November 9, 2016
Day 0: Travel to Dhamma Simanta
I woke up early at the hostel. I had asked for breakfast at 7 am, so that I could beat the heat. The instructions for the retreat were to arrive between 2 and 5 pm, and the meditation center was only about 15 miles away, but I figured I could hang out nearby until then.
I was packed up and the hostel owner showed up right on time for breakfast. She told me that there is no busy time in Lamphun for tourists. The tourists are mostly Thai people. She is operating the hostel to show people in Lamphun that it is possible to find a use for the old, beautiful houses and preserve them. She is from Bangkok, but fell in love with the house during a visit to Lamphun. She pays 2500 baht per month in rent, and does everything herself, so there are no employees. I didn't ask about utilities, but I'm sure she pays for them as well, and also any supplies. At 400 baht per hostel bed per night, it seems like she should be able to make it work, but I was the only guest in 5 nights, so it might be tough. I wish her success.
She also explained that the lanterns at the Wat and at the memorial in town are for a festival this week. I'll miss it at the retreat. There are some lanterns that are white or black instead of colored this year, out of respect for the late king. So it is not as colorful this year.
In the middle of our conversation it started pouring rain. Really hard. There were public announcements going on, what she described as community news, that said the rain would last until 9 am.
It stopped raining right around 9 as predicted. I rolled out of town following my GPS route, happy that I had added the meditation center as a location on my Garmin before leaving home. The road out of Lamphun was quite busy, and went through a lot of small towns.
Then I turned off the numbered road, onto what my Garmin just called "street"
The scenery was quite nice.
The dirt road soon turned to a dirt path, and the recent rain turned the dirt to thick red mud. I was off the bike and walking through an especially boggy section. Then I popped out back onto pavement! In fact, the driving route was all pavement, but I was happy for the little bit of off road riding to set the stage for the retreat. And then I was there.
When I first arrived, I went into a restroom at the administration building to put on my pants over my bike shorts to cover my knees. There were signs pointing to registration, separate for men and women. I asked at the administration office, and found out that registration was open, despite my early arrival. In fact, there were quite a few people there already.
At registration I received my room number, had my passport checked, and locked up all of my valuables and electronic devices. My contact with the outside world had ended. I took a quick shower in my room, and had some lunch. Lunch was served from 11:00 am until 11:45. I had an assigned spot based on my room number, and received a plate, bowl, mug, and cutlery to be used throughout the retreat. I was responsible for washing and drying it after each meal. I also received a dish towel, and could leave everything at my place, covered by the towel. The tables were arranged such that no one faced anyone else. I felt fortunate to face a window rather than someone's back.
After lunch, I just sort of hung out with nothing to do and no electronics to distract me. I moved my bicycle into the garage, where it would remain during the retreat.
There was another meal at 5 pm, and then an orientation. The English-speakers were separated out for our own meeting. After that, the "noble silence" began. No talking or other communication with any of the other meditators. There were a number of Dhamma Helpers around, who we could discreetly talk with about any problems or issues that came up. Most important to me was Boo, the Dhamma Helper who was translating and helping the foreigners. We had our first meditation session, with some basic instructions, and then headed to the dorms for lights out at 9:30.
Today's ride: 23 km (14 miles)
Total: 717 km (445 miles)
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