The idea is to expose him to a new spiritual experience. Could you recommend a Buddhist temple that can accommodate a non-monk for a week or two? Thanks in advance, Andrea
You are welcome to stay at many temples in Thailand but extensive rules and regulations come into play. A temple that is known internationally is Wat Pa Nanachart, the "International Forest temple" in Ubon Ratchathani. The temple lets outsiders take a closer glimpse of the lifestyle of Buddhist monks, and for some people, it is regarded as a great life experience. This temple is located in a small forest in Warin Chamrap district, 15 kms from the city, and will definitely give your son a unique forest monastic experience. In terms of dharma talks, there would be no problem as most of the monks here are foreigners and English is the main language for communication and instruction. There is also no limit on the time people can stay. However, the temple clearly states it's not a meditation centre, and provides facilities for a limited number of guests. During the stay, your son should follow the monastery routine including getting up at 3am for chanting and meditation at 3.30am.
Wat Ambhavan in Sing Buri province offers practice for overnight guests for a minimum of two nights. All practitioners here will be guided to eight precepts of Buddhism. There are strict rules and a schedule to follow. You have to dress in white, and follow the meditation schedule as closely as possible. The early morning chanting and meditation starts at 3.30am and walking meditation at 5pm. Breakfast and lunch are provided and no food is allowed after midday.
You may also want to check the www.monkforamonk.com website if looking for a temple stay in Chiang Mai and its environs.
I am looking for a nice and quiet place to go snorkelling during my vacation in March next year. The Maldives would be my preferred destination, but as I have a limited budget, I want to try Thailand. All I am looking for a beautiful and uncrowded beach from where I can go snorkelling. I don't mind staying in basic accommodation. Do you have any idea which part of Thailand I should go. Thanks for your suggestions, Trudy
If your priority is snorkelling off the beach, Koh Nang Yuan might suit the bill. This is a small island very close to Koh Tao, located in the Gulf of Thailand. It's an amazing sandbar with great snorkelling and a lot of fish in the clear blue water. The fish are so used to being hand fed; they crowd around when you enter the water. However, it's not so quiet, as it is very popular with day-trippers from Koh Tao and nearby islands.
The island is very quiet before all the tourist boats arrive in the morning and after they leave the island in the late afternoon. There is only one dive resort on the island for you to stay. If you want more choices of accommodation, I would advise staying on a quiet part of Koh Tao, and taking a boat to Koh Nang Yuan and also going snorkelling at dive sites around Koh Tao.
If your priority is peace and quiet, you may be interested in Koh Lanta. I don't think you can find good dive sites off the beach so you will need to take a boat to nearby snorkelling sites around the island. There are also islands nearby where you can go snorkelling such as Koh Ngai, Koh Kradan and Koh Muk. The nicest is Koh Rok, but again you are likely to find many fellow daytrippers. If your base is Koh Lanta, you can do a multi-day snorkelling and camping trip to Koh Rok and discover its beauty before the daytrippers come and after they leave. The snorkelling experience in Koh Rok is fantastic, comparable to sites at the Similan and Surin National Parks, both located to the north of Phuket. These two places are also managed under National Park rules. Accommodations on both are fairly limited with a handful of bungalows and camping sites. Koh Surin has snorkelling sites at Ao Mae Yai and Hian Chong Kaad in front of the main beach that have interesting hard and soft coral and a variety of fish.
Hope this is helpful.
Latest stories in this category
- Tangled up in love and laughs
- Award-winning Protein Dance makes its Southeast..
- Grammy continuing to leak brains
- HM's favourites swing back into Bangkok
We Recommend
- We lost to evil: rally leader
- Boonlert abruptly ends anti-govt rally, says..
- Rally failure a boost for govt
- People 'spending beyond their means'
Comments conditions
Users are solely responsible for their comments.We reserve the right to remove any comment and revoke posting rights for any reason withou prior notice.
Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/11/28/my-husband-and-i-would-like-to-suggest-to-our-son-that-he-spends-some-time-at-a-thai-temple-before-going-to-college-in-the-uk-next-year/
0 comments:
Post a Comment