India 2 February 8 – 22, 2025

Footsteps of the Buddha with Plum Village

My first pilgrimage to India and Nepal (November 10 to 19, 2017) was organised by the Buddhist Charity of Hong Kong. In seven days, I visited Varanasi and Buddhist , Bodhgaya, Gridhakuta Hill (Vulture Peak), Venuvana (Bamboo Forest), ruins of Nalanda, Vaishali, Kushinagar, and Lumbini. I would like to go on pilgrimage again after having taking refuge of the three gems in 2023. Hence I joined a 14-day pilgrimage “Footsteps of the Buddha” February 9 to 22, 2025 led by Dharmacharya Shantum Seth of the Buddha Path and joined by 8 monastics of the Deer Park Monastery California and Plum Village.

The Eight Great Places in Buddhism

Gautama Buddha (c. 563 or 480 BCE) had identified four pilgrimage sites for his followers. They are Lumbini (his birthplace), Bodhgaya (where Buddha attained enlightenment), Sarnath (where Buddha delivered his first sermon and Kushinagar (where Buddha passed away). Buddhist texts written later written by Buddha’s followers mentioned four more sites namely Rajgir (a major city of ancient India), Vaishali (capital of the Vajjian Republic of ancient India), Sravasti (where Buddha spent the largest amount of time) and Sankassa (where Buddha descended to earth from Tavatimsa heaven). There are other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal also connected with the life of the Buddha that are mostly located in the Gangetic plain (Eight most important sites are indicated in the map)

February 8 – My flight from Leh to Delhi was delayed and I landed in Delhi after 2:30 pm. I had booked a night in a hotel for one night before joining the group on February 9. I was picked up by Shantum’s office and taken to to the hotel. To my horror, the hotel had cancelled my booking though I had been already charged and it was full. I was furious. Luckily Shantum’s office found me another hotel nearby where I had to pay another 5,000 rupees. I had a spacious self-contained flat in a nice residential gated area. I had a good sleep.

February 9 Delhi

I had to make my way to Crowne Plaza to meet up with the group at 11 am. I shared a cab with Sue from the US who stayed in the same hotel. We had a large group comprising 63 pilgrims with 13 nationalities, 7 monastics from the Deer Park and Sr Trai Neighm whom I met in the New Hamlet, Plum Village Bordeaux last November. Shantum, the organiser and leader, was supported by Bina, Jahdish, Jackie, and Santosh. We had a dozen Japanese pilgrims and Rahul was their translator.

Around noon, the hotel lobby was swarmed with passionate and enthusiastic pilgrims. We were divided into two bus groups (yellow and orange) and the only place to visit in Delhi is Gandhi Smriti where Mahatma Gandhi spent his last 144 days and was martyred. We queued up to register before boarding our bus. Sue was in front of me and missed a step and fell while looking for the bus. I tried to find Bina and got ice for Sue. When we arrived at Gandhi Smriti, the museum staff managed to find Sue a wheelchair. Being a nurse, she knew what needed to be done. We walked mindfully to the location where Gandhi was martyred and sat on the grass to meditate. Before lunch, we had time to walk around in silence and look at the murals. We gathered after lunch for a briefing and had time to introduce ourselves and our purpose/reason for joining this pilgrimage. Though I could not remember all the names and faces, I was impressed to meet several couples and mothers and their children taking this spiritual journey hand in hand.

February 10-12 Sarnath & Varanasi (Clarks Varanasi)

We departed for the airport around 8:30am. The flight was on schedule and we arrived at the Varanasi International Airport after 2pm. In 2017, I was bumped off by the Jet Airways together with the HK guide and another pilgrim. As a result, I did not arrive till dinner time and missed the visit to Sarnath. I am impressed by the new/renovated airport which looks modern and user-friendly. We proceeded to the Mulanganda Kuti Vihara Monastery where the Buddha upon enlightenment gave the first sermon to five monks. The Vihara was built in 1931 with financial support from Mary Robinson Foster under the supervision of Dharmapala, a Sri Lankan monk who was instrumental in the revival of Buddhism in India. I first walked around the bodhi tree and the statues of the Buddha with his first disciples. There were many pilgrims from Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Turning the Wheel of Dharma (Pali – Dhammacakkappavattana) Sutra is inscribed in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, English, Japanese, Tibetan, Korean etc. I chanted in Chinese before watching a group of monks chanting during circumambulation. It was atmospheric and reverent.

There is a daily chanting of the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutra at 6pm inside the Vihara. Shantum arranged the group to sit close to the platform. As I arrived late, I sat with the pilgrims from Sri Lanka at the back with full view of the temple and the devotees. Owing to my hip problem, I cannot sit on the floor. People around me kindly arranged me to sit on a stool. The insides are completely covered with most beautiful pastel-colored frescos by Japanese artist Kosetsu Nosu depicting scenes of the Buddha. As I had learnt Pali for my Master of Buddhist Studies in 2020-21, I was able to join in and chant the sutra in Pali for the first time of my life. It was a spiritual and mesmerizing experience.

This was my second visit to the timeless Varanasi (formerly known as Kashi) one of the oldest cities in the world. Situated on the left bank of the Ganges, it is iconic and the spiritual capital of India with 88 ghats, most of which are for bathing and the puja ceremony. We set off at 5:30am. By the time we arrived, the place was already packed with Hindu pilgrims who performed religious rituals and bathing in the river or were already cruising on the river. We took two boats and first sailed downstream towards the bridge. Then we sailed upstream passing the colorful ghats with and watching the flurry of activities in all directions. I noticed more and bigger boats, people and birds than in 2017. Hundreds of Hindus were lining in front of Ganga Dwara (Gateway of Corridor that connects Kashi Vishwanath Temple with Ghats of the Ganges). Our boat moved closer to the shore when approaching the Manikarnika Ghat and Harishchandra Ghat, the only two cremation ghats. The sights of enormous piles of wood and a head-shaved man watching the wood in flames reminded me of death and impermanence. Varanasi is forever a symbol of life, vitality, force and death.

We returned to the hotel for breakfast. Afterwards, we went to the Deer Park which I have heard endless times. It was evocative when I went into the park and saw the awesome massive Dhamek Stupa (43.6m high with a diameter of 28m) marking the location where the Buddha gave his first teaching to his first five disciples. Shantum chose a quiet and cool spot under a gigantic tree facing the stupa. We listened with keen interest to his talk about history and events associated with the Buddha at this site and Thay with whom he came on pilgrimage three times since 1988. We also meditated for half an hour. Given my hip problem, I had brought a foldable chair with me. Unfortunately, I had nerve pains and could hardly sit still. Eventually I found a concrete to sit on.

After meditation, we followed Shantum on a tour of the remains of the Mulanganda Kuti Vihara Monastery including the Buddha’s hut and an Asoka pillar followed. Then we visited the Archaeological Museum to see many well-preserved sculptures including the famous Preaching Buddha, a 5th century sculpture of the Sarnath school of Buddhist art. It is a most beautiful serene and humane image of the Buddha filled with wisdom, compassion and loving kindness. Shantum said Thay would sit and meditate in front of the Preaching Buddha. We did the same for five minutes.

After the museum, we stopped by a silk making workshop. It was the first time that I learnt about the Kashi / Banarasi silk saree known for its gold and silver brocade or zari, fine silk and opulent embroidery. For Indians, it is a symbol of grandeur and nobility. But in modern India, this handicraft is disappearing: the shop-owner tries to preserve this heritage by employing a couple of weavers who produce the silk saree with the loom.

February 12-14 Bodhgaya (The Royal Residency)

Bodhgaya is about 250km from Varanasi. We set off after 8am. The road conditions have not improved much since my pilgrimage in 2017. The toll highway seems half-built and below international standard. This time we spent over eight hours on the road instead of seven hours in 2017 due to heavy Kumbh mela/festival pilgrim traffic. Luckily we had a nice delicious Thai vegetarian lunch and could use very clean toilets in a Thai temple. After settling in the hotel, we were divided into five share groups. I joined a BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) group with participants from divergent background. We shared our feelings and thoughts of the pilgrimage. Mirella and I went to bed early as we would depart for meditation at Mahabodhi temple/tree at 5:30am the following day.

Most members joined the early morning meditation session. We took tuk-tuk to the Mahabodhi Temple, a massive complex and a most revered and sacred Buddhist site. The full moon shining over the temple was mesmerizing and enlightening. The temple ground packed with pilgrims was bustling and rather noisy. A Tibetan sect, Kagyupa was holding a ceremony presided by its Rinpoche with several large tents set up for their pilgrims. Shantum found a quieter spot facing the full moon between the shikhara towers for the group to sit down and meditate. Again I had trouble sitting on my foldable chair after a short while. I then practiced standing meditation. Though it was crowded when I was here in 2017, there was not much noise as pilgrims were sitting quietly in groups or individually reciting sutras or in meditation. We returned to the hotel for breakfast.

We returned to the Mahabodhi Temple after breakfast and stayed for about three hours. The complex was much quieter with fewer pilgrims. Shantum showed us the temple and key spots all of which I had visited in 2017. What I enjoyed the time we sat under a bodhi tree at the southwestern corner of the Muchalinda Sarovar Holy Pond. No noise except the sound of wind blowing and moving leaves. Shantum talked about the Buddha’s enlightenment under the bodhi tree and we had time for meditation. I sat comfortably on concrete at the bottom of the tree enjoying my breathing with nothing on my mind. We returned to the hotel after 1 pm for lunch.

After lunch, Mirella and I had a short nap before setting off to Uruvela village where Sujata offered rice/milk to the ascetic Gotama. We first stopped in a plot of sangha land where Thay planted a bodhi tree seventeen years ago. Next we walked through the village which is tidy and clean to reach the expansive fields where the villagers grow padi and vegetables. From the field we could see the hills where the ascetic Gotama once lived and practiced in a cave. We were joined by a dozen of children who looked healthy and energetic. It was almost sunset when we reached the Sujata Stupa. Santosh’s family lives not far from the stupa and we had a warm reception meeting his mom, wife, sisters and children. We were served the rice/milk that the Buddha had received 2,600 years ago. His daughter sang for us and in return we sang songs of the Plum Village. Our amazing evening ended with us watching the full moon rising behind the fields.

February 14-16 Rajgir (Indo Hokke Hotel)

While a group went to meditate in Mahabodhi Temple at 5:30 am, Mirella and I slept in and took a leisure tuk-tuk temple hopping trip at 8am. There are at least 29 Buddhist temples and monasteries in Bodhgaya. We only had time to stop at the Great Buddha Statue (built by the Japanese), the Royal Bhutanese Monastery, Metta Buddharam Temple (Thailand) and Tergar Monastery (Tibetan). We were able to go inside the Bhutanese and Tibetan monasteries to appreciate their respective architectural and cultural style, as well as religious artefacts.

