A few recent trips to Thailand have reminded me of the amazing experiences I had backpacking in Southeast Asia over some 20 years ago now.
My fascination with Asia started with what was meant to be a short holiday with a couple of friends in Thailand in 1998.
This first trip to Thailand changed my life forever.
Several years of backpacking since have given me some truly amazing experiences, to meet some great people (and even date a few of them!) and do things I would never have dreamed of doing before – even maybe even kissing a ladyboy once (only the once!).
I am not religious and am glad my parents left the decision to my sister and me whether we wanted to be baptized when kids. Out of all the religions I have been exposed to, Buddhism seems to be the most appealing to me.
I have read a few books about Buddhism and Buddha, even got a copy of the famous Tibetan Book of the Dead, which is not a light-hearted book by any means.
Guidebooks and fellow travelers have made retreats a popular rite of passage in Thailand and how I first heard about meditation retreats in Thai temples. I found out about one in Northern Thailand, a temple called Wat Ram Poeng on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, where it’s possible to learn meditation in either a 10-day or 30-day retreat.
Photo by Lifehacker Guy
Why Did I want To Stay in A Temple?
Spend any amount of time in SE Asia and you can’t notice the amazing architecture of the Temples, in some places, it’s the equivalent of Starbucks on the corner of most developed city streets. Of course, I am in no way making any direct comparison here!
I was intrigued by Buddhism as it seemed from a lay person’s perspective to be more of a philosophy than a religion.
To be honest, though, I was more interested in learning meditation as I have frequently read about the life-changing results regular practice can bring about.
So, I toyed with the idea of staying in a Buddhist temple in Thailand when I was next traveling there.
It was in 1999 when I went on a longer 6-month backpacking trip that I took the plunge and decided to do a 10-day Vipassana Meditation retreat in a temple just outside the city of Chiang Mai, Wat Ram Poeng.
What appealed most to me was the chance to spend time alone, learning to quieten my overactive mind. I have tried meditation a number of times, I find it very challenging and have never stuck with it for long.
So, staying in a temple where I am there solely to meditate would be a great way to experience and learn from others. A place that would be completely free of distractions.
The irony is that although there were few external distractions, the internal distractions really magnify when left to your own devices.
Wat Ram Poeng in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Wat Ram Poeng is a secluded temple about 4 km southwest of Chiang Mai. Even though it’s not that far away from the bustling city of Chiang Mai, it’s very quiet and feels like you are miles away from civilization.
It’s a beautiful serene temple and is typical with Thai temples very colorful. The gardens are peaceful, in fact, a great place to enjoy walking and contemplating life.
There is little point in me regurgitating the history of this temple, if you’re interested, you can find out more online – check out the history of Wat Ram Poeng here.
The temple is popular with both Thais and foreigners as its reputation as a meditation center has spread. Many people regard this as one of the best places to stay to meditate.
To be transparent here, things change, and it’s been over 20 years since I have stayed at Wat Ram Poeng, so I would suggest checking out reviews from people who have stayed more recently, check out TripAdvisor.
How to get to Wat Ram Poeng
There are a few options for easily getting to Wat Ram Poeng. You can either ask a Tuk-Tuk to take you all the way or a songthaew.
I took a songtaew 20-years ago as there was no Grab or Uber available then.
Now I would suggest simply booking a Grab taxi – much easier and not too expensive.
Preparing to enter the temple
I understood the daily routine of temple life was not going to be easy, especially if you’re used to backpacking like a Brit – read drinking, staying up late, sunbathing, and shopping!
So, I prepared for my 10-day stay in the temple by…. You guessed it – by drinking, staying up late, sunbathing, shopping, and shagging!
With not the best of starts, I was sort of glad to be going to the temple as I believed my backpacking trip had lost direction a bit. It was turning into a prolonged holiday piss-up with the focus on just pure having fun.
The temple is on the outskirts of Chiang Mai and so I took a tuk-tuk there with all my luggage.
I remember standing at the entrance, thinking about what I have let myself in for!
10-day Wat Lam Poeng Meditation Requirements
Before staying at the temple a few requirements are needed, which include.
Offerings for the opening ceremony, consisting of; 11 white lotus flowers (or other white flowers), 11 yellow or orange candles, and 11 incense sticks.
You of course need to hold a valid passport, two passport pictures, photocopies of the passport that include the photo, and visa pages.
Importantly you also need to have two sets of white clothing that are modest and loose so that you can practice. I can’t remember now where I purchased these from.
There is a temple shop where you can purchase basic toiletries like soap and toothpaste etc.
For more information check out the Wat Lam Poeng website.
My Temple accommodation
Other travellers stay in this temple and apparently all these rooms had been taken so I was shown to a monk’s room.
I was somewhat shocked as the room was completely bare!
In the corner of the room was a tiny table fan and a rolled-up mat – that’s it.
This was to be my accommodation for the next 10-days.
Example picture taken courtesy of Kristin from Bemytravelmuse.com
Daily routine
At 4 am the morning drums signaled time to wake up.
Six hours of laying on a solid wooden floor trying to sleep were not the best experience. Even the rough backpacking hostels seemed like a luxury to this!
The weather was cool at this time of the day and showering was tough as the water was freezing cold. At the same time, you were fighting off the mosquitos who were rife at this time of the day.
