Forest Zen in Nakhon Nayok

Last weekend, I joined a meetup group for my first excursion outside of Bangkok since March.

I joined a small group on a day trip to the nearby Nakhon Nayok Province for some spiritual refreshment.

Because of social distancing, our group number was limited. It wasn't a big adventure nor an exhausting day of trekking. Instead, this was our very first chance to escape the city in months, and Lita, our group leader, took us to a beautiful forest monastery which sat atop 200 quiet wooded acres in the Thai countryside just a few hours outside of the city.

Nakhon Nayok has a reputation for being a very green province, despite its relative proximity to the big city. Within just a few hours, our van pulled up just outside of a lush forest, the home to the monastery that Lita visits several times per month. 

The purpose of this trip wasn't sightseeing so much as it was refreshment after weeks stuck indoors in quarantine.

We arrived at the temple in late morning. Lita wanted to make an offering to the temple, so she asked the caretaker what the temple needed. We were told that the kitchens needed sugar, since they were running low. Since monks may only eat what they are offered, they had been eating bland meals for a few days. Some of us bought bags of sugar to help out.

Before making the offerings, Lita showed us around the temple's impressive and modern prayer hall. Portraits of the former abbot with King Rama IX adorned the walls, and the hall was filled with dozens of beautiful Buddha images.

As we visited a covered wooden pavilion, the temple's abbot bade us approach and we knelt on the smooth teak wood floor as the jolly old man joked with us and asked each visitor where we were from before receiving our offerings of sugar.

We placed the sugar before the abbot on a thin saffron cloth, the same color as the monks' robes. The abbot chanted a short prayer, then blessed some small silver vessels of holy water, which we then took outside to pour on the roots of an ancient bodhi tree.

By giving the blessed water back to nature, he explained, we were making merit. As we did so, he instructed us to pray for our loved ones.

Then, some members of the group went off to meditate in the quiet tranquility of the forest monastery, while the rest of us explored the lush and serene temple grounds.

The most outstanding feature at the temple was a huge, white spire topped with a chedi containing a Buddhist relic. There were a few women dressed in white meditating within. They were on a sort of meditation retreat, and as I climbed up the tower, I did so quietly so as not to disturb them.

     

The day was hot, despite the imminent arrival of the monsoon season, and I was very glad to be wearing socks! You cannot wear shoes inside a temple, and those who had worn sandals burnt their feet on the scorching tile!

We stayed at the temple for several hours. I cannot emphasize enough how great it felt to get out of my neighborhood after weeks and weeks of lockdown!

We left the forest temple and drove a short way to a small bamboo forest where the tall shoots formed a sort of tunnel over the shady path.

It reminded me a bit of the Arashiyama grove in Kyoto, Japan or another bamboo grove at a zen temple in Kamakura. 

https://michaeldesrosiers.blogspot.com/2015/04/kyoto.html

https://michaeldesrosiers.blogspot.com/2019/06/kamakura-chocolate-and-incense-13.html

The bamboo forest is part of another forest temple, and even though it is normally packed with tourists (mainly Bangkokian Thais on a day trip), it was actually fairly quiet!

After months of quarantine, restrictions are finally being lifted. The next month is going to be a sort of "golden age" for expats in Thailand: the country will be fully opened up, but tourists are still banned for the time-being.

That meant that even though this is usually a very famous and crowded spot, we had it nearly to ourselves! What might have been a packed attraction ended up being pleasant, peaceful, and relaxing.

As always, the group was made up of expats from all around the world. Just as much as I enjoy seeing cool new places, I also like meeting fellow expats. Besides myself, there was just one American (from Wisconsin). The rest of the group came from India, Mexico, Turkey, Taiwan, Japan, Sweden, and more!

I met a cool Indian-Thai guy whose family runs a wedding planning business, and who gave me some good ideas for my own upcoming nuptials (TBD whenever COVID will allow...). I also met several teachers, and other interesting expats from so many different places.

After a fantastically delicious and fantastically cheap lunch (steamed veggies and a fried egg on rice  for just 2 USD), everyone was feeling a bit sleepy. Lita took us on to our next stop - a hidden coffee shop - for some caffeine and a short rest to wake us up before the trip back to BKK.

This wasn't just any cafe, however! It was surrounded by beautiful rice fields, lakes in which guests could lazily row boats, and a small working chicken farm! 

Visitors were welcome to explore or lounge about the rice fields, indulgently relaxing from the stress of modern life. It was like being transported back to a Thailand of a far distant past era.

I ordered an iced mocha, and relaxed by the rice fields. 

I wasn't really in the mood for adventure. After weeks indoors, I was just happy to be outside in the fresh air.

Last, we visited one final cafe. This one was also a cactus nursery. 

Recently, cacti and succulents have been very popular with Bangkokians.

I am not sure why Thais love cacti so much, but they do!

Besides the plants, the cafe also featured beautiful koi and tall, leafy trees that kept the place shady and cool.

We got back to the city just after dark. Until that second wave of COVID-19 gets here, life in the Kingdom is pretty good! I am so happy that things are getting back to normal. I will have a few more walking tours over the next few weeks... stay tuned!