Dec 10-24, 2012. We didn’t do much while we were on Koh Samui, an island off the east coast of Thailand. Actually we tried to do as little as possible. We swam in both the sea and the pool every day, briefly. We had massages most days. We wandered along the beach into town for breakfast or lunch or dinner or all three. If that felt like too much effort we wandered from our room to the restaurant at the hotel where we were staying, at the quiet end of a quiet beach. One night we were surprisingly social and had dinner with some entertaining English people we’d met on the ferry coming over. One day we went to see a really big Buddha. One day we discovered the Muslim fishing village and poked our noses around there. One night we went to the tourist night-market and ate street food. I did a lot of blogging; Don did a lot of writing and reading. We visited a temple or two. The most energetic thing we did was to get up early one morning to go to an alms-giving for a large gathering of monks. It was a quiet time. After India we needed it.
Traffic – Don’s photo.
Sculpture at our hotel – Don’s photo
There’s a Koh Samui that’s over-run with stores, bars, hotels, guest-houses, restaurants, cafes, massage businesses, and markets for tourists. We spent very little time there. This is the Koh Samui we discovered and loved:
A really big Buddha
A really happy Buddha
2600 monks
and one nun
came from all over Thailand to Koh Samui.
Many many Thai people, all dressed in white, gathered to give alms to the monks in celebration of the 2600th anniversary of the Buddha’s enlightenment.
There were many speeches, and chants, and prayers.
Then all the monks filed slowly down the lines of people, collecting the alms in the form of non-perishable food,
and money trees
Then it was all loaded into trucks, and presumably delivered to the monasteries.
And then everyone went home.
We were incredibly lucky to have found out about this event. We saw a small advertisement on the ferry going to the island with only one sentence in English – the thing about 2600 monks to mark the 2600th anniversary of Buddha’s enlightenment. It seemed a bit preposterous. I didn’t really believe it – that there would be a gathering of 2600 monks! On Koh Samui! While we were there! Then we saw another advertisement in town. The (western) owner of the hotel where we were staying knew nothing about it. Finally we spoke to one of the Thai women who worked at the hotel and she knew about it and arranged a taxi to get us there for 7am. I’m so glad we were able to see, and participate, in this. It’s not everyday you get to see 2600 monks all in one place!
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted.
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2015.
incredibly beautiful Alison…. thanks for sharing!
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Thanks 🙂
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You are so blessed, Alison. 2600 monks on the 2600th Anniversary of Enlightenment. Love the color and smiles. The photo of the monks in the back of the truck is my favorite, especially since one of the monks is on the cell phone. 😉 Thank you for sharing. {{{Hugs}}} kozo
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Thanks kozo. It was just an initial introduction for us. All through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and now Myanmar we saw Buddhist monks ,and nuns, frequently.
In a temple in Chiang Mai we got chatting with two of them and we asked about when they did their chanting and meditation. Every evening at 6, and yes we could come and sit with them. After we sat through their chanting and meditation with them, we were invited to stay, for free, at the monastery! We didn’t understand if they meant for while we were in Chiang Mai, or to come live at the monastery. Either way we were leaving Chiang Mai the next day. But maybe one day we’ll take them up on it.
Hugs
Alison
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Awesome pictures. I love all the colors.
ivonne
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Thanks 🙂
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You are so fortunate to have found a part of Koh Samui that you love. I spent some time there about 16 years ago and even at that time, large areas were just spoiled by aggressive tourism. I can imagine it’s worse today. But, as is usually the case in Thailand, if you try hard enough, you will find a little piece of paradise.
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Yes I imagine it is worse today than 16 years ago. We just stayed away from the main party beach and only went into the town near our beach for meals. We knew Lamai beach was the quiet beach, but it was just dumb luck (or good intuition?) that we booked a hotel at the quiet end of that beach, away from the town and the bars on the beach. And yes, we went searching for all the places tourists don’t go – we always do. Well I’m just nosey really 🙂
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