Wat Tam Wua (Northern Thailand)

Well our adventures in Chiang Mai ended (for now) and we headed North to a little town called Pai.  This was about a three hour ride from Chiang Mai on a VERY windy road through the mountains.  I was warned that this was a scary drive that many people get motion sickness on.  I prepared myself and brought bags just in case.  I was a little disappointing.  The road was fine, must be all that time I spent in the Rockies and the Road Trip driving windy roads!  Nonetheless it was really beautiful!  Lots of trees and mountains.

We got to Pai around noon and stopped for some lunch near the bus stop.  From there we hopped on another bus that was headed to Mai Hong Son.  Another three hours.  But this time we were going to get off early, at Wat Tam Wua, a Buddhist monastery in the middle of the mountains.  The bus dropped us off at the side on the road near a sign and we started our Meditation Retreat!

We Got There, Not Knowing What to Expect 

Our Daily Schedule!

Welcome to Our New Home

We spent three full days here.  Eating only before noon, spending about 6 hours in meditation, and many more hours in quiet solitude.  This was an absolutely AMAZING experience.  Although definitely hard work.  We walked into the monastery and were welcomed right away.  After a quick check in and a going over of the rules we were lead to our houses for the next couple nights.  They were the bear minimum.  

This Was My Bed!

And This My Little House!

Although there was not much there, and the bugs did eat you in your sleep, it was pretty comfy.  I slept fairly well and even had my own bathroom!  Joel was less lucky and had a dorm room with several other men.  But all in all not too bad! 

After dropping off our stuff we headed to Chanting which is the last group activity of the day.  This consists of chanting for about 50 min and 40 min of sitting meditation.  Our very first experience with meditation.  It was really hard for me to clear my mind but really nice at the same time.  By the time we finished it was dark and after a talking a bit we headed to bed!

The next day was an early morning!  Up at 5 (I was up at 6) to do self meditation.  Then breakfast after offering to the monks.  The food was pretty delicious, all vegetarian and lots of rice!

The Check In Hall and Dinning Area!

After Breakfast it was time for our first real meditation session.  Here we did 40 min walking, 40 min sitting, and about 20 min lying, during this time there was some discussion from the teacher monk on how best to meditate and deal with things such as monkey mind (something I suffer from drastically, jumping from one idea to another, much like a monkey from one tree to another).  

After meditation was offering to the monks again and then lunch, vegetarian, and of course the last meal of the day!  Then back for another round of meditation (which for me always turned out to be the least successful apparently afternoon is not a good time for me to try and calm my mind!) 

Then it was free time for an hour, and hour of chores (of your choice) and then free time till 6:30 when chanting began. 

Overall it was such a cool experience, definitely hard, but worth it!  There is also a lot of down time which we spent reading some of the books provided, about Buddhism mostly, and wondering around the grounds.  The area around the monastery really is amazing and so peaceful!

Our Favorite Place in the Monestary!

Early Morning Meditation

That Was the Best Bench!

We Had To Wear Only White, and Of Course There Was A Pond with Fish

My Favorite Feature was the Mountains!

I would absolutely tell everyone to go here for some time.  You just drop in and stay however long you want.  It it totally based on donation so money should be no excuse.  Yes it is hard, but wow what a cool experience it was!  My recommendation would be to stay 5 full days (7 days including the day you arrive and leave).  I felt that we left right as it was getting good! Although I gotta say I did enjoying eating some yummy chips when we got to Pai!

Getting to the Monastery was super easy, any bus to Mae Hong Son will stop there if you ask and leaving was also very easy as there is a public bus that goes by once a day and will take you all the way to Chiang Mai if you need to!

Probably My Biggest Complaint Was the ANTS

Another cool thing is that you get to meet some other travelers, all ages.  Although many of them want to be left alone to reflect and choose to be Silent (which is an option although not mandatory!)  some are more than willing to talk about their experience and meditation!  I also spent one volunteer time working in the kitchen with some lovely Thai women who spoke little English but nonetheless were impressed with my height and size!  I am of course much taller (and bigger) than the average Thai person, let alone women!

All in all such a cool experience  but it did have to end and now we are headed to Pai for our last couple nights in Thailand then off to Cambodia!

Bye Bye Wat Tam Wua!