We left the hotel around 10 am and drove 12 km to the Pragbodhi Cave where Gotama Buddha lived as an ascetic while searching for a path to enlightenment. It was hot. After getting off the bus, we had to walk about 15 minutes to reach the caves on a steep cliffside. A large group of Bhutanese pilgrims whom we had met before at the Mahabodhi Temple was there. We had to queue to go into the small cave which surprisingly holds about a dozen people. We sat inside for guided meditation with Shantum for five minutes. It was about 1 pm when we departed for Rajgir which is 65km away.

Rajgir, “The City of Kings”, is an ancient city and university town. It was the capital of the Haryanka dynasty (established by King Bimbisara), Pradyota dynastry and Brihadratha dynasty and the powerful Mauryan Empire. There are still ruins of the ancient cyclopean wall surrounding Rajgir, capital of Kingdom of Magadha, which was the scene of many important events in the Buddha’s time. The Buddha had close relationship with King Bimbisara who built Venuvan (Bamboo Grove) for the Buddha and his sangha to spend their first rain retreat. The Buddha gave his teachings in Venuvan which was mentioned in many scriptures.

After lunch and a short rest, we proceeded to Venuvan. The sun was setting and the lights coming through the bamboo forests were enchanting. We set down meditating for a while before listening to Shantum’s stories. It got dark quickly and we had to leave. I loved watching the street scene at night with numerous food stalls. Though the hotel was not far from the town centre, Shantum advised us not to wander around at night on our own.

On February 13, we departed for Griddhakuta Peak (Vulture Peak) at 6am with packed breakfast in order to catch sunrise from the peak. I walked slowly and watched the gorgeous sunrise on our way to the peak. By the time we arrived at the Mulagandhakuti (the small courtyard where the Buddha sat to meditate and preached the dharma), most of the visitors were gone. The monastics performed a brief ritual in front of the Mulagandhakuti and the whole sangha bowed and sat together at this holy site in silence for a while together. We dispersed when other visitors arrived. I continued to sit and meditate close to the Mulagandhakuti before joining Shantum’s talk on the Buddha’s life and events at this location.

This was my second visit to Vulture Peak and I had was an amazing experience. I did not experience particular joy in 2017 as the platform was full of noisy tourists. We stayed briefly after reciting the Heart Sutra. I was then not a Buddhist and had little knowledge about the Buddha’s life and teachings and the importance and significance of this spot. This time, I sat in silence on the platform for a long time, bathing in the morning sun, gazing at the beautiful landscape below and mountains beyond, enjoying the tranquility. I could visualise the scene when the Buddha delivered the Lotus Sutra.

We had just over an hour’s free time till 11 am. I followed the path leading up to the Peace Stupa on the top of Bao Son Ratnagiri. The 400-m high stupa built by Japan in 1969, is one of the 80 Peace Stupa built around the world. I remembered I had taken the same path to the top in 2017. On the way back to the carpark, I took time to look for “the Stone House” (where the Buddha stayed and meditated), the Boar’s Cave, Ananda Cave, Sariputra Cave, Maudgalyayana meditation cave, and Saptapani Cave as these names made sense to me now. I walked slowly (owing to the hip problem) and mindfully: I was following the footsteps of the Buddha and walking with the Buddha.

It was about noon when we left the park to return to the hotel for lunch. We stopped at two archaeological sites. In the first site, we looked at a long and deep chariot wheel marks and some engraved characters on the ground. What language? There is no clear description. The second site was the remains of the Bimbisara jail which offers a beautiful view of Gridhakuta Hill. Ajatshatru, son of King Bimbisara, under the bad influence of Devadatta, imprisoned his father in this jail so that he could take over the kingship. King Bimbisara who died in jail, was said to be able to see Lord Buddha and hear his preaching from the jail.

We set off for Nalanda around 3:30pm. Established by emperor Kumaragupta I of the Gupta Empire around 427 CE, Nalanda was a great monastery in ancient and medieval Magadha and widely considered one of the greatest centres of learning in the ancient world for a thousand years till around 1400 CE. Nagarjuna, Dharmakirti, Asanga, Vasubandu, Silabhadra, Chandrakirti, Shantideva, and Xuanzang and Yiying from China, to name just a few most renowned Buddhist monks and scholars, were students or were associated with the faculty.

At its peak, Nalanda attracted scholars and some ten thousand students from near and far, with some travelling from China, Tibet, Korea and Central Asia. It was indisputably the scholarly centre of the Mahayana Buddhism world. It was destroyed by an army of the Mamluk dynasty in c 1202 CE and was finally abandoned around 1400 and forgotten till the 19th century. Systematic excavations conducted since 1915 have unearthed 11 monasteries and six brick temples arranged on grounds of 12 hectares in area. All monasteries are very similar in layout and general appearance. We had a short tour of Monastery 1, which is considered the oldest and the most important of the monastery group, passed by the Shariputra Stupa (Temple no 3) before sitting down to meditate and listen to Shantum’s talk. The sun was setting and we had to leave without having a chance to walk past Temple 12, 13 and 14. What a pity!

February 16 -17 Vaishali (The Vaishali Residency)

We had a relatively leisure day spending a wonderful afternoon time at the remains of ancient Kolhua Vaishali. This spot was significant: a monkey chief had offered a bowl of honey to Lord Buddha (the brick stupa was erected to commemorate this event), allowed nuns to the sangha for the first time, and announced his approaching nirvana. The imposing and iconic 11-metre high Asoka Pillar topped by a seated lion capital is the centerpiece of Kolhua Vaishali’s historical allure. Excavations have exposed three phases of construction of Kutagarshala which represents where Buddha used to stay during the rainy seasons spent at Vaishali. Beginning as a small chaitya during the Sunga-Kushan period, it was enlarged into a lofty temple during the Gupta period and was finally converted into a monastery. There is an impressive large tank measuring 65×35 metres with two bathing ghats. As this was the spot where nuns were allowed into the sangha for the first time, Shantum invited Sr Tuc Nghiem to share her feelings and thoughts. She was emotional and evocatively about the fortune and blessing to be a nun of the Plum Village. The four sisters had a picture together. Memorable and moving!

The sun just rose when we began walking mindfully from the hotel to the Buddha’s Relic Stupa, one of the eight original relic stupas built over the corporal remains of Buddha. According to Buddhist traditions, after attaining mahaparinirvana, his body was cremated by the Mallas of Kushinagar, the mortal remains were distributed among eight claimants including Licchavis of Vaishali, Ajatshatru, King of Magadha, Sakyas of Kapilavastu, Bulis of Alakappa, Koliyas of Ramagram, a Brahmin of Vethweep and Mallas of Pave and Kushinagar. The original mud stupa measuring 8.07 metres in diameter was subsequently raised and expanded to its present size with a 12-metre diameter. Excavations carried out in 1958 miraculously discovered the relic casket of stone partly filled with ashy earth besides a small conch two glass beads, a fragmentary piece of gold and a copper punch marked coin. We sat and meditation. I circumambulated three times before leaving. We returned to the hotel for breakfast before setting off.

February 17 am Kesariya

After a short drive from Vaishali, we arrived in Kesariya and stopped at the Buddhist Stupa, the largest stupa in India. It is believed this stupa was built in two phases (Sunga-Kushana and Gupta periods) at the spot where Buddha had offered alms bowl to the monks who followed when he departed from Vaishali after announcing his approaching nirvana. When we sat comfortably below a banyan tree, Shantum told the stories of the Kalamas living in this area at Buddha’s time and the Kalama Sutta which is described as Buddha’s “charter of free inquiry”, advocating for prudential and critical thinking and reasoning and avoiding fanaticism, bigotry, dogmatism and intolerance. When circumambulating the stupa, we saw plenty of kusa grass.. It is popular for pilgrims to use the grass to tie a knot and take home. We had a quick lunch at the restaurant nearby and drove onto Kushinagar.

February 17 – 19 Kushinagar (2 nights at Hotel Lotus Nikko)

We spent the whole morning at the Parinirvana Temple with a Stupa on the same platform and two sala trees in front of it. I visited the temple in 2017. Built by the Indian Government in 1956 as part of the commemoration of the 2,500th year of the Mahaparinirvana, it has a 6.1-metre long reclining Buddha image. This time, I sat sit inside the temple to contemplate for some ten minutes. When a large group of pilgrims arrived, I got up so that other could take my place. I circumambulated watching many devoted Cambodian pilgrims from the US spreading red robes over the image. We sat and meditated afterward. Then we broke into five sharing groups as before. The BIPOC group found a quiet path to sit. But as I had not bought my foldable stool and could not sit for an hour on the pavement, I left the group and found a tranquil spot and sat on a bench meditating and chanting the Buddha name. It was wonderful.

Kushinagar was the capital of the Mallas. In the late afternoon, we proceeded to see the excavated remains unearthed by Carlleyle in 1876 and later by Archaeological Survey of India between 1904 and 1912. They include the giant Ramabhar Stupa (the cremation place of Buddha), the Nirvana Temple on a raised platform surrounded by a group of monasteries on the western side, a group of small sized stupas with carved bricks and ornamental pilasters on the southern side, a large two tiered brick platform and smaller sized stupas on the eastern side and votive stupas and monasteries on the northern side. From here Shantum led us to the nearby Hiranyati River or better known as the Buddha Ghat where Buddha spent his last moments. Instead of taking the bus back to the hotel, I decided to walk. It was dark and I walked in the wrong direction for about five minutes. I turned back and was not scared. I had a most enjoyable walk for about 15 minutes before reaching the hotel.

February 19- 20 Sravasti (Hotel Lotus Nikko)

We sat off after breakfast and had a picnic lunch in an ancient site in Kapilavastu with the Piparahwa Stupa, one of the eight original stupas with a portion of Buddha’s ashes given to the Sakya clan. This site was excavated by William Claxton Peppe, A British engineer in 1896-97 who discovered a large stone coffer after digging through 18 feet of solid brickwork which contained five smaller vases containing bone fragments, gold ornaments and intricately fashioned jewelry. These reliquaries together held the largest group of precious offerings ever recorded in a single deposit: around 1,800 gemstones and semi-precious stones, rock crystals, pearls, coral, sheet gold and silver etc. The site is serene and beautiful with water lilies booming in a large pond. We sat down in a mango grove facing the stupa, had picnic lunch and listened to Shantum’s account of Buddha’s life. Meditated in this special place is a blessing.

We had a long drive to Sravasti. We had two nice surprises during the long journey. First we saw a large group of beautiful sarus cranes by the road side before sunset. Second, we had a nice stop in a Thai temple which offered pilgrims nice ginger tea and noodles!