There was 1-2 hours available for some morning meditation practice before at 6am everyone went to the hall for breakfast.
Before eating the rice and vegetables there were morning chants and prayers.
All I could think of is food. I would be incredibly hungry after 20 hours of no food.
Sat cross-legged on the floor chanting I had to concentrate to avoid falling face-first into the breakfast in front of me. I was so tired so sleeping only a few hours at night and was woken up so early.
Eventually, after 10-15 minutes of chanting, we could eat our breakfast. The taste was okay, it was a functional meal to provide rice and some vegetables only.
Afterward, we would take our bowls to an area where they would be washed up for us. Then a chance for some black tea outside.
That’s right, how could I forget to mention that staying in the temple you only eat twice a day, at 7 am and 10:30 am. After 12:00 there is no food, absolutely nothing is allowed to be eaten.
You can drink as much water and tea as you like. My only salvation was being able to drink coconut milk mid-afternoon when I was already beginning to feel hungry.
After lunch, the routine was to practice walking and sitting meditation until you reported to the abbot for instruction.
When I say instruction, this really only consisted of being told to meditate longer. Even saying it’s difficult didn’t give any guidance, just do more.
This did remind me of the Nike slogan… just do it…
The Abbott had his variation of this… just do more…
The evening was spent doing more practice and drinking tea before going to sleep at 10 pm.
This routine is challenging to say the least.
I slept very little each night, maybe around 2-3 hours, and was in a constant state of hunger.
Daily waking and sitting meditation
This meditation uses a single-pointed focus to calm down the body and the mind. They suggest the point of focus to be the breath when sitting and in walking meditation.
For more detailed information on how to do sitting and walking meditation, I suggest checking out…
I found the sitting meditation incredibly challenging as I had to fight the urge not to fall on my face from the tiredness.
For this reason, I spent most of the time doing walking meditation, which I actually got into in the end.
My practice rarely went beyond 5-6 hours per day, way less than the encouraged 10-12 hours per day recommended by the Abbott and monk.
How long did I last in a Thai temple?
I didn’t cope well with the daily routine of the temple. The few days of preparation before entering the temple really didn’t help much.
I was missing the “high life” of partying in Chiang Mai and staying and spending time in the Thai temple was proving a real culture shock in every way.
Within 48 hours I wanted to leave, I know I was really shocked at how much I wanted to give up. I spoke to the resident German nun about my plans to leave and she persuaded me to stay another day to see how I felt the next day.
So, I decided to try something different and did my own version of the walking meditation as the sitting meditation just made me fall asleep.
I walked incredibly slowly around the temple grounds, slowly breathing between each step.
It turns out from observers in the temple that I looked like I was at peace and had been in the temple for weeks. Speaking to a few of them over tea in the evening I shattered their illusion saying I had to get out.
It was hilarious for me, seeing their faces in shock.
In their eyes it looked like I had cracked the meditation code, instead, my monkey mind was doing somersaults trying to climb the temple walls!
So, I endured (sad but true to say) another 48 hours and then decided to leave.
I managed four days in total, so three nights.
I wasn’t particularly impressed with myself, but I thought if I stayed much longer, they would be taking me out in a straitjacket!
On the fourth day, I packed my pack and left the temple.
Stood outside the temple gates I thought, how am I going to get back into Chiang Mai?
Eventually, I thumbed a ride on a motorbike into Chiang Mai. I immediately decided to get out of town and go somewhere new, so I headed to Chiang Rai.
I really like Chiang Mai, it feels like home to me. So why did I want to escape so quickly? I believe I was ashamed I lasted four days instead of 10 and just ran away.
What did I learn staying in a Thai temple?
Meditation is hard.
It’s especially hard living like a monk and trying to practice 12 hours a day!
It’s funny reflecting on this now, you think of all the hardships in life (and I haven’t had that many to be honest – I have been lucky), you wouldn’t think just walking and sitting for 12 hours per day meditated would rank as one of your hardest things in life.
Very much first world problems, I guess.
At times the retreat seemed like torture and I couldn’t help but think, why I am subjecting myself to this when I could be out enjoying Thailand?
Some afternoons I have to admit there were tears. Sat on the balcony partly reflecting on life and the uncertain future, a small part of me sat frustrated with wondering why I found the simple act of meditations so difficult!
It’s amazing how much you can learn about yourself when you’re made to sit down and simply reflect.
Would I ever Stay in a Temple again?
You can probably guess the answer to this one eh?
Most likely, it’s a no.
If you’re serious about learning meditation and you want a well-structured meditation retreat, then Wat Ram Poeng is a great place to stay for 10-days. I would suggest going if you have already done some meditation or are super keen and take it more seriously than I did.
For me, it was way too extreme. I wanted to learn a little meditation and try to incorporate this into my daily life. Instead it felt like torture, more of the mind, which in hindsight is probably the point!
But if you’re looking to learn more about Buddhism then this 10-day retreat is not going to be for you. You get to experience living in a Thai monastery though, and so if this appeals to you then go for it.
It’s off my bucket list of course, but I am not sure what I would learn from repeating the experience. The bottom line is you don’t need to go visit a temple to learn meditation.
Some quiet and floor space, and importantly the will to do it, is all you need to practice daily meditation.
I am working on the latter.