Sleeping with the Monks
Sorry again for the lapse in postings, but I have been at the beach down here in Sihanoukville (affectionately known as Snookyville) where the days are lazy and the nights hazy. The beach scene is pretty chill compared to what I saw in Koh Tao in Thailand and the various beaches in Vietnam. One thing that is great is that here you get the amazing SE Asia sunsets – in Vietnam I had to make do with amazing sunrises – meaning I don’t have to get up early/stay up all night to see some great stuff from Mother Nature. I am staying at a beach shack run by a high school student named Chivas and his family. He plays some great music and we have had some good parties (I helped him organize a full moon party last week). I am staying at the shack because accommodation is free. Chivas figures that if you stay there, you spend enough on food and drinks to make up for it. It is great because I have another $3-5 to spend on entertainment.
I was feeling pretty lethargic after a week of sitting on the beach so yesterday I rented a motorbike in order to visit Bokor National Park and the Bokor Hill station. I had heard that the road up the mountain was not very good, so I decided to upgrade my 100 cc Honda Dream and get something a bit more badass. I chose a nice teal Honda 250 cc – a dirt bike that takes potholes and bumps with ease. It is pretty fast too. They gave me a selection of helmets to choose from, I picked this full-face one with “Space Crown” written on the side next to a fighter jet and some stars and stripes. On the back there is a sticker that says “Space Crown – The Name of Quality Product”.
The road to the bottom of Bokor Mountain was gorgeous – a decent surface with the ocean on one side and mountains on the other, but the road up the mountain was rough and I was glad I had the larger bike. Visitors to the park can stay at the ranger station for $5 a night but I had heard from a Swiss guy who had just come back from the mountain said that it was possible to stay at the Buddhist Monastery. I guessed that if I showed up at the ranger station first, the rangers would insist that I stay there, so once at the top I headed straight for the monastery.
I parked the bike in the center of the complex and walked up to the nearest monk and tried talking to him. He (unlike most of the monks you meet) was not too good with the English, but I eventually met Ken, a man staying for three months to meditate, who did. He asked the head monk if it was ok if I slept there, and after giving me a few strange looks, he agreed.
The monastery is at the top of Bokor Mountain, often referred to the Bokor hill station. The French tried to develop the top into a casino/hotel resort as there are pretty spectacular views of the coast and outlying islands. I am not sure for how long the place was functional, but the Khmer Rouge made sure it will never be. All of the buildings remain in dilapidated condition – visitors are free to wander around the buildings past broken windows and bullet holes. The main hotel is the most spectacular – it sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the jungle and ocean. The inside walls are covered with graffiti that visitors have scratched into the decaying plaster. I decided to leave my name and the date of my visit (let me know if you come across it if you visit).
One of the more interesting buildings was an old French church. It was in pretty good condition and was not as defaced as some of the other buildings.
Back at the monastery, I was shown where I would sleep. The accommodation was pretty Spartan, I was given one of three hard beds (on either side slept a monk) in a building next to the temple with a few pillows. Inside the building was a large shrine at one end with many Buddhas with some large candles that burned all night.
At sunset I was invited into the temple to take part in the evening prayers. All six monks sat in front while I sat in back next to Ken and a Vietnamese nun who lived in the monastery. All the windows were shut – the only light coming from candles placed in front of the shrine. Once everyone was present the monks began chanting prayers let by the head monk. I didn’t understand a thing, though after listening to them chant for nearly 30 minutes, I was in a kind of daze. I found myself very calm and relaxed and could not remember what I thought about for those 30 minutes. After the prayers, a few of the younger monks showed me their small photo albums. I unfortunately left some of my stuff in Phnom Penh at Andrew’s apartment – my photo album being amongst the things.
At night I drank coffee and tea with the head monk and Ken as I helped them with their English. The atmosphere was amazing; I was sitting giving English lessons next to homemade candles in a Buddhist temple. It was pretty windy and chilly up there on the mountaintop after sunset. The monks looked pretty cold, but I loved it as I have been sweating for three months. This whole time I have been carrying around a nice fleece jacket and haven’t even taken it out of my bag except to use it for a pillow. Unfortunately I left this in Phnom Penh with my other stuff. It would have come in handy up there because I was pretty cold while sleeping.
I awoke at 4 am to the monks doing their morning prayers. I dozed off for another hour but then finally got up to find the monastery in the clouds. The place was pretty surreal. In the morning a 17 year old monk showed me around a bit. We took turns throwing rocks off the edge of the cliff into the jungle below.
About midmorning I said goodbye to the monks (after giving them a donation for their hospitality) and headed out. I stopped to see one of the parks many waterfalls and hiked around a bit.
The ride back to Sihounoukville was just as nice as heading out, except for the last 10 km. I hit a torrential rainstorm which made driving a challenge, especially when getting passed by oncoming 18-wheelers, but I made it back just fine (though I was soaking wet). The 250 cc is a lot more fun than the smaller bikes, and I can’t wait to buy one once I settle down.
I think I will hang out here in Sihounoukville for a couple more days, and then I really need to head up to Siam Reap to check out Angkor Wat. It is already past 5 pm now and happy hour started an hour ago. Chivas makes great Mojitos.
Tags: Cambodia
Neil