February 19 – 21 Sravasti (Lotus Nikko)

When arriving at the hotel in Sravasti, we were thrilled when Br Phap Dung announced a Five Mindfulness Trainings transmission ceremony would be held in the Jetavana Grove the next day. I took refuge in the Three Gems in July 2023 followed by a two-week winter retreat in Hong Kong in end 2023 and another two week winter retreat in Plum Village last November. Since I have deepened my faith and understanding of the profound teachings of the Buddha, I felt ready for undertaking formally the Five Mindfulness Trainings. So I signed up. I guessed about some fifteen pilgrims would take part in the ceremony.

Map of Jetavana Grove Historical Park

Sravasti, close to today’s Nepalese border, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala and the place where the Buddha lived most after his enlightenment. It was home of King Prasenajit, the royal patron of the Buddha and home of Anathapindada, the richest early donor for the Buddha. After meeting the Buddha in the Venuvana in Rajgir, he bought the land of the Jetavana Grove with gold and offered it to the Buddha. It is believed to be where the Buddha taught many of his sutras: 871 sutras in the four Nikayas of Buddhist Canons are based in Sravasti. The Buddha converted many famous disciples and performed the “Sravasti miracles”. It was a prosperous area from the time of the Buddha (c 5th century BCE) to at least 12th century CE. The site, one of the most famous monasteries in Buddhist history, was rediscovered by a team of British and Indian archaeologists in late 19th-century with excavations through the 1990s.

After breakfast on February 20, we walked mindfully to Jetavana Grove (about 1.5 km) which is now a historical park with remains of many ancient buildings including Gandhakuti (Buddha’s hut), Kosambakuti, stupas and the Anandabodhi Tree (the second-holiest tree of Buddhism). As soon as I entered the complex, I felt something special about this atmospheric holy place: morning rays shining through mature trees and bamboo groves fell on the blackish and reddish brick remains. We walked past the Anandabodhi Trees with pilgrims from Sri Lankan sitting under it. Shantum found a wonderful place under bodhi trees not far from Temples 17 and 18. As usual, we sat listening to his wonderful account of the Buddha’s life and special events taking place here. When I closed my eyes meditating, I had a feeling of deja vu: I had been here before! I was moved and moist came over my eyes: I have arrived; I am home.

The ceremony was held in this most befitting and beautiful setting. The Five Mindfulness Trainings represent the Buddhist vision for a global spirituality and ethic. They are concrete expression of the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. They encompass “Reverence For Life, True Happiness, True Love, Loving Speech and Deep Listening and Nourishment and Healing“. The ceremony was simple and dignified. One participant was invited to recite one practice; a monastic asked those who had signed up whether they would follow the practice and we replied “yes, I do”. At the end, each of us was called to collect a certificate with our dharma name. Mine is Sacred Way of the Source. I was elated feeling tranquil and peaceful. I believe I have found the Path.

In the afternoon, we visited the Angulimala Stupa and the Vishakha Palace. Angulimala was a dreaded dacoit who wore a necklace of fingers that were chopped from his victims. Appearing at his door when Angulimala was about to kill his mother, the Buddha stopped him and later turned him into a disciple. His transformation is seen as the example par excellence of the redemptive power of the Buddha’s teaching and his skill as a teacher. Angulimala is seen by Buddhists as the ‘patron saint’ of childbirth and is associated with fertility in South and Southeast Asia. Vishakha, the chief female patron of the Buddha, founded the temple of Migaranatupasada which together with the monastery in Jetavana Monastery are considered the two most important temples in the time of Gautama Buddha.

February 21-22 Lucknow (Holiday Inn)

Today was the last day of the pilgrimage. After breakfast, I walked on my own and met up with the group at the Jetavana Grove at 9:30am. We stayed comfortably in the same cool tranquil spot under the bodhi trees meditating before sharing our feelings and thoughts. The three – hour sharing was moving. Shantum had suggested us to reflect on the journey and pilgrimage and write a poem. Some shared their beautiful poems while other talked emotionally about their thoughts and feelings. I was very moved. I told my friends that I first visited India in 1978 and this pilgrimage was totally different from the one in 2017. As a Buddhist, I found this pilgrimage a spiritual journey instead of a tourist trail. While sitting at this particular spot the day before, I felt instinctively that I had been here before and ready for taking the transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings (Five Precepts). After this pilgrimage, I had even greater faith in the Buddha’s teachings and would practice more diligently. I planned to return in future. The sangha gave us the best souvenir when they sang for us with Sr. Trai Neighm playing the violin. After lunch, we sat off at 3pm heading for Lucknow (about 160km distance). We arrive around 8 pm.

February 22 – Delhi – Hong Kong

Today, about half of the group including myself would end our journey in Delhi and return home. The remaining half including my roommate Mirella would be heading to Agra and depart on February 23. A small group would go onto visit Ajanta and Ellora caves on February 24 – 26. We had an emotional farewell: we embraced each other, took plenty of pictures and sang heartily for the last time before boarding our bus for the Lucknow airport. It was noon when I landed in Delhi. As my flight to Hong Kong would not be leaving till 11 pm, I had at least five hours for a whirlwind visit of the capital. I originally planned to store my luggage in the airport and took the metro for the first time. Unfortunately the luggage storage facility which looks limited was full(!). I therefore took a taxi for 2,600 rupees for five hours and invited another group member to join. As it was Sunday, the traffic was generally not too bad. The driver took us on a tour first to the Indian Gate driving through nice green and posh districts including the Presidential Palace. Then we had a nice vegetarian lunch near the Indian Gate before heading to the famous Lotus Temple, Baha’i House of Worship. It was close to 5 pm and we had to return to the airport. The driver took me to a local commercial area near the airport where I bought a few cheap Indian cotton tops. I checked in after 7pm. As usual the Delhi airport is hectic: I took over an hour to check in and got through security and immigration, and another half an hour to get into a paid-lounge. Delhi airport 2025, though much better than the one in 1975, still has a lot to catch up. Anyway, I had an enjoyable and wonderful afternoon touring around the capital, departed on time and was back in HK before 7 am on February 23.

Remarks

Categories: My Indian Sub-continent trips | Comments Off on India 2 February 8 – 22, 2025

India (1) 28/1-22/2/2025

Why India?

Pilgrimage is the primary purpose of this trip: I have joined “The Footsteps of the Buddha” organised by the Plum Village from 9 to 22 February. Though I was in Ladakh from August 5 to 22, 2013 visiting Leh and Alchi, and taking a 10-day trekking tour from Chilling to Stok, I decide to take a private tailor-made 11-day snow leopard tour before the pilgrimage.

Ladakh 29/1-8/2

I took a direct Cathay Pacific flight and arrived in Delhi about 10 pm on 28 January. By the time I checked in the over-priced Holiday Inn Express inside Terminal 3, it was about 11:30pm. After a few hours’ sleep, I checked in again shortly after 5:30am on 29 January (First Day of the Chinese New Year of the Snake) in Terminal 3 for Leh, Ladakh for an Indian Air flight at 8:20am. Then I went through the security which was laborious and time-consuming without realising I had been put me on the 6:50am flight. I only discovered the boarding time when taking a casual look at my boarding pass. Gate 31 B was far away and I thought I would not make it. I walked at full speed and luckily reached the gate around 6:20am. I was the last passenger to board! The check-in staff should have advised me that they had put me on an earlier flight!

I arrived an hour and a half early in Leh. It was cold (-2 C) and grey. As my sim card did not work, I asked a ground staff at the airport called Ali, my driver who took me to the Dragon Hotel. There were few visitors in Leh in winter. The hotel kindly let me check in early. During my first visit to Leh in 2013, I had been sick for the first two days (possibly as a result of altitude sickness). Hence I decided to spend a lazy day resting in a spacious and comfortable room and drank plenty of water. It worked: I felt good and did not suffer altitude sickness.

Javeed of DreamLadakh came to see me in the afternoon to discuss my travel plan. Instead of camping, I asked for home-stay with toilet facilities. After showing him my website and places I had visited including the Shanti Stupa, Namgyal Tsemo Gompa, Leh Palace and Hemis Monastery, Alchi, and a 11-day Markha Valley trek in 2013, Javeed suggested a visit the Thiksey Monastery the following day to watch the puja ceremony before leaving on 31 January.

30 January Thiksey Monastery and Hemis Monastery

Ali picked me up at 7 am and I arrived at the 12-storey Thiksey Monastery shortly after 7:30 am. The largest monastery of the Gelug School in central Ladakh, the monastery established by Palden Zangpo in the mid 15th century is noted for its resemblance to the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It houses many items of Buddhist art such as stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings and swords. Inside the Maitreya Temple installed in 1970 to commemorate the visit of Dalai Lama to the monastery, it contains a 15-metre high statue of Maitreya, the largest of such statue in Ladakh.

A Puja is a prayer seeking Buddhas for protection and guidance. Just before 8 am, a monk started to blow a long horn outside the temple below the main courtyard. Half a dozen monks arrived followed by four novices. While the monks chanted the novices served butter tea and tsampa. I sat in a corner listening to the chanting. A novice kindly served me butter tea. The ceremony lasted for an hour. After the ceremony, I walked to the main courtyard and found only the Maitreya Temple open. Anyway I walked around, saw the old library and had fabulous panoramic views.

My second stop was Hemis Monastery of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage. Though I visited it in 2013, I was happy to return. We stopped for a cup of hot marsala chai (chai) before crossing the Indus River. The country side covered in snow was most beautiful and serene. It was after 12:30pm when I reached the monastery. Memories returned when I stood in the majestic central court. Last time, I visited the museum which has a rich collection. But it is closed in winter. I was disappointed to find all halls closed. Luckily I met a monk who invited me to lunch in the kitchen. Though I was not hungry, I accepted the invitation with gratitude as I could take a glimpse of monastic life. I had rice and potatoes. After lunch, another monk told a novice to open some halls for me and two local women. As a result, I was able to go into the Tara Temple and the main Buddha Hall. A blessing indeed. I was back in the hotel for a late lunch after 3 pm.

January 31 – February 1 Snow Leopard in Rumbak Valley

Javeed came to the hotel introducing me to a team of four who would accompany me for the next seven days. Sonam was my guide assisted by an assistant and a chef and Ali was the driver. I set off after 10 am from Leh and Sonam said we would go to Rumbak which was not mentioned in the original itinerary. I was taken by surprise but I trusted they knew best. Perhaps they had heard recent sighting in Rumba.

We crossed the Indus River and drove about an hour and a half to reach our destination. On the way, we saw two mountain goats and met a young hiker who told us he had spent four nights in Rumbak and had seen snow leopards on four occasions. Landscape and rugged terrain of Ladakh are stunning and breathtaking. After a scenic drive through a narrow gorge, we reached Rumbak valley (just over 40 km from Leh) lying within Hemis National Park. The region is known for a rich diversity of wildlife ranging from snow leopards to Tibetan wolves, blue sheep, Asiatic ibex, Ladakh urial and birds. I was captivated by the soaring snow-capped mountains, farmland covered in snow, glacier valley, leafless trees, frozen rivers and iconic local architectures.

