Month: January 2018

Ko Chang ( andaman coast)

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I’m coming to the end of my trip/holiday now having spent four days on Ko Chang on the Andaman coast ( not to be confused with its more famous namesake in the east)

Getting there: Ranong has an airport but you can get buses to Ranong from Bangkok or Phuket. It is sometimes possible to get overnight buses which help you to catch an afternoon boat, saving the overnight in Ranong.

Long boats serve the island, twice a day and it is approximately a two and a half hour journey and very enjoyable also.

Ranong harbour itself is full of activity, commerce and associated rubbish. Turn a kind eye on this and it is not long before a heavenly visage of islands, sun and sea fill the eye and the mind, soothing our senses and our spirit.

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Ko Chang is a beautiful island, small and lush. There are beautiful beaches, some intact jungles and a relaxed, sleepy vibe that make this a very mellow holiday destination.

It is also free of any large developments. There are no hotels. People stay in little huts made of bamboo or wood, sometimes with concrete foundations. Most of the resorts have restaurants/bars attached serving very good Thai food. Most are located along the bay that features Ao Yai ( long beach)

It is also relatively inexpensive for the quality of experience.

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Here is where I stayed; crocodile rock resort, located at the end Ao Yai beach and bay. (Cost: 500baht per night which is about 12 Euro).

A lovely kuti located right on the edge of the ocean with what felt like my own private beach in front of me. (Hamock and all !) Staff were friendly and genuine and food was great.

I spent my time hiking, jogging, swimming, reading and reflecting.

This is Ao Kai To, where some intact jungle survives.

I had a good day long hike between getting there and the hike itself,  with plenty of rests for reading, relaxing, swimming and a nice lunch on Ao Kai To beach which opens out majestically at the end of the forest trail. It’s not so easy to get to it however. You have to walk to the north of the island, pass the resort called mamas villas, cross the beach and scramble over the rocks where a small sign welcomes you to a nature reserve. The opening ascent is steep and uninviting but it quickly levels out into a pleasant and relatively easy to follow trail.

Jogging was nice in the early morning but even before the heat arrived the humidity discouraged strenous exercise. Most of my running was on the narrow concrete paths and dirt trails that serve as roads here. They are too small for cars and only serve motorbikes.

Much of the island is given over to fruit and rubber plantations and most of my running was through these or along the beach.

Swimming in the gentle, warm waters of the bay was very enjoyable and refreshing also, especially in the hot afternoons although I did get sunburnt on one of my longer afternoon swims.

Heavenly really!

But I’m told, the true beach snobs go to the nearby Ko Phayam which has whiter sand. Hence more development also. Here was beautiful enough for me !

I met some nice folks here too. Tez was a Mongolian new yorker who I had met in Ranong, where I stayed a night before going to the island. He had learned some Mongolian throat singing and allowed me to record a little.

He introduced me to a few more travellers on the island as well and we had some good conversations.

It is a great place for reading and reflecting also and allowed me the chance to gather myself together at the end of my trip and think about the coming year.

But I would like to make clear this is not a party island. It is quiet and tranquil. I did go to a few bars and the music wasn’t great. Alot of dated raggae and bars were mostly quiet. Indeed electricity was sporadic and not always available. So if you want to party – go elsewhere !

My advice is bring a book and sink into the tranquility of the place. I had a great book but “sin sceal eile” ( thats another story!)

You can hear the sea sing, enjoy long walks on quiet beaches, eat well and live easy.

I totally recommend it. It is a paradise, reminding us of our home in nature.

Alan is a Travel Director with Trafalgar Tours based in Ireland.


Bangkok

It broke my heart a little to leave Yangon, Myanmar and its tumbledown tranquality behind. The mood is entirely different in Bangkok and it took me a while to adjust to the different spirit of life here.


In aboriginal culture it’s believed that after a journey it takes a while for the spirit to catch up with the body and that was definately my feeling today exploring Bangkok.

I was seeing beautiful places and amazing sights and yet, with no ostensible cause, feeling a bit disconnected and disengaged from them.

I started with a visit to Ko Ratanakosin. It’s the oldest part of the city and home to numerous temples, palaces, museums and markets. Far too many to explore in a single day. Here are a few pictures.

Next, I wandered over to the golden mount which affords some beautiful sights and a panoromic view of the city from the top.

