Mrauk U was the last royal capital of the Buddhist Rakhine dynasty along the west coast of modern-day Myanmar.  Founded in 1430, the city prospered for over three hundred years.  In the 17th century, a visiting Dutchman named Joost Schouten compared its size and wealth to Amsterdam and London.  To visit today you take a boat for several hours up the Kaladan River.  On my first trip in 2002, I traveled with three pig farmers who were returning upstream after selling their livestock (read about that trip in One Day’s Adventure.)  These photos are from a 2015 trip over Christmas.  For more on Joost Schouten, read my story The Company’s Reward, about his rise and fall as a merchant in Siam.