Meditation in Chaiya
Well i heard there is a typhoon in the phillipines coming our way. Where i
was, cliffside in a bay in ko pha ngan only accessible by long boat (read:
wood, leaky, low to the sea, overcrowded) was getting mighty windy and the
seas very choppy, so i decided it was time to get back to the mainland.
The long boat ride was utterly terrifying, only one guy was willing to take his boat out. Once we were in the boat all the other drivers chanted in unison “he crazy , he crazy” cause the waves were “very, very big”. Out there it was like being thrown through a series of whirlpools with waves hurling towards us from all angles. The driver had to read the ocean very carefully to know whether to kill the engine and ride the waves or accelerate to the max to outrun them. Eventually, after half an hour of me gripping the sides and reciting mantras to every god and goddess, we made it to shore.
i took another boat to the mainland – a boat actually built for open seas – then a train to a little town called Chaiya. This town does not expect farang here, all the signs – all – are in thai. so to find anything i need to window shop (internet, food). All the menus are also in thai and there is no understanding of the word “vegetarian” or “no meat”. Finding the one hotel in town was a huge mission, particulary because the directions came back at me in thai.
i am, seemingly, the only farang here. i have never been so stared at, talked about, or followed (in an intrigued way, not a threatening one). Every time i walk pass the friendly police station they want to practise their english and keep tabs on what i am up to. i went to the local market last night and ate corn on the cob for dinner (the only thing i could recognise as meat-free). i took part in the open air thai aerobics (that seems to be everywhere i go, spontaneously an aerobics class just erupts!) the locals thought my participation was hysterical.
There is a time for meeting other travellers and feeling comfortable. And there is certainly a time for feeling thrown in at the deep end, i love it.
Am heading to Wat Suan Mokh today, a buddhist temple in the forest that has 10-day meditation retreats taught in english. it looks good and has been
recommended. i think i can stay there in the days leading up to the retreat
on 1st december.
Tags: Thailand
Jyai