Once we entered the valley, we saw a group of 20 -30 tourists and guides on a small plateau with telescopes. Wow, a snow leopard was spotted in the morning near a mountain top in a distance. It was resting and everyone watched eagerly for it to wake up. Sonam set up a telescope while I also used my own binoculars for spotting. It was sunny but freezing and windy. I felt cold even after having a few cups of tea. I discovered a stylish lodge nearby which is called the Rumbak Wildlife Lodge. I was grateful it allowed me to use its toilet so that I had a chance to go inside.

After waiting for an hour or so, we were all ready for lunch. Ali drove us to the village (3960m above sea level) where we stayed in a typical mud house. Sonam said the plan was to stay here for seven nights. I was surprised as I was supposed to visit and stay in the other side of the Indus River. Anyway I trusted Javeed and Sonam knew the best places for spotting snow leopard. I was shown my room on the top of the building with full views of the narrow valley and snow-capped mountains.

We set off after 3:30pm. While approaching the plateau, we could sense the excitement and motion as all telescopes were pointed at the same direction. Unfortunately I walked slowly and by the time I reached the telescope, everyone was yelling and watching the snow leopard walking towards the ridge. I was struggling. Where was it? I could not find it through my binoculars. Eventually I watched it walking steadily and swiftly towards the ridge through Sonam’s telescope. He took a video for me. Within a second, it disappeared! I was excited to spot a snow leopard on the first day. It was however surreal, too lucky to spot it though the moment was too short and too fast! I was not prepared, too slow and unskillful in spotting.

Soon, after the snow leopard, experienced spotters found a lynx on a slope at the far end of a snow-capped mountain. Incredible! We spent the next half an hour watching the lynx sitting and walking around before disappearing in a distance. We also spotted two small hares. These spotters are incredible! It soon got dark and cold. We returned to the homestay and had dinner. I settled in my bed shortly after 8pm. My room was freezing despite the fire. I had a slight headache and I checked my oxygen level and heart beat throughout the night. On top of my own down sleeping bag, I covered myself with a quilt and blanket. The worst experience was to get out of the sleeping bag, get dressed and walk to the toilet outdoor. I had drunk too much water and got up a couple of times. As a result, I had hardly slept.

Owing to a sleepless night, I did not feel energetic to get up for breakfast at 8 am. The rising sun began to warm up my room. The water frozen in the bucket beside my bed began to thaw. I did nothing but curled up in my warm and comfortable sleeping bag. Ali and Sonam had gone out spotting and did not return till 10 am. We decided to go out after lunch so that I could have more rest.

After lunch, we drove to the other side of the valley and reached Yurutse which has only one house. We had a great time. The scenery was beautiful. We saw a large group of blue sheep and yaks, and a few hares. We were surprised to find half a dozen of ibex on a slope at the farthest end of a mountain range. In order to avoid getting up to go to the toilet, I stopped drinking after 6 pm. Knowing my body conditions, I decided to leave the following day as I needed better accommodation with proper toilet facilities. Sonam called Javeed who noted my condition and agreed I should return to Leh first.

February 2 – 6 Leh – Likir – Hemis Shukpachan – Tingmosgang – Leh

February 2– I was in better condition after a decent sleep. After breakfast, we set off and visited a nearby village Rumchung before reaching Leh in early afternoon. This photogenic village by a stream has several well-built and maintained houses. The stream was frozen and a walking path covered with yellow and golden leaves was lined with tall trees. We saw half a dozen cows lying in the sun. The valley was tranquil and beautiful. The four guarding angels walked on the frozen stream and posed for photos. We had a great time. When I was back in Leh, I had a late lunch and spent the rest of the day resting in my cosy room.

February 3– We set off after 11 am. The plan was to follow the original itinerary to explore the right side of the Indus River. We followed the Ladakh Highway and stopped at Sangam point which offers an excellent views of the confluence of Indus River and its tributary Zankar River. Then we had a long chai stop at Nimu. Soon we were off the highway and took the side road to Likir Monastery. Located at an elevation of 3700m elevation and 52 km west of Leh and established in 1065 by Lama Duwang of the Gelugpa sect, it has two assembly halls. The main hall contains the statues of Bodhisattva, Amitabha, Sakyamuni, Maitreya and Tsong Khapa (founder of the Gelugpa sect of Buddhism). There are impressive paintings of Confessional Buddhas and Sakyamuni on the walls. Sitting on the roof is a 23m-high gilded gold statue of Maitreya completed in 1999.

We continued driving through Sham Valley passing by Saspochey and Yangthang before reaching the Disket Guest House in Hemis Shukpachan, a largest village with lots of farmland surrounded by soaring mountains on all sides. The guesthouse run by a lovely couple of 76 and 64 is remarkably clean with nice carpets covering the entire floor. I was impressed by my room which had an electric heater and attached bathroom with toilet.

I spent the afternoon drinking butter tea and reading sutra in the sitting/dining room cum kitchen. Seven Americans arrived after 4 pm. We all sat peacefully in this cosy room reading and having dinner prepared by our own cook. I slept well as the heater kept the room warm. I had a flask of hot water to wash my face and feet as well as a hot water bottle to keep me warm. Above all, I could get up to go to the toilet without problem. Perfect!

February 4– We explored the area around Hemis Shukpachan for the next two days. The Americans and I both spent the morning strolling leisurely on a small plateau with commanding views of the Zankar and Ladakh mountain ranges, the Pink Mountain and the Sham Valley trek trail. Just before lunch, we also discovered a small group of blue sheep on the top part of a steep mountain slope. I had a delicious lunch with soup and chicken fried rice prepared by my chef. I watched the blue sheep for a while after lunch. Then we returned to the guest house and I continued to drink chai while reading scriptures. I had a wonderful relaxing afternoon. The experienced guides predicted snow was coming. The guide of the American group invited my group to join them for dinner the next day. We accepted with pleasure and gratitude.

February 5– A white world was awaiting me. Snow had transformed the landscape and scenery: the village was totally white and unworldly serene. I asked Ali and Sonam to return to the same plateau. The Pink Mountain had disappeared. Snow had miraculously softened the rugged rocky slopes of the Ladakh mountain range. Then we discovered a large group of ibex totaling 20-30 and some blue sheep grazing on lower slopes. We watched enthusiastically for over an hour. Then I asked Ali to drive around and we turned back at the end of the tarmac road while Sonam tried to walk to the bottom of the slope to get a closer look of the ibex. It was getting cold and windy and we returned to the guesthouse early.

I had momo (dumpling) for lunch. After having a couple of momo, I did not feel well. It might be too heavy for my stomach. I returned for a rest in my room. Singing from the dining hall woke me up. When I walked in, I discovered my American friends Emma, Sam, and Emma’s sister in full colourful Ladakhi costume sitting in the middle of the room. What was going on? Their guide performed some form of ritual and their chef brought in a beautiful cake for Sam to cut. Oh, it was an engagement ceremony of Emma and Sam conducted in Ladakhi tradition. They served all guests whisky before dinner. Alas, I suddenly had a dummy problem and I lost appetite. I could hardly eat and a wave of nausea came over. The party went on with the locals dancing and singing to congratulate the couple. I felt miserable and left the party to return to my room. Fortunately, I managed to sleep and recovered 80% the next day. But my stomach felt funny for the next few days. I decided to return to Leh as I would like a hot shower and proper rest especially with an upset stomach.

February 6– I told Sonam my decision to return to Leh and my willingness to pay for the hotel myself (5000 rupees). The morning was beautiful with a clear blue sky. I felt energetic and walked up to look at the golden Buddha statue overlooking the valley. Majestic indeed!

After saying goodbye to my hosts, we drove to Ang and finally reached Tingmosgang (92 km west of Leh) which was built by Ladakhi king Drag-pa-Bum as his capital in the 15th century. This lineage still lives on in the Stok Palace today. We first visited the monastery in the village. Several ruins of the palace / fortress on a ridge are picturesque. Inside the monastery, we we saw a precious self-originated image of Avalokitesvara from Kamrup that was brought and installed inside the castle in the 17th century. The temple with a 3-metre high statue of Maitreya was closed.

But the more impressive one is Tserkamo Monastery founded some 800 years ago located at the end of a small valley nearby. There was no tourist. We were thrilled to find a dozen of Ladakh Urial across the river on the other side of the valley. There were also some blue sheep. We were extremely lucky to see such a large group of urial. We set up the telescope, took plenty of photos and watched them for over half an hour with a cup of chai in our hand. We however missed an excellent opportunity to observe them drinking in the river. As soon as we started the engine of the vehicle, they flee away. Ali took the highway from Nurla back to Leh. We stopped by the roadside for lunch. I had a instant Maggie noodle that is nothing compared with the instant noodles I have in Hong Kong!

I was back in Dragon Hotel before 4 pm. After having a fried rice for late lunch/ early dinner, and a hot shower, I felt contented and had a good sleep.

February 7 – 8 Leh

February 7– The only place I planned to visit before leaving was the Khardungla Pass (5359m) nestling in the Karakoram Range. It is about 40km from Leh. Luckily the steep road is now well-paved and efficiently cleared off snow for vehicles to drive through. We took about two hours to reach the pass as we had a lovely photo stop on the way. The temperature plunged to -16 C: after taking a few photos, I returned to the car and Ali happily started to descent. We met Javeed for lunch before I was dropped off in my hotel. I spent an hour strolling in the commercial centre of Leh which has been enlarged and lined with more shops. I passed by a new hotel called Chospa which is modern and beautifully designed. I wished I had discovered it earlier so that I could have stayed there instead of Dragon Hotel when I had to pay for a night myself.

February 8 – Ali drove me to the airport at 10 am for my flight at noon. The Air Indian flight was delayed for over half an hour. Anyway I landed safely in Delhi around 2:30pm.

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Categories: My Indian Sub-continent trips | Comments Off on India (1) 28/1-22/2/2025

Saudi Arabia 17/12/24 -3/1/25 (2)

Day 7: 26 December -Dadan & Jabal Ikmah – Medina

We had an early start at 6:30 am and arrived at the visitor centre at Dadan to join a group guided tour by 8 am. Dadan was therefore the capital city of the Kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan. Some 2,600 years ago, the oasis in the AlUlva valley hosted the growth of Dadan with a thriving economy based on farming and long-distance trade. With trade came new ideas, new expressions in art, and new ways of writing. Dadan developed its own writing system. Today, thousands of inscriptions survive here. Dadan was invaded by Nabonidus, king of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. At some point around 2,500 years ago, control of Dadan shifted to the kings of the tribe of Lihyan who ruled the region for several centuries.

