Rising, Falling, Sitting, Breathing

Naga the snake protects the Buddha while he is meditating and can be seen all over the Wat.
Doi Suthep is a magical place, one of the most revered and spiritually revered places in Thailand. The Wat is high in the hills next to Chiang Mai and the drive to get there is completely green and forested. Along the roadside are waterfalls and smaller wats. Chiang Mai is the city of wats after all, so it is fitting that it's surroundings have wats too:) From Doi Suthep, when the clouds are parted, we can see a spectacular view of the cities down below. Amazing at day break and sunset!!!!! Above is the staircase with over 300 stairs leading up to the wat (they have a funicular as well!)
We originally wanted to go for a 10 day retreat at the beginning of August, but the International Buddhist Center was 'closed' for the week surrounding Mother's Day because many Thai people came that week to participate in the festivities and group meditations and chanting.
Thus, our longer trip to Myanmar to accommodate our stay at Doi Suthep. We arrived Saturday afternoon and each found our separate rooms across the complex from each other and promptly dressed only in white, to symbolize the inner purification we were about to start. We had an initiation ceremony and chanting in Thai after our friendly monk teacher and offered lotus flowers and incense and prostrated ourselves towards Buddha.
( Cash seeing me off)
The retreat is called a Vippassana and is traditionally SILENT, no one is to make eye contact or speak unless necessary and then, only with loving kindness. Our young monk teacher pointed out that we actually could speak, but should try to speak softly, kindly and not very often. Silence was respected the first three days and then, with only meditation as activity, we started to become friends and chat amongst ourselves downstairs with our hot chocolates. The energy was really peaceful there at the center, apart from the main wat which is covered in tourists from all over the world most of the day. The schedule is thus, wake up at 4am, meditation from 5.00 to 6.30 and then breakfast, Dhamma talk at 8 and lunch at 11am. We report to our teacher and tell him how our walking and sitting meditation is going and then receive new techniques to add on to the practice. There is chanting at 6pm which we can join in the central wat in a beautiful golden area with hundreds of Buddha images. Bed time at 9.30pm.
The whole course is 21 days and Cash is still up on the hill meditating. I left yesterday after a very good, very intense and wonderful 7 days there. Now, I will continue meditating in the South and will meet with Cash when he is finished at Suthep.
Our Monk teacher told us AMAZING stories each day about Karma, healing through meditation and yesterday about his journey to monkhood, meditations, trekkin Northern Thailand as a wandering monk for two months and finally becoming a monk permanently and now as a teacher. I have never met someone SO kind and SO giving and friendly and sharing, and I know a lot of really amazing people:)
Here is the view of Doi Suthep and the hills from Grace House, my place for the weekend back in Chiang Mai.

Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, two paths diverged by road

Been busy the last two weeks. After 12 days in Myanmar, I decided to go to Chiang Mai to do yoga for a week and eat avocado salads everyday and calm my mind and body before our meditation program. Cash went to Chiang Rai (three hour dive apart from Chiang Mai) to play pool and snoocker, watch the olympics and get Thai Massages. It was a good week to spend, preparing for separation during our meditation retreat.This is the Three Kings monument, close to the Agama center. On August 12th, Thailand celebrated the Queen mother's birthday, so the holiday is 'Mother's Day'! The streets were heavily decorated and many places were closed to observe the festivity. Wats were packed that week with novices (young monks) and people who went to meditate and do buddhist activities to fulfill patriotic obligations.
I joined Agama yoga during it's final week of a 4 week yoga program. The style is unlike other yoga practices I have tried before. Same asanas, but held for 3 to 5 minutes each while focusing on specific chakras that are triggered. Being there the last week, I heard the final lectures on topics like transcendental meditation, yoga nidra or lucid dreaming and conscious sleep and the ever changing concept on 'good and bad'. It was a fascinating and calm week spent at the new little center, shown above. We practiced in the morning for two hours and then from 4pm to 7.30pm. I felt such an amazing calm:)
Here is the juice stand around the corner. And the kids in their school uniform.

Trucks, bugs and trekking in Myanmar

Myanmar unfortunately keeps a tight reign on those choosing to go in and visit. There were only a very few of us travelers there and the country only allows one to come in for 14 days. The only 4 towns your allowed to go to are: Tachileik, Mong Hpa Yak, Kengtung, Mong La. Tachileik is at the border and most just cross, get their visa stamped to stay in Thailand and go right back over. We skipped Mong Hpa Yak and had a really amazing time in Keng Tung trekking, walking around the lake near the center of town and checking out near by Wats (temples) and Monestaries. Mong La is right on the border of China and you can only use yen. At the border we turned in our passports and were given a TEMPORARY passport (photo to the right) and about 4-5 full sheets of paperwork which was stamped and used at each border checkpoint (about every 30km or so)

We went to the (black) market to change our money in Keng Tung. They spell each of these towns differently on each sign we see so looking them up can be a challenge.

Trekking included waterfalls (above), amazing food, hill tribes (Akha hill tribe photo being shown to the left) and beautiful views. The tribes

make beautiful bags, bracelets, necklaces, and other attire like really intricate head gear (hats). We did partook in some souveniers to keep the

money hopefully in the villiages. The children are so beautiful and take care of each other at a very young age because the parents are working most of the day. And the children (above & to the right) were really really nice.

The water source (the photo below) is a place where they have water captured from waterfalls a ways away and they bring it through the whole village to collection basins along the way to use for drinking, washing and cooking.

The (money) here is Kyat...pronounced JET. It is about 1100 per american dollar and Yen is at about 6 per american dollar. (FOOD) One evening we ate an amazing nut salad of about 3-4 different kinds and veggies with a bit of chilli and fried rice with a side soup that seems to come with everything and tea and the total came to about 1,500 k which transilates into $1.30.... we are proud travelers. (guest houses) Accomodations are not all over the place in a couple of the cities and in Mong La the places where rather terrible looking. In Keng Tung there is only a choice of a couple and most stay at Harry's. It is a bit pricey yet breakfast is included if you call it a breakfast and one can not stay all that long anyway. The way they tie things down is unbelievable. Below is a photo of a small toyota truck like mine at home.

I guess I always thought I could put a lot on my truck.... not. If you think this is impressive, you should see the one of the bus that was covered on top and in back (reallly crazy). And last but not least there are a wonderful amount of incredible bugs in Myanmar. At the market we saw monkeys for sale (very sad to see), snakes, all types of spices, large larva of huge (2 inch long) wasps and much more. Below is a bug we had in our bathroom down the hall. It is about the size of my fist (4-5 inches) not counting the antenni.