fishing boats are parked in the shallow bay near the beach, which feels similar to small pirate ships in ancient times, and very different from the fishing boats on St. Martin's Island. Inani Beach is part of the 110-kilometer-long beach on the entire Cox’s Bazar peninsula, located roughly in the middle of Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf. Unlike the beaches in the city of Cox’s Bazar, it is much quieter here, but obviously there are more and more local tourists. The seawater here is far from comparable to that of St. Martin's Island, presenting a kind of polluted thick blue. Interestingly, Inani Beach is also a coral reef beach, especially after the tide recedes, there are endless coral reefs. Some locals are soaking in the sun in the pits formed by the coral reefs, doing the most suitable thing on the beach - daze.
After returning to Cox’s Bazar, to the hotel street by the sea, I finally felt the prosperity of Bangladesh's first tourist destination. At dusk, I walked to the old city of Cox’s Bazar to see the Buddhist temples of the Rakhaing people. It is about 3 kilometers from the hotel to the Rakhaing temple, from the bustling modern beach road to the original dirty and chaotic labyrinth-like old city, arriving just before the last light of the day goes down. Mahathindawgree Kendriyo Buddhist Mondir is a peculiar building, a four-sided tower-shaped building, which shrinks from the eaves of the first floor, after eight floors to the top of the tower, and the inside of the building is enshrined. It is a spire common in Burmese Buddhism that is very similar to the entire building. Further inside, the Rakhaing people with faces similar to mine are barefoot in the yard, and people are carefully preparing for the upcoming Buddhist festival. The deepest part of the yard is the main hall of Maha Thin Daw Gree, and next to it is a small hall with a hollow top, which also enshrines a Buddha statue. The main hall enshrines dozens of Buddha statues, from the largest gold-plated bronze statue to the jade Buddha to the clay Buddha statue, with different expressions.
In front of Maha Thin Daw Gree is a Burmese-style pure wooden structure temple Aggamedha Kyang, which is a bit close to the stilt building in Southeast Asia. The Buddha statue enshrined in the main hall on the second floor is very beautiful, especially the exquisite carving of the Buddha's halo. Coming out of Aggameda Khyang, looking back at the door, the faint light emitted by the incandescent bulbs hanging in the temple is the Buddhist afterglow in this Muslim country. Thinking of the busy Rakhaing faces in the yard, this small grove is another unknown Bangladesh.