I saw the Lihyanite Colossal statue from Dadan at the visitor centre and learned about the civilisations and trade route in the region and on Dadan. I then went out to look with the aid of a telescope at some 2000-year-old tombs cut into red-rock cliffs in a distance. Then we took a bus to a vast ruin that was once an urban centre with ongoing excavations and investigations. I am sure more information about Dadan and the region would be revealed in future.

Then we drove about ten minutes to the other side of the valley. We walked on a boardwalk to Jabal Ikmah, which served as a destination for practising religious rituals and offering sacrifices. It is also called an “open-air library” as it has approximately 300 inscriptions engraved into the mountain’s wall during the Dadanite and Lihyanite civilisations. The inscriptions, rock art and petroglyphs are on display in a narrow and atmospheric desert canyon.

After Jabal Ikmah, we drove over four hours through the desert before reaching Medina, the second holiest city in Islam, for a nice buffet lunch next to the Prophet’s Mosque. It was the second mosque established by Muhammad in 623 CE after the Quba Mosque. Once we arrived in Medina, I and the other three ladies had to put on the abaya and covered our head. After lunch, we walked to the Mosque which has many domes and ten minarets standing at 105m. It has a capacity for 1 million worshippers.

Originally the mosque was an open-air building serving as a community centre, a court of law and a religious school. It has been subsequently expanded. Today it features sliding domes and retractable umbrella-like canopies designed by the German Muslim architect Mahmoud Bodo Rasch, The total area covered is 143,000 sq meters. The most notable feature is the Green Dome where the tomb of the Prophet is located: Many pilgrims who perform Hajj also go to Medina to visit the Green Dome. As only Muslims are allowed to enter these mosques, we spent half an hour outside the Green Gate to take a glimpse of the garden of paradise filled with devotees. Unfortunately I left my phone in the minibus and was unable to take photos to capture the mood of the pilgrims and the holy mosque.

Before sunset, Fatmah took us to Mount Uhud to see the Uhud Martyr’s Square, Shuhada Mosque completed in 2017 and the Cemetery where 70 companions of the Prophet killed during the Battle of Uhud, were buried. The mosque is an important site in Islamic history as it tells the story of the Battle that took place during the third Hijri year when the army of the Quraysh tribe and its allies went to Medina to kill Muslims. (Hijri year is the era used in the Islamic New Year in which Mohammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib (now Medina). We had a nice sunset view of the holy city from the Archer’s Hill.

Day 8: 27 December – Medina – Train to Jeddah

We spent a morning in Medina before taking a high-speed train to Jeddah-Mecca. Fatmah took us on a 3-km walk from the edge of the Prophet’s Mosque to the Quba Mosque, the first mosque built by the Prophet and the world’s first mosque. Its first stone is said to have been laid by the Prophet with the structure completed by his companions. The new buildings seen today was constructed in the 1980s. As non-Muslims, we could only stay outside to listen to the Imam’s calling around noon time.

Our second stop was the Hejaz Railway terminal which is under restoration. This railway running from Damascus to Medina was 1320-km long and the journey took five days. The project was ordered by Sultan Abdul Hamid II in March 1900 with the railway running in 1908. But it was effectively abandoned by 1920. After having a nice Lebanese lunch, we went to the modern train station to take a 2-hour train to Jeddah.

The train was full of pilgrims heading to Mecca. We arrived in Jeddah around 4 pm. We were dropped off at the enormous Prince Abdulmajeed Roundabout and had a leisure stroll in the Al Hamra’a Corniche Park, passing by the Ritz-Carlton Jeddah and InterContinental Jeddah before taking a ride to our hotel near the Jeddah Beach. The park was full of locals as it was a Friday. The atmosphere was relax and cheerful: the whole family would sit on a mattress enjoying tea/coffee and eat while kids were playing on the grass. Some would place their folding chairs right by the rail next to the water watching the King’s Fahd’s Fountain, the world’s tallest fountain at 312 m built in 1985. The base of the fountain is in the form of a large mabkhara, an incense burner that symbolises Arabian culture. The people were friendly and a few ladies invited me to join them to drink coffee. As I walked slowly, the group had to slow down. At the end, the short walk took an hour! I was tired and ready for bed once we got to the hotel.

Day 9: 28 December – Jeddah & Al-Balad

We spent the whole day in Jeddah, SA’s second largest city with a population of 3.5 million on the Red Sea. Jeddah has been a port and trading city for centuries and above all the main entry point either by sea or air, for pilgrims making the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. The Jeddah Corniche (waterfront area) stretching for some 30 km is full of hotels, beaches and resorts. Al-Balad, the old city and a World Heritage Site is a top attraction.

We began our day with a visit to Al Taybat Museum with an area of over 10000 sq meters housing 12 buildings with 300 rooms. The buildings are constructed in the traditional Hijazi style. Founded by Abdul Raouf Hassan Kahlil and taking 15 years to build, the museum with more than 60000 historically significant items from both SA and various Middle Eastern countries, showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Saudi civilisation. We spent about two hours there. But it was impossible to see even the major exhibits. Then we visited the Central Fish Market. Five of us brought and shared a 2-kg garoupa. While the fish was being prepared, we went to watch auctions of the catch of the day in a small corner outside the covered market.

After lunch, we went to Al-Balad,the historic centre of Jeddah founded in the 7th century. Traditional Hijazi houses in Al-Balad are characterized by their wooden Roshan windows and balconies and it was once enclosed with defensive walls which were torn down in the 1940s. Jeddah became wealthier due to the oil boom in the 1970s and 1980s and many Jeddawis moved away from Al-Balad. Historical preservation efforts began in 1970s and it became a World Heritage Site in 2014. It is divided into different districts with many historical buildings and houses. We entered the old city through the Makkah Gate and explored the historic district for three hours. We spent time at shops selling gold and incense, visited the Matbouli Museum, Nassif House Museum, Baeshen Museum, Jokhdar Historic House which is now a hotel and Shafee Mosque. I enjoyed a nice cup of mint tea on the rooftop of the Historical Night Cafe. We exited the old city from the Old Jeddah Gate. The old district which is undergoing restoration and renovation in line with Saudi Vision 2030, will likely be regenerated into an interesting area through art, history, tourist and boutique hotel developments.

Day 10: 29 December – Thee Ain Heritage Village – Al Bahah

Today we headed south to visit Thee Ain (1985m above sea level) in the Baha Region which is about 400 km from Jeddah. We took the Red Sea route (Route 5) and arrived after 1 pm. We began our visit at a well-designed museum with good illustrations and presentation. Then we had a guided tour in the village which houses were built from polished stones and dating back to the 8th century. Built on the Madamek wall system and the walls are approximately 7- to 90 cm thick, it consists of 49 houses and a mosque adjacent to a river. Thee Ain is now under restoration with the aim of turning it into a tourist site.

After visiting a few houses and the mosque, we had a picnic sampling simple but most delicious local dishes (chicken and fresh vegetables) prepared by our guide. Then we had a short walk to see the eye of the spring that provides water for farming in the area which is known for its agricultural crops such as bananas, basil, lemon and palm trees. Then we had to leave without a chance to hike to the top. Ivan did not join our walk and went to the top by himself.

We had to drive some 30 km along the King Fahd Road to reach our hotel in Al Bahah (2155m elevation) which is a cloud city. This section of the road is considered an absolute jewel of engineering, twisting and turning through switchbacks and tunnels (26 in total) and several aqueducts. There are several viewpoints. Unfortunately it was getting dark and we did not stop till we reach the Raghadan Forest Park just in time to see the last sunset ray over the lowland below us. The next moment, the whole area was cloaked in mist! An incredible experience in this cloud city. We had a nice stay at the Cloud City Hotel. Today we drove about 430km!

Day 11: 30 December – Al Malad Castle – 3-km Hike to Al Touf Village Home Stay

The highlight today was the visit to Al Malad Castle (Twin Fortresses) a historical landmark in Al Bahah. The castle was built by two brothers four centuries ago for military purposes. Mohammed, the charismatic chief of the tribe showed us around the castle and the museum which has wonderful collections. We spent the whole morning enjoying his company and the panoramic views from the castle. I was very impressed by Mohammed, his pride of his heritage and tradition, and took many photos.

Then we drove about 250km along Albaha Abha Road. The mountain views are impressive too. Ali La Garni, owner of the home – stay, met us by the road side and we walked about three kilometres through farm lands before reaching Al Touf Village which is a historic village with stone houses. It is a crescent-shaped settlement in the Al Shaaf area precarious at the edge of a cliff. Many of the houses in the village have been abandoned as the owners moved to new houses. He has renovated his own house making into a fairly nice place and receives both local and overseas tourists. We had local food and I particularly liked the bread made with wheat Ali Al Garni grew himself! We also visited a small local museum in the village.

Day 12: 31 December – Balijurashi – Taif – Jeddah

I got up early and walked around the village which was veiled in mist. After a hearty breakfast, we set off on a long drive back to Jeddah with a stop in Balijurashi to visit another abandoned village and a brief lunch stop in Taif before reaching Jeddah around 8 pm. I said good-bye to those who would be leaving early the next day. It was New Year Eve. But there was no celebration where we stayed. I went to bed early as I had a long tiring day.

Day 13: 1 January 2025 End of Tour

We had a late breakfast. After saying good-bye to Susan and Fatmah who would be leaving Jeddah in the afternoon, we checked out and moved to Sheraton Jeddah for two more nights on our own as we would like to snorkel. It was hot in the afternoon and we spent some time at the Red Sea Mall not too far from Sheraton.

2 January: Snorkeling and Dining. We went to a private resort/club associated with Sheraton for snorkeling and had to pay SAR 129 pp. Red Sea is famous for its marine life: I have had an amazing time snorkeling off a beach in Hurghada Egypt. Hence I found the short stretch of rocks with some corals and fish off the resort totally unimpressive. I suppose there are better sites on a boat trip. Anyway, it is always nice to check out what is around! In the afternoon, we went to Waldorf Astoria close to Sheraton for high tea. This posh opulent hotel with 46 suites is like a palace (the staff told us it was built by a prince). But the high tea was cheap but so-so. At first we wanted to go to Al Rahmah Mosque (Floating Mosque) to watch sunset. But as the service was very slow, we did not have enough time to take a taxi to the mosque. Instead, we rushed to the promenade opposite Waldorf and were lucky to see the setting sun for a few minutes before it disappeared below the horizon. Then we decided to return Waldorf to try its Italian restaurant. As we were not hungry we shared a starter (pan-fried scallop) and a main course (linguine). The meal cost less than SAR 300 for two persons. Incredibly cheap for the quality of food and a posh hotel!

