Chiang Mai, Thailand - Pt. 2

Ahh, the final leg of our trip! We spent most of the last two weeks relaxing and getting into the groove of Chiang Mai.

I went on a 2 day meditation retreat offered through Wat Suan Dok and Chiang Mai University. I was surprised that only 2 other people had any meditation experience at all. It was nice to go back to the basics and only meditate in each position (sitting, standing, walking, laying down) for 10-15 minutes at a time.

First we met at the temple for a presentation about Buddhism and meditation. We learned that when novices become monks when they are age 20, they become known as Phra (monk) and are then assigned a new name. Our Burmese monk's name was Kavipiya (and boy, is he gorgeous! I kept getting distracted and felt bad for staring at him, ha). He explained that Buddhism is a religion (yes, in Asia it is despite what you may think Buddhism is in the West), philosophy, a way of life, and the teachings of Buddha.

I won't get into all of the specific tenets here as you can easily find them online. The thing that interested me the most is the difference between reincarnation and rebirth. Mahayana Buddhists believe in our typical idea of reincarnation: that people have past lives and the mind and soul are preserved and placed into another body. Theravada Buddhists (like our monk) believe in rebirth which is more like the conservation of energy and matter. Our souls aren't necessarily put into another body whole but the energy from the amount of good deeds one does in their life carries over.

Sitting meditation

That's me in the closest row in the middle

After our introduction, we took a songthaew to the meditation centre which was about 40 minutes outside of Chiang Mai. Once we got there and settled into our rooms, we met in the meditation hall for an hour of group meditation in the various positions. Then it was time for dinner and man, was I starving by then! Unfortunately, they weren't aware that I was vegan (although I asked if it was able to be accommodated in my reservation) and went out to buy me special food from a town about 10 minutes away. So after waiting about a half hour, I finally had dinner. Everyone else had left the dining hall by the time I started, aside from my lovely German roommate who sat with me until I was done. She is sensitive to certain foods and understands how frustrating it can be to not be able to eat anything or feel like a burden.

Laying down meditation (no, we aren't sleeping!)

Standing meditation. Again, closest row in the middle

Another hour or so of meditation followed dinner, this time including insight and metta. We did some chanting to pay respect to Buddha, the dhamma (universal truths) and the sangha or community of monks. We also chanted before we ate to remind ourselves that food is only for survival and should not be consumed for pleasure or over-indulged in (I beg to disagree! hehe). Bedtime was at 9:30 as we were waking early the next morning at 5 AM. It took me awhile to fall asleep and I woke up a few times during the night but overall, I felt rested the next morning.

Simple but comfortable accommodations

I was excited as we started off the morning with yoga, led by one of the meditators. It was a great way to stretch our bodies before sitting. An hour later we took part in offering alms to the monks. We each had a small bowl with a scoop of rice which we placed into the monk's bowl so that our teachers could eat breakfast. After that, we were able to eat our own breakfasts.

I'm the short one, 4 people to the right of the monk

Walking meditation

Then we had a group discussion to talk about our experiences with meditation. It was so funny to hear that some people hated the positions that I found the easiest. Some people were so relaxed that they fell asleep during laying down meditation and as soon as they got back to their rooms. Others stayed up all night and only got a couple of hours of sleep because they had so much energy. My meditation practice was really quite good during the retreat as I was free from distraction, both internal and external. It was nice to know that I had literally nothing else to be doing for an hour, could choose which positions I wanted to be in and for how long. The monk said that we should all focus on enjoying the meditation and do what felt right for us. It was such a change from the way I normally approach it: that sitting is the "best" position and that even though I don't particularly like it, I should focus on it because that's my area of "weakness." I was told I should practice more metta or loving-kindness meditation and focus it toward myself so I have been dedicating my yoga practice to being gentle toward myself and surrendering to the asanas. I'm planning a 7 day juice and yoga cleanse when I get home to give myself even more pampering as a transition back to life in the US.

Another meditation session followed by lunch and more meditation finished up the day before we were taken back to the temple. I had originally planned to do a 7 day retreat at Wat Tam Wua, a forest monastery about 6 hours from Chiang Mai but decided that the 2 day retreat was enough. I was not a big fan of the religious nature of Buddhism here in Asia with the chanting and bowing, offerings, etc.

First row, third from the right

So one night I decided to get out of the house and walk to the massage parlor across the street. On my way there, I noticed some people getting out of a car with 4-5 small dogs. Then one of the dogs that normally hangs out at the bar on our road started growling at them. After a short moment of fear, I realized he was looking at them, not me. Well, I ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time as he took his frustration out on me as I was walking by and nipped me on the back of the calf.

Now, it wasn't a bad bite. There were two small puncture wounds that barely broke the skin. I thought they were just broken blood vessels at first. I made a shocked noise and looked up as the dog's "owner" (one of the women who work at the bar) starting yelling at the dog, looking just as shocked as I was. I kept walking to the massage parlor and didn't think much of the bite over the next couple of days. Unfortunately the masseuse wasn't very experienced and the massage hurt more than it felt good so the walk wasn't even worth it, ha.

A stream in the jungle

Carlos had been reading a book which mentioned rabies and he suggested that I go get a vaccine. After reading up on the horrific symptoms and death rate (virtually 100%) of rabies, I decided that facing my fear of needles was worth it in this case. After spending about 45 minutes trying to find the hospital and the right department within it, I was checked in, weighed, and had my vitals taken. I waited another hour or two to see the doctor who said that bites from street dogs were very common. In fact, a farang (foreigner) came in last week and said, "Fucking dog!" Quite a laugh since doctors would never get away with swearing back in the states! After a casual exam of less than 5 minutes, he recommended the single shot and sent me back to the waiting room. A half hour later, I paid $21.67 (the total price for seeing the doctor and the medical supplies) and was led to the treatment room where a nurse gave me the injection with barely any pain. I was quite proud of myself for not getting anxious up until the last minute and even then not crying and passing out for once, ha. A few minutes to catch my breath and drink a class of water and we were on our way home. The funny part is that it will take far longer to complete the documentation to get reimbursed by my travel insurance company than it did to wait at the hospital and pay the measly $20. As a friend said, I was rather lucky to get bit here in Thailand than back in the states for the cost and legal headaches.

Doi Suthep National Forest

Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep

During my time here I've also been developing my yoga practice. I bought a 10 class pass for The Yoga Tree (for $60! Cheap considering each class 1.5 hours). I took classes in hatha, restorative, and vinyasa. My favorite teacher by far is named Khira. Every one of her classes were relaxing and peaceful. I'm looking forward to continuing my practice once I get home as I joined SWAT Fitness which has yoga classes twice a week and a tai chi/yoga class 4 days per week. I'm also looking into dedicated yoga studios and developing a home practice. I plan on spending a lot of time today going through yoga videos to find out which are worth keeping.

Carlos left last night which was a little emotional due to being together practically 24/7 to being completely on my own. We're both excited to be back home so it helped to know that this is the first step toward that. On my schedule today is a 2 hour massage (for $15) and some naps. I've been trying to reset my sleep schedule to the US but it hasn't worked very well. I was able to stay up until 4 AM two nights ago but passed out at 2 AM last night. Up at 6 this morning which mirrors my layover in Bangkok where I may be able to catch some Zs. I've loaded up on snacks, videos, and books so hopefully this 30 hour trip will be sane!

Moat and wall that surround Chiang Mai's city center