Arrival, #2
Clear sky, snow peaks speak:
take care! all’s well! return soon!
leaving our heart home
We’re not yet grounded, but our bodies have arrived at our Thailand beach village home in Chumphon, the first of the Southern Thailand provinces on the east Gulf of Thailand coast. The changes are significant in every way from where we’ve been in India these past 5 1/2 weeks.
Of course there’s the climate differences, from Himalayan mountain foothill forest at about 4000 feet of elevation, with winter setting in and living with no heat, to deep tropical sea level coast line where even now, in Thailand’s “winter”, the sun is hot by 8AM (when it appears) and getting hotter throughout the day, where the humidity is between 75 and 100% and it’s been raining consistently, on and off, for the past few months, with regional flooding in various parts of the country, another symptom of climate collapse. So far today it’s partly sunny, and we’ll see about the rain.
Then there are the cultural differences, including dominantly the descent from the rarified internally and spiritually focused monastic atmosphere of Sherabling to the more sensual and sometimes hedonistic/narcissistic beach culture of sought-after Thailand. Fortunately we stay away from a lot of that, because where we live is off the tourist routes, relatively undeveloped, small, still very much mostly Thai in character.
Today is the first day, after arriving in the afternoon two days ago, of beginning to find and establish a personal rhythm and routine. On our landing at the Chumphon airport we were met by our Aussie friend Helen who picked us up and took us directly to our Thai friend Du’s cafe for breakfast, where we were joined by American friend Jane, whom we last saw over 2 years ago in Seattle. It was a bit of a raucous, caffeinated and joyful reunion, catching up, sharing gossip and other news, and not least, eating Du’s good food.
Helen had her car filled up with the stuff we’d stored with her three years ago, and after breakfast she dropped us and that stuff at Jungle House, where we will stay in the very same cottage that we like the best (and the only one of only four options available), right on the pond. Then yesterday we spent the day with Helen shopping in Chumphon town for household essentials and food staples. It was a long day, topped off with an early dinner at Noyna’s delicious-food restaurant, and a kind of Last Supper, since Noyna is closing the restaurant part of her businesses for now. Her daughter says there’s not enough business — what with the covid experience — but I suspect that Noyna’s a bit burned out and needs a rest, which apparently she has done on several previous occasions, followed by an eventual re-opening. Pumpkin curry with fish, rice and a watermelon shake, with a club sandwich to go. Hopefully she’ll re-open while we’re still here.
Our first morning beach walk, a stop at the neighborhood wat to pay respects to Qin Im (Quan Yin) and to discover a newly installed big Buddha facing the sea. Fiddling around with my new bike, which is a piece of junk really, but I’ll try to make it serviceable, or, failing that, I’ll likely give it away; a motorbike trip to Saphli, the nearby town of a couple thousand, for a few miscellaneous items and a search for a sim card for Nancy (unsuccessful so far). The process of settling in just beginning, details to sort out, people to see, routines to be built…….laundry to be done!
Guide, our Boddhisattva landlady, has been out of town, so we haven’t seen her yet, but our place was ready and waiting for us.
It’s all a blur at the moment, a whirlwind of activity and adjustment. Some things familiar, some things changed. Nothing yet digested.