3 January: Going Home. I would fly with Ethiopia Airlines to HK around 3 :30pm on 3 January. So Kylie and I decided to visit the famous Rahmah Mosque. We took Uber to the marina and walked to the mosque. As it was Friday, it was closed and we could only see it from the outside. It was boiling even early in the morning. We planned to walk back to Sheraton which is just over 4 km. However it was too hot and we finally took Uber for the last 1.5km. Then I took Uber (SAR40) to the airport just before noon and was dropped off at the international airport. Though I mentioned again and again to the driver that it was airport N (I showed him my ticket), he dropped me off in the new airport. N actually stands for the North airport which is an old one, locally known as the Hajj Airport. Taxi is very expensive and the locals told me to get Uber. But without internet, it was impossible to book. Finally I just got hold of an “Uber” like car and bargained with the driver. I eventually paid SAR 50 to go to the Hajj Airport! It was quite an experience! Fortunately, I had a safe flight with a 6-hour stop-over in Addis Ababa. I was back in Hong Kong safe and sound at 2 pm on 4 January safe and sound!

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Categories: My Middle East / Near East / Central Asia trips | Comments Off on Saudi Arabia 17/12/24 -3/1/25 (2)

Saudi Arabia 17/12/24 -3/1/25 (1)

Why Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia which has been open to foreign tourists since 2019, was one of the few Islamic countries that I had not visited in the Middle East. I joined a 13-day Saudia Arabia Explore (20/12/2024 to 1/1/2025) offered by Exodus Travel that I have travelled with many times. I flew from Bergen, Norway to Riyadh on 17 December, met up with Kylie, a friend who joined the same tour on 19 December and the guide Fatmah and five travellers from the UK on 21 December. At the end of the tour, Kylie and I stayed on for two more nights as we would like to snorkel in the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia (SA), officially known the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is located in the centre of the Middle East overing the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula. With the world’s second largest oil reserve and fourth largest natural gas reserve, an area of 2,150, sq km and a population of 37 million, SA is an important regional power. The area was the site of several ancient cultures and civilization with the earliest traces of human activity outside Africa: human habitation in the peninsula dated back to about 125,000 years ago. Rich in cultural heritage with many archeological sites yet to be fully explored, SA boasts eight World Heritage Sites.

The Arabs, also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group that have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years. According to the Abrahamic tradition, Arabs are descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael. Before the advent of Islam, much of today’s SA was populated by nomadic pastoral tribal societies apart from trading settlements such as Mecca and Medina. Islamic prophet Muhmmad (c.570-8 June 632 CE) united the population of the Arabian Peninsula and created a Islamic religious polity. Arab dynasties originating from modern-day SA founded the Rashidun (632-661), Umayyad (661-750), Abbasid (750-1517), and Fatimid (909-1171) caliphates and numerous dynasties in Asia, Africa and Europe. Mecca and Medina, both located inside SA, are the two holiest cities in Islam. The Saudi royal family known as the Al Saud can be traced back to emirate of Diriyah dating 1727 and today’s SA was founded by King Abulaziz in 1932 when he united the regions of Hejaz, Najd, Al-Ahsa and ‘Asir. Islam is the state religion and Arabic is the official language.

Riyadh 17- 19 December 2024

I arrived in Riyadh around 11 pm. As I had obtained an e-visa, I went through the immigration quickly. By around 11:30pm, I was able to order an Uber using the free wifi from the airport (A friend could not find me a SIM card for SA in HK and I planned to get one when I got to Riyadh). The car boarding area was dark and crowded. By mistake, I got into a wrong car and the driver did not speak English nor the way to the Women Compound behind the Olaya Street. Both the driver and I did not have wifi and could not check Google map. I told him to call the receptionist of the Woman Compound who spoke English. I finally arrived around 12:30 am on 18 December. When he asked me to pay, I refused believing I had already been charged SAR102 when booking an Uber. When I realised my mistake, I paid him SAR130 as he was an honest person and had a hard time finding his way. He did not take credit card, and the receptionist kindly lent me the money. What an experience!

For the next two days, I hardly did anything and moved beyond the Olaya Street. First, I am getting old and walk very slowly with my hip problem. Second, I had trouble in getting a local SIM card. As a result, I had to stay in the compound whenever I wanted to stay online. The receptionist told me to take uber to a mall to get a card. Actually, there are two outlets near the compound that I could have got a card. I discovered a relatively cheap package offered by Salem for foreign tourists for two weeks: one has to take fingerprints that match those on one’s visa. I tried many times, but my fingerprints for some strange reasons did not match. Henceforth, I had to live without wifi except when I could get free wifi from the hotel or through a hotspot provided by Kylie. Next time, I should try e-SIM. Third, I had a problem with the American Express over overdue payment (I am getting forgetful). My attempt to settle was futile as the transferred money had been credited inadvertently to an old AE card. The whole saga dragged on till 27 December after having paid AE twice. I would only get my money back when I could show proofs of fund transfer to my old account. Ridiculous! AE could have easily traced the money credited to my old account. I would cancel the AE card after getting a refund. Fourth, SA is new to international tourism and I find it not user-friendly. Though I stayed in a relative central area, I had to walk 2.2 km along the Olaya Street to a nearest bank to change USD to SAR (USD1 to SAR3.74). Kylie found exchange service in Narcissus Hotel. But its service was only available to in-house guests. Incredible! Kylie finally managed to change some dollars at the Medina train station. We saw some money changers in Jeddah.

As a result, I had only managed to change money, visited the King Fahad National Library, an Islamic Art Museum and a cluster of galleries, took Bus 9 running along the Olaya Street to Taibah Markets and travelled on the Blue Line that runs from SAB Bank to AD Dar Al Baida (38km with 24 stations). I am most impressed by the new Riyadh Metro spanning 176 km consists of six lines each assigned a unique colour and number i.e. blue-1, red-2, orange-3, yellow-4, green-5 and purple-6. The design of the stations by Zaha Hadid Architects, and standards of the interior of the stations are outstanding. The train cars has three classes: first, family and individual. Passengers pay SAR 4 for 2-hour travel in the metro and on the bus.

Day 1: 20 December Riyadh

As the group from the UK would be arriving in the evening, Kylie and I had a free day. First, we moved from the Woman Compound to the Joudyan Hotel (just across the Olaya Street). Then we joined a 4-wheeled drive tour from 2 to 8 pm. We took Uber to the meeting point (SAR35) and met five other tourists and drove two hours to the Edge of the World, the name of the 1,131m-high cliff lying about 100km from Riyadh at the end of the 800km Tuwaik Mountain Range. It is a top tourist attraction in Riyadh: all tourists come here to watch sunset and the spectacular landscape. The driver was very kind and accompanied me to ensure I did not fall. He also took a few nice photos for me. I turned one into a Christmas card!

Day 2: 21 December – Riyadh

We met Fatmah, our youthful and energetic guide after breakfast. All ladies were given a dark-coloured abaya to wear in Medina. We began our Saudi Arabia Explorer at Ad Diriyah, an ancient oasis town on Wadi Hanifah strategically located in Najd. In 1727, it became the capital of the First Saudi State (1744-1818) under the rule of Imam Mohammed bin Saud. At the heart of Diriyah is At-Turaif, a fortified mud-brick citadel surrounded by 1.5km of defensive walls that was developed into the administrative, military and political hub of the state, focused around the monumental palace of the ruling Saudi Imam. The district was established in the 18th century and rapidly expand during the reign of the second Imam of the First Saudi State.

Restoration began in the 1970s. We spent almost three hours exploring the remains of the Salwa Palace, the mosque, Arabian Horse Gallery, Military Gallery, Trade & Money Gallery, Prince Thunayyan Bin Saud Palace, Imam Abdullah Bin Saud Palace, and Sbalat Modhi (accommodation for visiting students). Many areas are still under restoration. One can spend a whole day in this living museum.

The second stop was the modern King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) founded in 2007, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund. The project consists of 95 buildings with more than 6.1 million sq meters of space. Upon completion, it is expected to host 50,000 residents. The area will be served by a 3.5-km long monorail and all buildings will be linked by an air-conditioned skywalk system. We also visited the award-winning Grand Mosque.

It was well after 2pm when we had our first Saudi lunch in a wonderful local restaurant. Kylie and I shared a large plate of rice and mutton: the food was delicious and cheap (about SAR50)

The third stop was the Saudi National Museum which covers from the prehistoric to the modern ages in eight galleries. We were given just over an hour to visit it. I decided to walk on my own and confessed I did not register much after a whirlwind visit. Then we walked to the nearby Murabba Palace which was closed by the time we reached it. We drove a short distance to see the Masmak Fortress which is under restoration. We proceeded on foot to Alsafat Square and saw the Safat Clocktower and explored the traditional markets (souq) selling men’s clothes, shoe, perfume, incense etc. We admired the elegant and hand-made thawb for men. Fatmah took us to a 200-year-old shopping street (Abd Al Wahid Charafeddine) before ending our walk at the A’Thumairi Gate, one of the remaining gates of the area. When we stopped in a shop selling traditional sticks, a Saudi man with a young son bought each of us a stick with a horse head as a souvenir (SAR50 each). Saudis are very generous and welcoming! We had a full and tiring day. I was glad to get back to the hotel before 8 pm.

Day 3: 22 December – Ushaiger – Unaizah – Buraydah

We departed after breakfast and drove some 200km to Ushaiger, one of the oldest settlements in the Najdi region. Historically it belongs to the Tamim tribes and is the homeland to many families in the peninsula including the Al-Thani family that rules the state of Qatar. Some 5,000 people used to live in this village before moving to a new village with modern facilities over 50 years ago. We first visited the As Salem Museum run by Hamad, a very smart and healthy 86-years-old man. He has collected all sorts of stuff ranging from storage for dates, cage for chicken, grinders, plates, pots and pans, clocks, guns, radio and a 200-year-old tin container from Holland. The village comprising houses of irregular shapes and narrow alleys are atmospheric and photogenic. Over 95% of the mud houses is dilapidated. The best preserved mud building is the mosque with a lower floor that is still in use. Kent and Kylie even climbed the minaret. A few houses have been nicely restored.

After a late lunch, we drove to Unaizah which historically was an important stopping point for Muslims coming from Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Persia (now Iran) on their way to Mecca. The main attraction here is the Al Bassam Heritage House constructed between 1374 and 1378, a remarkable example of Najdi architecture. We had a good guide who explained the intricate designs, ceilings, doors, windows, and the tamarisk wood features. I am particularly interested in the painted wooden doors and made a collage of the doors with Najdi patterns.

After a guided tour, we had a great time enjoying Arabian coffee with local dates followed by tea and ginger tea. Our host also sang for us. After bidding our host goodbye, we drove some 30 km to reach Buraydah, capital of the Qassim Province to spend a night.

