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The English language can be confusing. Take the word ‘retreat’, for example. While the basic meaning is to go backwards—a negative concept—it is also used to escape the hectic pace of life, as in a wellness or meditation retreat—a positive concept. So, in a sense it is true that we have to retreat to advance or enhance our spiritual condition. I recently spent a few days at such a wellness retreat—the Aleenta Resort, following a course called “monk-level” Vipassana (insight) meditation. After a wellness consultation to identify my physical and spiritual abilities and aspirations, I was given a schedule of activities I had never tried before. During my stay, I participated in sound healing, qigong, yoga, spa treatments and bamboo exercise, which involved using a bamboo pole to improve posture and flexibility. I found all of them useful to focus my mind on the present moment, which made it easier when it came to sitting and walking meditation under the guidance of a monk.
The monk, Phra Tawatchai, lived at Wat Umong, a forest monastery near the resort, and he guided my breathing as I sat or walked beside him. After a few days, I could detach myself for brief periods from the thoughts and emotions that constantly rushed through me, which was a liberating sensation. However, when Phra Tawatchai told me about Phra Thera Chan, a monk who lived here in the 14th century, I realised that my meditative achievements were insignificant. Phra Thera Chan was an advisor to King Kuena, but he would often disappear into the forest for days or weeks on end, meditating so deeply that he lost all sense of time and could not be found when his king needed his advice. As a result, the king had meditation tunnels built and decorated with jungle motifs, and forbade his advisor from wandering off again. These tunnels (‘umong’ in Thai) gave the temple its name, and since this is the only Thai temple with such a feature, hundreds of tourists now arrive daily to explore the tunnels with their serene Buddha images. Though most visitors explore no further, the ‘talking trees’ (trees tagged with wise sayings) and Spiritual Theatre at Wat Umong also provide plenty of food for thought for hungry minds looking for inspiration.
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 How about throwing a log on the fire and snuggling up with a gripping tale of a teak boom this Christmas, all for FREE? For 5 DAYS ONLY, from 12 to 16 DECEMBER (Pacific Standard Time), the ebook of TEAK LORD is completely free on Amazon. So don't delay – download today! If you prefer to listen to audiobooks, please email me to request a redemption code for a FREE COPY of the TEAK LORD audiobook on Spotify. If you’d rather read the hugely popular paperback version (over 500 copies sold in Thailand alone), go here for buying and reviewing options. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! ...(yes, you know the rest)...but it pours. After months of few publications, suddenly it's all happening, so I'm catching up by posting PDFs of three recently published stories on my publications page. They are: – Delve into Thai rice culture – Teak of the town – Thailand's 'Lost Kingdom' (of Wiang Kum Kam) Enjoy! The Covid pandemic from 2020 to 2022 not only wiped out millions of lives but it also brought an abrupt halt to the livelihoods of many people, myself included. Suddenly, during global lockdown, there was no demand for a travel writer, quite simply because nobody was travelling.
Now, over a year after the worst of the pandemic has passed, I’m finally beginning to pick up the pieces and get my stories published again. There are still lots of holes in my client list that used to be occupied by guidebook publishers, inflight magazines and the like, but a few have survived and I’m going to post some recently published stories on my ‘peridoicals’ page. These are: Teak Trails (Fah Thai magazine, September 2023). An overview of the teak boom that took place around Chiang Mai in the late 19th century and buildings that date back to that era. A Mindfulness Journey (South China Morning Post, October 2023). A tour of four temples in Chiang Mai that offer meditation courses ranging from one to 26 days. Conquering Doi Luang Chiang Dao (Fah Thai magazine, November 2023). An account of a trek to the summit of Doi Luang Chiang Dao, arguably the most enjoyable hike in Thailand. On the road from Mandalay Win Win “It’s a win-win situation;” joked motorbike rider Win Win as we shook hands on our deal, “you take picture of beautiful Burma and I buy medicine to make my mother well”.
And that’s pretty much how it turned out, apart from losing Win Win at critical moments of the trip. He had a maddening habit of forgetting when he was supposed to pick me up, leaving me fuming at times when I thought he had abandoned me altogether. We were standing on the steps of the 79 Living Hotel in Mandalay, and after some friendly haggling, we agreed that I would give Win Win eighty US dollars and he would take me everywhere I wanted to go on his motorbike for the next three days. My hitlist included the ancient cities around Mandalay, the hill station of Pyin Oo Lwin to the east and the cave temples at Po Win Taung, way out west, and Win Win knew them all, so off we went. Enigmatic expressions on faces at the Bayon hint at a long-lost knowledge.  I was sorting through my images recently, looking for some good shots of Angkor to upload to image banks, when I was struck yet again by that blissful smile on the faces that gaze down from the towers of the Bayon, the centrepiece of Angkor Thom in Cambodia.  Originally over fifty towers featured four faces looking in the cardinal directions. Now only 37 towers remain, yet wherever you wander in the Bayon, these faces are looking at you.
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Ron Emmonsis a British writer and photographer based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Categories
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