Category Archives: Epic Journey 2

Joyful participation in the sorrows of life

I initially planned to do a vipassana retreat last month in Penang, Malaysia. But as it goes with plans it did not feel right, some things came forward and plans changed dramatically. Instead I ended up going to Singapore to see Sven Väth in Zouk. Vipassana and loud minimal techno, well almost the same thing anyway. However, three weeks later I found myself in a 10-days vipassana retreat taught by Steve and Rosemary Weissmann in Wat Kow Tahm on Koh Phangan. This time I was tempted to go to Koh Tao to see LTJ Bukem, but thankfully opted for meditation.

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This is my second 10-days retreat merely half a year later after Goenka’s retreat in Ödeshög, Sweden and this retreat was not as intense as the previous one. First of all, I knew what to expect. Massiveness of this project did not scare me off and I had a strong determination to use my time in the most efficient way. No slacking and no excuses, I came here to meditate and learn, take no prisoners attitude, period. Second, the retreat is really 8 full days, plus one orientation and one wrapping up day. Furthermore, it is really easy on your body, as it is a combination of sitting, walking, standing and working meditation. Tasks include sweeping, cleaning, doing dishes, preparing food, ringing a gong (mine was cleaning up and doing dishes after the evening dinner). And third, the structure of the daily schedule is designed to avoid building up too strong concentration, but rather the main emphasis is on building up mindfulness and compassion in daily life.

The meditation technique taught is mental noting and basic meditation period is 45 minutes and the longest you are allowed to spend in one meditation form is one hour. I attempted once to extend a half an hour of sitting to one hour instead of switching to the standing meditation, but was quickly handed a no-no written note. One one hand, these factors make it easy for your body, but on the other hand it makes difficult to achieve deep concentration states. In contrast Goenka’s retreats are 10+2 days, offer only sitting meditation and you may spend as much time in one sitting as you want. The retreat last August was an extremely intense full blown spiritual high experience glowing with rather profound psychedelic concentration states. People were crying, going through a mental drama, having emotional breakdowns all over the place. Good stuff. No blissful raptures or dark nights of soul in Wat Kow Tahm apart from short periods of jhana states, but it was very beneficial in many other ways. I learnt way more here than in my first retreat, mainly thanks to versatility of the practice and excellent lectures packed with useful and practical information combined with top-notch performance and subtle humor. One of the main themes was to how to apply mindfulness and compassion in everyday life, not only in the context of the retreat. The content of the lectures is practice oriented with very little ideology related talk. Among discussed topics were compassion, five hindrances, dealing with physical pain, different meditation postures and other practical considerations. A personal highlight was the lecture on Kalama Sutta, which can be summarized as “do not believe anything blindly no matter where information comes from, but find out truth through your experience”. In contrast Goenka went into lengths dissing other spiritual practices, yoga and meditation techniques and stressing numerous times that his teaching was not sectarian or dogmatic, but rather the fact of life. This produced a rather unpleasant aftertaste of cult-like mentality and put me into the state of a cognitive dissonance for many days after the retreat. Me being part of a cult, which I can actually enjoy? Inconceivable! None of this type of talk was found in Wat Kow Tahm and finishing with Kalama sutta was a very nice touch.

I had no after-retreat plans and was torn between several choices, but by chance found out that LTJ Bukem was playing in Had Rin the same day. This set plans in stone and I went partying the same day the retreat ended. This is what I call intense. Had Rin beach around 11PM was a bit too hectic for me, but thankfully the gig took place in an actual club far away from fear and loathing of the Had Rin beach. Quality drum & bass and nice atmosphere set things straight and was a nice and unexpected way to finish off the retreat. All in all, it was an excellent and beneficial experience and very different to what I expected before the retreat, which shows once again that plans and expectations are basically useless. The actual experience no matter what is most certainly going to be something completely else.

North American scum

i hate the feelin’ when you’re looking at me that way
cause we’re north americans
but if we act all shy, it’ll make it ok
makes it go away.

LCD Soundsystem – North American Scum

Some Americans I have met shy away from the fact that they are from the United States. New Yorkers and San Franscisco residents make an emphasis that they are based in the respective cities and not in the rest of the US. Alaska and Hawaii are not part of the US in minds of their residents too. A girl from Alaska argued with me that Alaska has nothing to do with the USA, as it is not even on the mainland after all. Some Canadians are also offended, when you make a mistake about their origin (American and Canadian accents are so similar). I stopped guessing people with obvious American accents as Americans and assume that they are North Americans instead. This way there is little room for offending anyone. An even more extreme example is Americans who camouflage as Canadians, although I have not met any of those personally. It is sad that the USA, once such a great nation, became so uncool that its residents go into length of distancing themselves from their own country. On the other hand this seems to be a case of selection bias. Americans who are likely travel are also the ones who are disappointed in their country. I guess if you go to the heart of United States, you will meet a completely different set of values. I will test this theory one day.