Day 4: 23 December – Buraydah – train to Hail

Buraydah, known as the city of dates with extensive variety of dates, has the world’s largest camel market. In order to watch auctions at the camel market, we started at 6:30 am, reached the market around 7 am and spent an hour watching how camels were brought in by trucks and the auction process. Half a dozen of camels for meat from Africa only fetched about 1200 SAR. Young camel a few weeks old might get a few hundred SAR. Then we watched a male camera charging in and mated with a female. Fatmah took us to see a sheep market nearby before heading to the world’s biggest date market. As it was not in season, the expansive market was virtually empty except a dozen of trucks were selling dates at the carpark. Fatmah bought 3 kilos of dates for SAR20! A bargain. We were back in the hotel for breakfast after 10 am. After a short rest, we set off before noon heading to the train station to get on a train around 1 pm to Hail.

We were back in the hotel for breakfast after 10 am. After a short rest, we set off before noon heading to the train station to get on a train around 1 pm to Hail. The journey took about two hours. The new train stations all have stylish modern designs and the train system was designed by the Spanish. We had a comfortable ride though there was no wifi in the train. At Hail station, Fatmah ran into an old friend Abdullah, a professional photographer. He later met us at the A’arif Fort and took photos for us. We spent a nice but short time at the fort watching amazing sunset. Then we went to Al Qishlah which was closed at 4 pm. We could not get in. No problem as we already had a long day. We had an early dinner and I shared an excellent lamb rice with Susan as Kylie did not want to eat.

Day 5: 24 December – Hail – Jubbah – AlUla

Today we began our exploration of SA’s rock art in Jubbah in the Nafud desert. In general, rock art includes pictographs, petroglyphs, engravings and petroforms and geoglyphs. In Jubbah, the ancestors of today’s Arab populations have left traces of their passages in numerous petroglyphs and inscriptions on sandstone rock faces. The artworks depict human figures and animals such as aurochs, cheetahs and lions since the neolithic or New Stone Age (10000 – 2200 BC). The oasis of Jubbah is the remnant of an ancient lake. Near the present day Jebel um Saman (“Two Camel-hump Mountain”), one finds some of the best rock art in the Arabian Peninsular. In 1879, Lady Anne Blunt , daughter of Lord Byron, and her husband Wilfred were amongst the first Westerners to discover the rock art. Archaeologist Juris Zarins (1945-2023) considers Jubbah the number one or two site in the whole of the Middle East that rivals anything in North Africa. We visited three different sites in Jubbah and I think what I have seen are amongst the best of their kinds and periods I have ever seen.

After a wonderful time at Jubbah, we had a memorable picnic lunch in the desert in Bedouin style with Abdullah. We then drove nonstop for almost seven hours before reaching the Mazham Boutique Farm in the Madinah Region for two nights. Today, we had a long day driving over 600km.

Day 6: 25 December – Hegra – Maraya – AlUla Old Town – Elephant Rock

We continued our exploration of SA’s ancient civilization today. We first went to Hegra, SA’s first World Heritage Site which relates to Nabataean history in the area with over 110 preserved tombs and other ancient wonders. Built between the first century BCE and the first century CE, Hegra was the Nabatean kingdom’s southern outpost until it was abandoned in the 12th century. This ancient city includes an impressive necropolis with tombs carved into sandstone set against the sweeping desert landscape.

We were told to arrive at the visitors’ centre around 9:15 am. Unfortunately the guide tour was delayed to 10:15 am. I therefore spent time in the centre which has illustrations on “Hinat“- the reconstructed face of a Nabatean woman whose remains were found in one of the 18 tombs in Jabal Ahmar. Fortunately, we had a nice guide and visited four locations. Jabal Ithlib is a natural mountain outcrop set featuring a natural picturesque passageway through the mountains and a venue for both banquets and meetings between city leaders. The second stop was Jabal Banat which is one of the largest tomb clusters in Hegra with 29 tombs carved into sandstone. Names of the people buried are found around the door frames together with other images including phoenixes, eagles, and snakes. The inside is however fairly barren.

The third stop was Qasr al-Farid (“the lonely castle”) which is the Tomb of Lihyan Son of Kuza. This unfinished tomb is Hegra’s largest tomb about 72-foot tall. It shows how the tomb had been carved. Then we made our way to Jabal Ahmar where the remains of “Hinat”, daughter of Wahbu were discovered. Analysis of the tomb has established that it was built by Hinat and was the resting place of as many as 80 individuals.

After Hegra, Fatmah took us to Maraya, the world’s largest mirrored building standing out in a breath-taking and captivating desert with rugged mountain ranges. This iconic performance and event venue designed by an Italian architect has become a must-see in AlUla.

Then we had an hour’s walk in an ancient oasis with some restored mud houses before having a late lunch after 3 pm. Susan, Fatmah, Kylie and I went to Somewhere, an elegant and one of the best restaurants in AlUla. We shared one beef and one chicken rice dish and had a delicious drink each. It cost over SAR 80 pp. Fairly pricy! Then we spent an hour in the old AlUla town before rushing to the iconic Elephant Rock to watch sunset. After sunset, we returned to the old town for another hour before returning to the eco-farm. A very full day! On reflection, I think we could have skipped Alula before the Elephant Rock so that we could have more time to enjoy the sunset.

Categories: My Middle East / Near East / Central Asia trips | Comments Off on Saudi Arabia 17/12/24 -3/1/25 (1)

Tromso – Bergen Norway December 7 – 16, 24

Why Arctic Norway?

After a 2-week retreat at Plum Village Bordeaux, I flew to Tromso looking for Northern Lights. Though I was passing through Tromso a few times, I had never visited it. As solar activities have been very strong in 2024 resulting in spectacular display of Northern and Southern Lights on numerous occasions, I decided to try my luck as I had a gap of about ten days before joining a tour in Saudi Arabia on December 20. I planned to spend a few days in Tromso before taking Havila Cappella to Bergen. My friend Sau heard about my planned journey in October and decided to join.

Tromso December 7- 12, 2024

Located within the Arctic Circle, the town of Tromso with a small area of about 14 sq km and a population of 42,000, is the largest urban area in Northern Norway and the world’s third largest north of the Arctic Circle (following Murmansk and Norilsk in Russia). The city centre of Tromso contains the highest number of old wooden houses in Northern Norway. It is a cultural centre of its region and became known as the “Paris of the North” during the 19th century. Though the sun remains under the horizon for six weeks in Tromso, it is never completely dark. The polar night in Tromso is between the 27th November and 15th January. Around 1-2 pm in the afternoon, the residual light is reflected off the blue sea and the white snow, the arctic landscape glows in a glassy magical deep blue colour (known as the blue moment/hour). On clear days, beautiful sunset colours can be seen in the south while the sky to the north is a deep midnight blue.

I arrived after 1 pm at the Tromso airport and took a taxi to Havblikk Hotel near the Arctic Cathedral. It cost over 300 Norwegian Krone (NOK) for about 6km. The ground was covered with snow and I took extra care when walking. I only made a trip to the nearest supermarket to get food. For the rest of the day, I did nothing but hibernating in my simple cosy room watching snow and the white world outside.

Before Sau’s arrival around midday on December 8, I walked to the Arctic Cathedral (it is actually a parish church and its official name is Tromsdalen Church). I sat in silence for 15 minutes and left before the Sunday service began at 11 am. Completed in 1965, it is known for a glass mosaic titled “The Return of Christ” added in 1972, which is best seen inside the church during the midnight sun. In winter, one can only take a photo of the colours of the mosaic glass from the outside! Owing to my inertia on arrival, I missed a concert at the church which was held on December 7.

When Sau arrived in early afternoon, we walked over the bridge to explore Tromso centre. We walked very slowly on the icy surface with a walking pole. We did not go far nor had we done much. We went to the operator of “Silent Whale Watching” at the Bus Terminal only to discover the trip Sau booked had been cancelled owing to poor weather. After asking about the itinerary, I decided to join as I had not been visiting the area during my previous whale watching trip. We also purchased a 7-day bus pass (249 NOK for seniors) and a ticket for the cable car and the Arctic Cathedral for 518 NOK. In the evening, we walked to the cable car station and took a ride to the top hoping to get a glimpse of Northern Lights if the sky cleared up. We had no chance and returned to our hotel at 10 pm.

On December 10, Sau and I got up early to take a bus to the bus terminal. The electric boat was full and departed shortly after 8 am. The weather was so-so with moments of Polar light, strong wind, choppy sea, rain and snow. We spent over three hours before reaching the area where whales had been spotted. We were lucky: I was well-positioned on the upper deck when a young humpback male jumped out of the water several times in front of my eyes. I tried to use my camera with a long lens without success. Had I used my mobile phone, I should have been able to capture the magical moment! As a dozen of boats rushed to our location, our boat moved on. Then we saw another group of humpback whales. This time, I simply used my phone and got a few images. It started to get dark when we made our way back to Tromso where we landed at 5pm.

It was a busy day. As we had already booked a small group Northern Lights tour, we stayed on in town. We were surprised when a driver told us to get into a 7-seater instead of a minibus for 15 passengers. Janet and Bill from Hong Kong were the only two passengers. We were delighted to have a small group. Jodnas, our lively Spanish driver drove three hours to a small frozen lake in Finland. The weather improved soon after leaving Tromso and we began to see the moon and stars. Jodnas set up a fire and we had a hot soup. Weak Northern Lights began to appear and Jodnas was busy taking photos for us. Then to Janet’s surprise, Bill knelt down making a proposal with Northern Lights as the background. How romantic! Billy and Jodnas worked on this secretly in order to give Janet a surprise. Sau and I were lucky to be selected to travel with them. Though I have seen more vibrant and stronger lights, I find the occasion touching and memorable. It is joyful to meet this lovely young couple from Hong Kong (both are 29). We were back in the hotel after 2:30am. We were dead tired!

We had a rest day on December 11. As we had bought a bus pass, we took a ride to Telegrafbuka at the eastern tip of the island. (This is the beach people gather to watch the first glimpse of sun in mid January). It was the blue hour: I saw the orange sunset, glassy deep blue in the sky and a bright moon. I was thrilled and amazed by the ever changing colours. Less than ten minutes later, heavy snow fell and all colours vanished. When we got back to the town centre, we went to a restaurant and had a pizza. The portion is exceedingly large and we had to take half of the pizza home. A quiet and relaxing day!

December 12 was our last day in Tromso. We joined a half day Arctic Landscape Tour which started at 10am. Once again we shared a 7-seater with a Japanese couple and two Korean young ladies. We went to Kvaloya Island and made a dozen stops. The weather was unstable and windy. Luckily, there was fresh snow. We got in and out of the minivan and I was tired of putting on and off the jacket. Anyway, we were lucky to have a few clear moments that enabled us to appreciate the blue hour and Arctic landscape. It got pitch dark by 3 pm and we were back in Tromso before 4pm. As we were unable to go onboard Havila Capella till 11:45pm, we stayed in the hotel till 10 pm before heading to the bus/cruise terminal.

