http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Thailand , South-West Thailand , Chaiya en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 16:47:15 +0000 Wed, 22 May 2013 16:47:15 +0000 So here's the deal I lasted 4 days. Not the first one to leave by any means but still very shy of the 10 days. They were 17 hour work days which is a little insane and slightly cultish.The rules and regulationsNo musicNo booksNo phonesNo talkingeverNo passing notesNo writing materialSmile and make eye contact if you want but also never smile and never make eye contact if you desire.There a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-379337.html I begin the silent meditation retreat. Let's see if I make it.SchedulesREGISTRATION DAYThe last day of the previous month e.g. 31st of March for the April retreat30th of June for the July retreat07.00 16.00 Registration08.00 Breakfast at Dining Hall Monastery bell12.30 Lunch15.50 16.00 Welcome to Suan Mokkh International Dhamma Hermitage talk by the abbot17.00 B http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-378948.html Well i decided after to listen to many stories and with some encouragement to go and experience a 10 day meditation retreat. Not knowing much about meditation i thought it would be interesting to learn and a great experience however i was slightly nervous about the silent part and the 'no eating after midday' rule Yes I know you are now all thinking there is no way lauren could be silent for http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-369164.html I was suprised and really pleased to find another person sat in the bus shelter on the other side of the highway. It was another participant for the retreat. Before long a few more coaches pulled up on the other side of the highway and more people sauntered across the road to join us outside the monastary gates. There were about 100 people on the retreat all in all as it turned out. When it g http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-345498.html Hello sawadhi cap and How's it gawn Your intrepid International Socialiser is in Chaiya ..again but this time forcefully it's chucking it down .. I came here again with Soda as she had't seen it before Don't remember if i told you before it's one of my favourite places in Thailand i don't really know why it's small and unexciting but i like it met J http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-239257.html We are4 now in Ao NangKrabi on the Andaman Sea think James Bond etc. Been to Bangkok and done long tail boats twemples tut tuts and ping pong.The hotel and resort are excellent as was the first one. Cannot believe it is Feb. This place is full of crumblies like wot we are. Did v good trip 2 Rtiver Kwai it is amazing how it is still so important to everyone after 60 years.Going to Chang Ma http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-126317.html After Lanta we headed towards Krabi. The plan was to go there to do some cool seakayaking that I once saw in a travellingshow on tv. Since this mainly was organised from Ao Nang a popular beach northwest of Krabi that's where we headed.I was still feeling quite bad after Lanta and the travelling wasn't a pleasure. Then of course the boat did not take us to Ao Nang but to a place north of it. I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-124861.html Just left Bangkok a few days ago doing some diving in Kho Tao at the minute not sure what to make of Bangkok bit weird everyone and i mean absolutley everyone wants your money which is fucking annoying which is probaby why its best i only stayed for two days before i threw one of three foot two bastards out of a window. Been in the old tuk tuk which i really dont see why everyone makes such a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-101503.html So we decided to take the overnight train from Bangkok to Koh Samui I think Ill opt for flying next time Just kidding it really wasnt that bad but it definitely took some adjustment in my mind when we first got on there as apparently are a lot of things during this trip All the more fun though as I look back on everything and adjust to the Thailand ways. I had never been on an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-90138.html I don39t know where to start. I have just finished the most difficult ten days of my entire life. When I came out of the monastery after the meditation retreat I had no idea what to expect. I am still not sure really what effect this experience will have on how I view life and the world around me because I am still sort of dazed and have just woken up from only three hours of sleep because I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-81368.html 11th April. Rai and i walked back to the main road and caught a swangi into town. I felt naked in shorts and a shirt after covering up for the past 10 days. Rai was heading to the beach for the day and we decided to meet up the following morning for breakfast in Bangkok so he heads off on a bike and i quickly do some emails weigh myself lost 2 kilos in 10days and grab a whole heap of junk fo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-64677.html DAY 6Feeling more positive today even ate more of the breakfast then I normally do.I have noticed how skinny some of the people are who work here even Tan Dhammavidu. Khun Reinhard who told me off yesterday has the skinniest feet and ankles I have ever seen. I am sure that I have lost weight too.Looking at my desert bowl instead of fruit it looked like a petri dish used in biology class with a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-64644.html DAY 1The silence here had begun last night and so far I still have not said a single word. It has only been a day and I feel pretty tired. We got up at 4am and I have had 2 naps but somehow trying to learn to meditate and not to think about the past or the future is exhausting. Breakfast was horrible rice soup and lunch was ok. The food at the moment is my only concern however I am confident that http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-64643.html Nearly a year ago I read an article in the Sunday Times travel section entitled Holidays that will change your life. In it were featured mainly pampering spatype holidays. But one stood out a ten day silent retreat in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand. My RTW trip was only a vague idea back then and I was open to suggestions. Something about it grabbed me and I decided to book my flights s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-48602.html I'm sorry well maybe I'm not... that you haven't heard from me in quite some time. I had my reasons. I've been spending 10 days at a buddhist meditation retreat at Suan Mokkh in the south of thailand. It was very difficult challenging and developing. Many of you may not know anything what's a retreat like so i'll start from the beginning. This is an international retreat set in beatiful enviro http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chaiya/blog-27020.html