Krabi and surroundings

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Krabi is a nice town to spend a pair of days in. There is not much to see or to do, as most of the action takes place on nearby beaches Ao Nang, Tonsai and Railay, but the general laid-back atmosphere is nice. One of Krabi’s few attractions is Tiger Cave Temple on the top of a hill. You have to walk 1237 steps to reach it, but the view is well worth it (I love how in Eastern tradition they make you to do an effort to visit a temple, no easy way). Then there is a night market on weekends with plenty of food and entrainment. Lots of delicious seafood for supper and a drag queen show and a children breakdance performance for entertainment, all in one evening. It is interesting how in Western countries drag queen culture is something you can see only in a gay club, but in Thailand it is part of the mainstream culture. Other than that it is free decent internet and reasonably priced shops for essential things like flips-flops and fisherman pants. Purchased myself a fourth pair of flip-flops already, which was only 80Baht. It will be interesting to see how long these ones last.

Krabi’s beaches are another story, though. Ao Nang is a massive faceless tourist hell that could be in any part of the world. The beach itself is nice, but the environment is not with its endless chain of shops and restaurant tailored to specific nationalities. German and Swedish are the most popular ones. Tonsai and Railey are a mecca for rock climbers and apparently some of the top climbing stops in the world. I did a half day course, which was my first time outdoor climbing experience. So much superior to than indoor one, it is like a treadmill run versus mountain hiking. The course was pretty much all practice with bits of theoretical knowledge here and there. The climbing course I did in Helsinki was spread over two days with the first day filled with theory. I think I prefer Thai way much more. Other than rock climbing and spectacular scenery Tonsai and Railey were nothing special and here again the same problem as on Ao Nang – too crowded, too developed and too touristy. E.g. there were tractors on Railey transporting people and baggage to long-tail boats during low-tide. How messed up is that? Then again I am spoiled with Hat Yuan. Both places have similar environment – an isolated bay reachable by boat, but Hat Yuan is much more chilled and less developed. So after one night and one rock climbing course it felt pointless to stay there any more and made a return to Hat Yuan. Back to Ko Phangan, back to Hat Yuan.

A glimpse into an Indian mindset

An Indian restaurant in Georgetown. I am ordering a vegetarian meal and ask a waiter about vegetarian choices. He answers my question with a couple of sentences and without further ado begins to praise lamb and chicken meals they have. Finally I order a vegetarian banana leaf set. When they bring the meal, it comes with three different sauces, which the waiter introduces. Dhaal, another veggie sauce and a CHICKEN SAUCE! If I was a vegetarian, I would be pretty pissed off. Apparently meat-based sauces count as vegetarian meal in Asian mindset. Thai do that too by using oyster sauce in veggie meals.

I got my dose of India in Malaysia and I guess I won’t go to India this time. Doing China and India in one journey is a bit too much for me and I will do the latter sometime next time with a fresh start.

Singapore – The Bladerunner Cityâ„¢ 3/3

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Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore – the great Asian triad of Bladerunneresque cities: vibrant, cosmopolitan, futuristic and slightly dystopic. Very Western on one hand, but on the other hand they all have a clear Chinese influence. I had my doubts about visiting Singapore, but after Shanghai and Singapore it felt logical to crown the Bladerunner tour with it and Sven Väth’s gig at Zouk was a decisive factor. In the end I am glad I visited Singapore, as it is one of the most remarkable cities I have visited to date.

Singapore is certainly the most organized and tidy city out of the three. Tidy not only when it comes to cleanliness of the streets, but also architecture and the general condition of infrastructure. Hong Kong is not a dirty city by any means, but in comparison with Singapore it indeed feels a little bit filthy, which is something locals like to bring to attention when they talk about Hong Kong. Singaporeans do not like drawing parallels between Singapore and Hong Kong, even though the cities are obviously very similar. Might there be rivalry between two cities? As for architecture, Singapore might not be not as futuristic as in Shanghai, but still it has this modern trendy outlook. Unlike in many cities I have visited, where fancy buildings are limited to a designated area, Singapore features a whole range of interesting residential and corporate buildings. There are dull faceless block of flats in the outskirts of the city, but within the walkable distance from the city centre it is eye-candy as far as the eye can see. You do not need to spend money here to keep yourself entertained, just walking around the city and gazing at surroundings is a pleasure in itself. The city skyline makes an impression, but the prize here goes to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Singapore is a truly cosmopolitan city. While Shanghai made an impression of a very international city after Beijing and Hong Kong felt extremely international after the mainland China, Singapore leaves both cities far behind in terms of multiculturalism. In fact most of Singapore’s residents are foreigners. Singapore’s dystopia manifests itself in tight regulations, such as heavy fines for littering, incorrect parking and such. There is no freedom of press here too. It is all a little bit totalitarian, although it does not feel that way. It is more like Huxley’s Brave New World utopia with great food, quality entertainment and hardcore shopping. Also it rained almost the whole time I was there resulting in one extra point for the Bladerunner connection. Shanghai gave me a food poisoning, Hong Kong retaliated with bed bugs and Singapore costed me one Haglöfs shoe, which just mysteriously disappeared upon my arrival. It is not easy sometimes.

Singapore was the southernmost destination of my journey and a logical to point to make a U-turn. From now on I will head roughly toward north-west. Back home towards the summer if everything goes according to the plan.

PS: And one last thing, most people have no clue when I mention the Bladerunner connection (some people do not even have any idea what Bladerunner is). I met this British girl, who was first to mention the Bladerunner thing regarding Singapore, which made me speechless. As it turned out she made a high-school project on the movie. I think I am in love.