back to the islands

the silent retreat at Wat Suan Mokkh is hard.  it felt physically and mentally as challenging as climbing Kilimanjaro.  like all things that are hard i am glad that i have done it and more happy that i am done with it.  the staff and participants are incredibly kind and i am honored to have this insight into the Buddhist and Thai cultures.

i get a ride out to the main road and find one other guy who has also left this morning. we get a sawngthaew to Surat Thani and he helps me navigate the travel agent to arrange a bus and ferry out to Koh Phangnan, an island in the Gulf of Thailand.

every time i use the travel agent in Thailand i end up with somthing different that what they tell me.  in this case they tell me the ferry is 11:30AM and it turns out the ferry is 2PM.   i ask information at the ferry terminal if they have wifi and they say no.  i ask a second time and they say no.  i turn on my computer and find free wifi so i spend two hours catching up on mail and news.

when i get to Koh Phangnan i run the guantlet of taxi drivers on the pier and check at the ticket office to find out times for ferries leaving the island then head over to Coconut Beach where i find good accomodations.  here's the view from my room.

air conditioning, internet, shower and a toilet.  i feel so spoilt.  i crash hard and enjoy sleeping on something other than a bamboo mat.  while i have been out of contact i find the arrangements i made for Willie Dawg while i am gone have not worked out and he's been taken to my mother's house.  my mom has not been supportive of this trip from the begining and i fear she will use this as a way to get me back to the US before i am ready to return.  just thinking about it brings up anxiety that i have to meditate away as i know if that happens i will be filled with resentment that will hard to get past.

silence

i am sleeping on a bamboo mat on a concrete bed with a wooden pillow under a mosquito net at a Buddhist monastery.  i've been asked to give up everything for 10 days and just be.  some of what i agree to for the next ten days includes ...only two vegetarian meals, silence, 4am - 9pm schedule, harm no living creature [this includes the mosquitoes and ants], bathing with a sarong, no lascivious thoughts or actions. everyone is both excited and nervous. day one starts tomorrow.

  

04.00  ***	Wake up                 *** = Monastery bell
04.30	Morning Reading
04.45	Sitting meditation
05.15	Yoga / Exercise - Mindfulness in motion
07.00  ***	Dhamma talk & Sitting meditation
08.00	Breakfast & Chores
10.00  ***	Dhamma talk
11.00	Walking or standing meditation
11.45  ***	Sitting meditation
12.30	Lunch & chores
14.30  ***	Meditation instruction & Sitting meditation
15.30	Walking or standing meditation
16.15  ***	Sitting meditation
17.00  ***	Chanting & Loving Kindness meditation
18.00	Tea & hot springs
19.30  ***	Sitting meditation
20.00	Group walking meditation
20.30  ***	Sitting meditation
21.00  ***	Bedtime (the gates will be closed at 21.15)
21.30  ***	LIGHTS OUT

Wat Suan Mohk Monastery

moving from Langkawi to Surat Thani for the monastery is an all day journey across  Thailand.  i add more stamps to my passport but don't add a new country because i have been to Thailand before.  although the long days of buses and ferries are my least favorite, i have a chance to sit and talk with people along the way.  on the ferry in the morning i meet a Canadian.

she'd been on a survival adventure. one of 10 people dropped off on an undeveloped island in Thailand for a month with only what they could put into a 5 liter [1.1 gallon] dry sack. it all sounded pretty crazy.

next i meet Nicole whose destination of the day is also Surat Thani.  she's Swiss and has been in India for 5 months.  we navigate the bus system together and stay at the same hotel for the night.  tomorrow i go to Wat Suan Mohkk Monastery for a 10 day silent meditation retreat.