LOCATION: Wat Tham Tao
APPEARING: Phra Jake aka Jake Last
APPEARING: Phra Jake aka Jake Last
I flew from Hanoi to Bangkok, and arrived at midnight. The Bangkok airport is a horrible place to spend the night: cold, metal, loud, bright, COLD. I locked my bags to a row of metal benches, wrapped myself in many layers of clothing, and tried to sleep. The next day, I "woke up" at around 5 am, at some expensive airport food, and hopped on an early flight to Udon Thani in Isaan, the Northeast province of Thailand.
Thais being Thais, the airport officials mostly refused to believe that I wanted to get to Wat Tham Tao ("Temple of the Turtle Cave," roughly) near Nong Ah (well, that's as close as you're gonna get unless I write it in Thai script). But I finally managed to get a van driver to drop me in Udon Thani town by the side of the road, in 95-degree weather, without any sleep, to wait for a ride to Nong Ah on a public/communal truck with two benches on the back platform, known as a Songthaew (aka "two benches"). The woman selling snacks and drinks thought it was hilarious that I was here, and that I was going to a somewhat remote forest temple to see Phra Farang Jake-- a white monk.
I was the talk of the truck, as each new person who got on-- mostly middle aged and elderly women-- restarted the chatter about who I was, where I was going, and how silly this whole adventure was. It was all very Thai-gossip-worthy. When the driver knocked on the back window to tell me I was there, I got off, looked back, and saw 20 motherly Thai women waving me goodbye.
A 30+ minute ride via tuk-tuk, mostly through dusty farmland, brought be finally to the base of a small mountain and into the forest. There I met Jake.
Those who have followed this blog for some time, will know that Jake, a friend from Amherst, MA, was the first person I stayed with when I temporarily moved to Thailand two years ago (some galleries that include Jake):
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/01/31/
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/01/30/
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/02/04/
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/02/01/
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/02/17/
The last time I saw him-- the last time I think anyone from Amherst saw him aside from his parents-- was actually an hour away from Udon Thani in April 2007. We had randomly both been applying for Thai Visas in Laos over the same weekend, and spent two days eating, chatting, and hanging out while we waited. In Nong Khai, a nearby town, just over the border, he headed to a temple, and I headed back to Chiang Mai.
Jake seemed well, though thin. We walked around the area where Wat Tham Thao is located, he showed me his meditation/sleeping hut, and we spent two hours sweeping the grounds. He wanted to know what his old friends were up to, and I wanted to know about what the last two years in Thailand were like. Most of the other monks went about their business, but the oldest of the bunch told me a story (translated by Jake, who speaks perfect Thai), and indicated that I had some special karma to be drawn so strongly to such a remote, and holy place. While I don't know about that, it was a nice thing to say.
After the afternoon drink time, Jake and I and another monk (who had been a photographer before he ordained), watched a snake snoop around one of the main temple buildings and bask in the sun. Jake accompanied me to the nearest town, where I hopped on a bus that stopped momentarily by the side of the country road. I was headed to Laos.
Thais being Thais, the airport officials mostly refused to believe that I wanted to get to Wat Tham Tao ("Temple of the Turtle Cave," roughly) near Nong Ah (well, that's as close as you're gonna get unless I write it in Thai script). But I finally managed to get a van driver to drop me in Udon Thani town by the side of the road, in 95-degree weather, without any sleep, to wait for a ride to Nong Ah on a public/communal truck with two benches on the back platform, known as a Songthaew (aka "two benches"). The woman selling snacks and drinks thought it was hilarious that I was here, and that I was going to a somewhat remote forest temple to see Phra Farang Jake-- a white monk.
I was the talk of the truck, as each new person who got on-- mostly middle aged and elderly women-- restarted the chatter about who I was, where I was going, and how silly this whole adventure was. It was all very Thai-gossip-worthy. When the driver knocked on the back window to tell me I was there, I got off, looked back, and saw 20 motherly Thai women waving me goodbye.
A 30+ minute ride via tuk-tuk, mostly through dusty farmland, brought be finally to the base of a small mountain and into the forest. There I met Jake.
Those who have followed this blog for some time, will know that Jake, a friend from Amherst, MA, was the first person I stayed with when I temporarily moved to Thailand two years ago (some galleries that include Jake):
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/01/31/
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/01/30/
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/02/04/
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/02/01/
http://photos.russjuskalian.com/2007/02/17/
The last time I saw him-- the last time I think anyone from Amherst saw him aside from his parents-- was actually an hour away from Udon Thani in April 2007. We had randomly both been applying for Thai Visas in Laos over the same weekend, and spent two days eating, chatting, and hanging out while we waited. In Nong Khai, a nearby town, just over the border, he headed to a temple, and I headed back to Chiang Mai.
Jake seemed well, though thin. We walked around the area where Wat Tham Thao is located, he showed me his meditation/sleeping hut, and we spent two hours sweeping the grounds. He wanted to know what his old friends were up to, and I wanted to know about what the last two years in Thailand were like. Most of the other monks went about their business, but the oldest of the bunch told me a story (translated by Jake, who speaks perfect Thai), and indicated that I had some special karma to be drawn so strongly to such a remote, and holy place. While I don't know about that, it was a nice thing to say.
After the afternoon drink time, Jake and I and another monk (who had been a photographer before he ordained), watched a snake snoop around one of the main temple buildings and bask in the sun. Jake accompanied me to the nearest town, where I hopped on a bus that stopped momentarily by the side of the country road. I was headed to Laos.