The story of the vultures is interesting. Apparently it was customary leave bodies out for vultures prior to crematation. In the 19th centurt, during a particularly bad cholera outbreak, the bodies were piled high on the golden mount creating a gruesome spectacle as the vultures feasted. This attracted the attention of monks who were drawn to the spectacle as a bracing meditation on impermanence. Now that confounds our cultural expectation of what meditation is doesn’t it!

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Next I took some time to venture off the main path and explore some smaller and delightful alleys and markets as I wandered in the general direction of Wat Phra Kaew and the royal palace. Life and commerce spilling over eternally. The atmosphere was very positive and friendly and I started to feel more in tune with the place (coffee helped!).

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Wat Phra Kaew is the religious enclosure that forms part of the grand palace and is one of Bangkok’s biggest tourist magnets. Beautiful but very crowded. It was a real jostle to get into the ordination hall that houses the emerald Buddha – an important icon of Thai national identity. Originally made in Northern Thailand out of pure jade (and not emerald) in the 15th century. It was carried off to Laos in the 16th century before being returned to Chaing Mai, Northern Thailand by prince Setthathirath who united the thrown of Lao and Lang Zang, an ancient kingdom in Northern Thailand with Chaing Mai as capital. It was subsequently taken to Bangkok in the late 18th century by the forces of the then Siamese military after putting down an insurrection in the North. It has remained in Bangkok as Siam morphed into Thailand, artfully dodging colonisation in the 19th and 20th centuries, unlike its neighbours in the region. I will write more on history and politics later. But back to the emerald Buddha…

It sits there shimmering in the beautiful temple as devout Thai’s pray and tourists jostle in a formidable throng.  Photography is forbidden in the hall so I’ve no photo of the inside, but here is the exterior.

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The rest of Wat Phra Kaew is full of beautiful buildings but most are closed to the public. Very pretty.  Here are some photos.

The rest of the buildings in the royal palace are mostly off-limits to tourists but look lovely from the outside. Here are some photos. The palace is spacious and impressive.

It’s all very pretty but to be honest I just wasn’t feeling it. I don’t if it was the throng of tourists, the sweltering heat or tourist fatigue but I just didn’t feel much connection here.

Afterwards I crossed the road and entered a small shrine and simply sat down for a few minutes. I watched the people come in sit, pray and take photographs. It was lovely just to sit there, observe and be part of a more ordinary place and I left connected and balanced again. Here’s a photo.

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If I was feeling more in the mood , I could have gone to Wat Pho with its reclining Buddha, mother of pearl inlay and stone giants but I wasn’t.

A good lunch, a read of my book and it was time to move on. A night bus to Ranong, where I will stay for one night before a few days on the island of Ko Chang ( off the Andaman coast, not to be confused with its more famous Eastern namesake) lie ahead. Best, Alan

Alan Coakley is a Travel Director based in Ireland.


Metta meditation (lovingkindness/friendliness)

Sitting here in the beautiful Yangon evening and reflecting further on the time spent in the monastery.

Metta meditation loosely translates as lovingkindness meditation from the Pali, but there is no totally satisfactory translation as is often the case with these Pali terms. Another possible translation could be “friendliness meditation” and there is also a connotation with sunlight in the Pali meaning also.

I spent most of the first five days and also some time towards the end of the retreat doing this meditation in preference to the mindfulness practices.

It is considered a good balance with mindfulness practice and is similarly rooted in Buddhist scripture.

The idea is to cultivate a strong feeling of well wishing towards both ourselves and others. It is remarkably simple in concept. We simply repeat simple phrases in the mind such as – may I be happy, may I be healthy, may I be peaceful; or thinking of another person – may you be happy, healthy, peaceful etc. Being more general – may all be healthy, happy, peaceful etc.

We do our best to focus on the meaning of the words allowing concentration to develop naturally and, over time, this feeling of well wishing gets stronger although with ups and downs as mood, energy and concentration fluctuate.

It is considered a good balance with mindfullness practice; contributing to  calmness, concentration and a general friendliness towards ourselves and others which is so neccessary both in the practice and in life.

There is nothing extraordinary about this mindstate. Indeed it is the natural, ordinary impulse of the mind when fear, anxiety or confusion are absent from the mind.

This practice is especially helpful for dealing with anxiety as this well-wishing mind displaces worry and anxiety in the mind.

