like a small gang
so kids, who wants to talk about buddhism?!?!? haha- probably no on one who is on eben's email list.
but ok, this is the way it all went down. there is this place near chiang mai called wat umong and it is filled with monks and trees. after visiting there a few weeks ago we learned that they had a four day meditation program. i was interested, surprising myself as much as anybody. our *ahem* lovely stay in mae sai unfortunately made us miss it. somehow though, our stays in chiang rai and mae salong slid the days along so that when we returned to chiang mai we were just in time for the next session.
i have to admit that that i was nervous. monks are strangely intimidating and i always manage to do awkward/impolite/natalie-esque things around them. the course itself was not very structured and you could pretty much follow your own schedule apart from morning-5am- and evening-7pm- chanting. so we meditated, walked, ate, slept, breathed. in our spare time we talked quite a bit with some young monks who were trying to learn english. time passed as if in a dream and then it was back to the real world. or an approximation thereof...
by that i mean that we went to pai, a somewhat surreal place in the very north of thailand where hippies and strict muslims come to hang out. it is a beautiful valley in which the government coerces the sun to shine upon you in dazzling rays through clouds so as to promote tourism. it is also the home of hill tribe people decked in brightly coloured velour outfits and silver jangley things all over their bodies. the ensemble is not complete unless topped with some sort of dr seussian hat. we wanted to buy one for kristy but it seemed impractical. many of these people make puff signs at you as you drive past and we're fairly certain they weren't trying to sell us cigarettes.
o yes- as for driving past, we rented a motorbike which eben drove. it was like being in a small gang.
we rolled up our pants and waded around in mud wielding large sticks after eben dropped his sunglasses in a waterfall. we saw a tarantula. there is a park in the area with hotsprings so hot that people boil eggs in them. we visited them as the sun was rising through the mist in the very early morning. we even lit a candle and incense in order to be good hippies in the local spirit. eben got bit by a leech.
if you ever visit pai, eat at ginger vegetarian restaurant. don't question. just do.
now we're back in chiang mai getting our visas to myanmar. and our trip has been extended by two months.
happy birthdays to fiona and eben's mum! and vanessa- when is your birthday? am i horrible, is this totally the wrong time? have i missed it? i hope not. o dearie me.
but ok, this is the way it all went down. there is this place near chiang mai called wat umong and it is filled with monks and trees. after visiting there a few weeks ago we learned that they had a four day meditation program. i was interested, surprising myself as much as anybody. our *ahem* lovely stay in mae sai unfortunately made us miss it. somehow though, our stays in chiang rai and mae salong slid the days along so that when we returned to chiang mai we were just in time for the next session.
i have to admit that that i was nervous. monks are strangely intimidating and i always manage to do awkward/impolite/natalie-esque things around them. the course itself was not very structured and you could pretty much follow your own schedule apart from morning-5am- and evening-7pm- chanting. so we meditated, walked, ate, slept, breathed. in our spare time we talked quite a bit with some young monks who were trying to learn english. time passed as if in a dream and then it was back to the real world. or an approximation thereof...
by that i mean that we went to pai, a somewhat surreal place in the very north of thailand where hippies and strict muslims come to hang out. it is a beautiful valley in which the government coerces the sun to shine upon you in dazzling rays through clouds so as to promote tourism. it is also the home of hill tribe people decked in brightly coloured velour outfits and silver jangley things all over their bodies. the ensemble is not complete unless topped with some sort of dr seussian hat. we wanted to buy one for kristy but it seemed impractical. many of these people make puff signs at you as you drive past and we're fairly certain they weren't trying to sell us cigarettes.
o yes- as for driving past, we rented a motorbike which eben drove. it was like being in a small gang.
we rolled up our pants and waded around in mud wielding large sticks after eben dropped his sunglasses in a waterfall. we saw a tarantula. there is a park in the area with hotsprings so hot that people boil eggs in them. we visited them as the sun was rising through the mist in the very early morning. we even lit a candle and incense in order to be good hippies in the local spirit. eben got bit by a leech.
if you ever visit pai, eat at ginger vegetarian restaurant. don't question. just do.
now we're back in chiang mai getting our visas to myanmar. and our trip has been extended by two months.
happy birthdays to fiona and eben's mum! and vanessa- when is your birthday? am i horrible, is this totally the wrong time? have i missed it? i hope not. o dearie me.
posted by natalie at 2:31 AM
3 Comments:
*pssst. natalie. vanessa's birthday is in march.*
i told you not to tell if you incountered leechs!! not to tell!!!! now i'm so very upset and twichy!
banana
Natmaster - my b-day is March 10 precisily. So no, not missed yet. And all these mentions of trantulas - do they mean you will no longer be afraid of spiders when you return? And Nat's father - what is a snow worm? It sounds scary and sneaky. I imagine them burrowing through snowbanks and attacking unsuspecting winter reveller's legs.
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