I use it with my daughter when putting her to bed at night when she tends to be a little anxious and always marvel at the power and simplicity of the practice. We simply take turns picking out people and wishing them peace, happiness, health, sometimes being a bit playful with the wishes – ” may grandpa pat be especially happy on saturday” for example! We finish by wishing well to all beings everywhere.

It was lovely to do it in the retreat center with the cacophony of life breaking incessantly into the mind visually and especially aurally. Birds, cows, pigs, lizards, car horns, the endles drone of traffic; all ultimately the sounds of life doing its thing. It also desolves the sense of self by orienting us outwards, making us more aware of the smallness of the personal “I” in the greater scheme of things.

I’ll leave you with a few more pictures  and a recording of some chanting, all from the monastery. As ever, feel free to comment and share

 

 

Long hot afternoons and the disappearing self – report from a Buddhist monastery

I had the privilege of spending 18 days in a monastery on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar. ( Chanmyaymyaing retreat center, mingaladon township.)

It was wonderful to be part of the rhythm of life there. Every day was in the same rhythm. Up at 4, breakfast at 530, work from 630 to 730, lunch at 1030, juice drink at 5, chanting at 6 and return to room at 9. Apart from that we were encouraged to fill the day with meditation; standing, walking and sitting. No books, phones or entertainment. No conversation apart from meditation guidance. Even the meals were a time of mindful practice. We eat slowly and carefully, as a ritual.

Lunch was always a big ritual. Visitors and locals would often visit and stand prayerfully as monks, nuns and lay practitioners walked slowly into the dining area. Eating was in silence; mindful and calm.

The foreign meditators followed a slightly different schedule with a little less chanting then the Burmese. We also had our own meditation hall and were guided by Sister Viranani, an American nun who guided with skill and care. Indeed, although we were encouraged to meditate as much as possible, we all followed our own rhythm; walking and sitting according to our own rhythm. I took rests after lunch and juice and needed to sleep a little at those times in the early part of the retreat.

Chanting would drift up from the Burmese hall at 6 am and 3 pm. Every day had the same rhythm with the same glorious sunshine, hot afternoons and cool evenings. Over time, a different concept of time becomes apparent. Every day is more of a re-day then a new day. It brought to mind how in Irish we say athbhlian ( re-year) as oppose to blian nua ( new year). Our conception of time moving relentlessly forward with interesting things to look forward to is challenged. We just do the day again ! Rhythm and routine holding the practice together.

The other quality which holds everything together here is devotion. Here, of course, meditation is an aspect of religious practice. It isn’t primarily something you do to get a bit happier or more balanced. It’s goal and orientation is spiritual. To move beyond our attachments.

It’s not so easy ! The mind wants entertainment. In the midst of a long afternoon the following little poem came to me.

“Entranced by longing

The hot afternoon, immortal sits.”

And peace comes with the disappearing self. Sounds happen, thoughts happen, the breath happens. Mind and object. We relax deeply in such moments. No ownership of experience.

The evenings were beautiful although my mind was often quite tired at this stage. Watching the monks walk in the cool evenings was especially inspiring. Such peace and dedication in every step. If you will forgive me another little poem…

“Evening. A monks prayerful step.

The world we’re given is enough”

All of this of course will be hard for people to square with the news reports of attrocities in the north of the country. I suppose ultimately any religion can poison the spirit when it becomes dogmatic and/or tribal. Dharma (teaching, nature, truth) not dogma is the way.

The monastery sits right in the heart of life. It is in the middle of a farming village. Life there appeared simple. These people have nothing but their community and their monastery. It is their pride and joy. And the oppertunity to practice is offered freely to anyone although, of course, it is customary to offer donation.

It was a beautiful center with lovely comfortable rooms, very nice mediation areas and lovely trees and plants.  But it was next to a busy road ! Any illusion of outer tranquilty quickly dispelled by honking horns; not to mention the constant sounds of cows, pigs, chickens, cockerals and occasional construction work.  The villagers also love playing Burmese pop music through speakers on fairly frequent occasions. So aurally it was far from ideal ! But the Buddha never promised us a rose garden.

Some pictures…

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This was our meditation halls. Those are mosquito nets hanging.

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Shrine in meditation hall ( above)

Accomodation (above)

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