Tromso – Bergen December 13-16, 2024 (to add)

Remarks (to add)

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Bordeaux France 21 November – 6 December 2024

Plum Village Rain Retreat 22/11 – 6/12/2-24

I first heard of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022) (fondly called by his followers as Thay) and the Plum Village when I attended a dharma talk given by the Venerable at the Coliseum in Hong Kong in May 2013. I later met two nuns from the Plum Village Tradition at the Buddhist study course at the Hong Kong Dharma Centre (2020-22). I began to read books by Thay in connection with the Master of Buddhist Counselling course at the University of Hong Kong (2022-23). My faith in Buddhism grew and I took refuge of the Three Jewels (the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha) in July 2023. After having spent my first one-week retreat in Hong Kong in November 2023, I look forward to joining a longer retreat. Then on a May day, I learnt about a 90-day Rains Retreat (October 11 to December 20, 2024) at the Plum Village Bordeaux which would fit in perfectly with my travel plan: I decided to join a two-week retreat after the end of the Costa Rica – Chile expedition on 18 November 2024. Things worked out smoothly and I arrived at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village Bordeaux on Friday November 22.

Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village

Thay, a Buddhist monk, peace activist, poet, prolific author and teacher, is known as the “father of mindfulness“. He expressed an interest in training as a monk at the age of 12, pursued his goal at 16 and was ordained as a monk in 1951. Thay was a writer and a Buddhist teacher advocating for a humanistic, unified Buddhism. He accepted a Fulbright Fellowship to study comparative religion at Princeton University in 1960 and at the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1961 and taught Buddhism in Columbia University and Cornell University. He was fluent in French, classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali and English. In 1963, Thay returned to Vietnam and was tasked to help restructuring the administration of Vietnamese Buddhism. The following year, he proposed a call for an end of the Vietnam War and helped to establish an institute for the study of Buddhism to train future leaders and create a centre to train pacifist social workers based on Buddhist teaching. He was a prolific writer advocating peace and reconciliation. In 1964, Thay together with another monk founded the Van Hanh Buddhist University in 1964 and co-founded the School of Youth for Social Service with Chan Khong (1938), a nun and Thay’s first fully-ordained monastic disciple. He also created the Order of Interbeing, a monastic and lay group between 1964 and 1966. In 1966, he received the “lamp transmission” from Zen Master Chan That making him a dharma teacher and spiritual head of Tu Hieu.

In 1975, Thay was refused the right to return to Vietnam when the North Vietnamese took control of the south. He was also expelled from Singapore following illegal attempts to rescue Vietnamese boat people. Thay moved and settled in France and formed a small mindfulness community called “the Sweet Potato” and led mindfulness retreats in 1981. As the community attracted more and more people, Thay together with Chan Khong began to search for land for expansion and purchased land in September 1982 (which is now known as the Lower Hamlet). Later that year, they acquired land of the present day Upper Hamlet. Plum Village is where Thay and Chan Khong has realised their dream of building a community in a healthy, harmonious and nourishing environment with one another and Mother Earth. The New Hamlet which is 18km from Lower Hamlet was established later. Today, Plum Village has grown into Europe’s largest Buddhist monastery with some 200 resident brothers and sisters (monks and nuns) living in three hamlets and the Son Ha Temple (Foot of the Hill). New Hamlet and Lower Hamlet are for sisters while Upper Hamlet is for brothers to live and practice. All hamlets accept couples and families for short-term retreats. There are a further ten monastic practice centres in the Plum Village tradition in Europe, the USA and Asia, all founded by Thay himself.

A retreat is an opportunity to experience the art of mindful living. Everything is done in a spirit of meditation: daily schedule is centred on sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindful eating and mindful working (service meditation). “Noble Silence” is observed by all from 8:30pm to after breakfast the next day. One day a week is designated Lazy Day without formal practice schedule. The community gathers on Thursdays and Sundays for a full Day of Mindfulness in one of the hamlets (also known for short-term retreat stayers as a Lay Day)

Lower Hamlet

I stayed at the Poplar House, Lower Hamlet sharing a room with Sarah from the UK for the first week and then Grace from New York. I also met Catherine from Sweden and Candy from the Philippines who also stayed at the Poplar House which is close to the Great Hall. Over the retreat period in the Lower Hamlet, I met over 30 short-term stayers (1 to 2-week), 50 sisters and about 20 long-term stayers (for the entire 90 days). My life was centred around mindful living and noble silence though I did speak with others occasionally.

I find Lower Hamlet a paradise. Surrounded by vineyards, farmland and forests, the hamlet comprises a number of old charming rustic stone houses typical of Bordeaux rural region with old trees, woodland, rolling hills, orchards, meadows and vineyards. Together with a bell tower, a temple gate and pavilion, and a lotus pond, the hamlet has a most wonderful, natural, harmonious, and peaceful environment for mindful living and spiritual practice.

With the exception of the lay day, we had to get up early to join a sitting and walking meditation session in the Great Hall at 6am. The milky way and millions of stars greeted me as soon as I stepped out of the door of the Poplar House every morning except two days when it was raining or misty. After breakfast in the dining hall at 7:30am, I would watch the gorgeous sunrise near the temple entrance opposite a vineyard between 8 and 8:30 am. The colours were mesmerizing. One day, the valley was cloaked with mist: it was even more enchanting.

Mindfulness Day / Lay Day

During the rains retreat, lay residents have a mindfulness day on Sunday and Thursday. Each hamlet takes turn to host it. Lay residents gathered at the Upper Hamlet on 28 November and the New Hamlet on 1 December. They gathered in the Lower Hamlet on 24 November and 5 December. I was glad to be able to visit the Upper and New Hamlets. I had my first Formal Lunch at the Great Hall of the Lower Hamlet on 24 November. I joined another one at the New Hamlet a week later. Each hamlet has its unique setting and atmosphere. But all are nature wonders filled with peace and joy: they are labour of love of Thay and Chan Khong for the benefits of their followers, Buddhists and mankind.

Upper Hamlet

Upper Hamlet located on a flat expansive hill top is about 3.2 km from the Lower Hamlet. I took a lift in the morning. The great hall looks familiar: I watched memorial ceremony of Thay when he passed away in 2022. The programme was good beginning with a question and answer session followed by walking meditation. The walking meditation through forested woodland and the Buddha Hill was atmospheric. The total relaxion session with music after lunch was wonderful. I enjoyed the 50-minute walk downhill to Lower Hamlet. The sun was setting showing the best foliage colours.

New Hamlet

New Hamlet though smaller in size is compact and lovely. The day began with a dharma talk by Sister Chan Duc (Sr. True Virtue) who has been a disciple of Thay since 1986 and the first European woman to be ordained as a nun. (Sr. Chan Duc also gave a dharma talk at Lower Hamlet on November 24) Then at 11:30am, we had walking meditation up a hill through a plum forest. It was a sunny gorgeous day. The walk with some 300 monastics and laymen and Formal Lunch in total silence was powerful. I had a good dharma sharing session under a mulberry tree near the Bell Tower. I was hoping to meet a sister from Hong Kong in this hamlet. But she was not well and did not appear.

Walking Meditation

We had walking meditation everyday at 11:30am. It began with singing: the songs are all poems with simple verses with profound meanings for meditation. I learnt to different pace of breathing and walking: breathing in and out taking one step; inhale one step and out-hale another step; and two steps for an inhale and three steps for an out-hale of breath. It is amazing to find one of the cats at Lower Hamlet joining the walk everyday: it must be a practising Buddhist in its previous lives. Whenever I had time, I practised walking meditation on my own.

Remarks

I had an amazing and most peaceful and enjoyable retreat at Plum Village. Several aspects are worth-noting. First and foremost. Thay is a great teacher and a visionary religious and spiritual leader who had deep faith in Buddha’s teachings and belief in peace, joy and interbeing. I have read some of his books in connection with my Buddhist studies on Buddhist counselling, spiritual formation, healing, and working with the sick and the dying. Living mindfully for two weeks in the Plum Village is a blessing and I could feel the presence, love and spirit of Thay everywhere.

It is incredible that Thay as a result of cause and conditions (the Vietnam War) would settle in France and established the Plum Village Tradition and applied Buddhism. I am moved to find many westerns turning to Buddhism and spiritual healing owing to Thay’s mindfulness and spiritual teaching. His wisdom and teachings in simple words as expressed in songs, poems, writings and calligraphy are visible and practical. Having regard to social and modern institutional relations and life, Thay has expanded and modernized the five precepts namely no killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication, into Five Mindfulness Trainings with the aim of bringing awareness into every area of life. Rather than hard and fast rules, they offer a path to cultivate and develop actions of body, speech and mind that can create a more healthy and compassionate world.

Second, I feel Plum Village is a Pure Land created by Thay on earth. The most common pure land is Sukhavati “Land of Bliss” of Amitabha. It is the aspiration of Buddhists to be reborn in a Buddha’s “pure land” which is a superior place to spiritually train for full Buddhahood. The physical setting, the beautiful and peaceful environment, and the mindful living and practice are essentially a manifestation of a pure land. The place is filled with joy: the monastics are composed and look happy while the lay residents look relax and mindful. I spent every moment living and practising mindfully and blissfully with few delusions (Sanskrit vikalpa). From the dharma sharing sessions, some would be in tears when talking about their problems and anger. The retreat is indeed a place and time for healing spiritually and physically.

Third, I love the rural setting and find Plum Village inspiring. Autumn is the time for foliage: I watched the last leaves falling from the poplar trees next to Poplar House. The ground was covered with fallen red and golden leaves by the time I left Lower Hamlet. while the autumn sun is lovely and warm, the mist and fog bring in a totally different and equally enchanting atmosphere. The sunrise brings different colours every morning while the singing of small birds is lovely. Beauty is in everything and I deeply appreciate the gift of Mother Earth.

Finally, I know I am home at the Plum Village. This short retreat has given me a chance to know more about the monastic life which is regulated by the ringing of the bell. The first one is at 5 am in the morning and the last one at 8:30pm in the evening. The bell rings fifteen minutes before an activity. Whenever we heard the ringing of bells, we had to stop whatever we were doing till the ringing came to a stop. Then, I watched the solemn precepts recitation which is carried out every two weeks and took part in two formal lunches. The food is exceptional and most delicious: I ate three meals a day in joyful silence. I find the lazy day/night at Plum Village creative and inspiring: it does not mean one is “lazy and doing nothing”. Rather it is up to me to decide and pursue what I want to do mindfully instead of following a routine and schedule. In brief, I fully enjoy my retreat at Plum Village which is totally different from the experience I had in Hong Kong last year. I could not wait to return and immediately registered for a walking retreat to be held in end May next year. I like the Plum Village’s Five Mindfulness Trainings and may take the trainings formally in future.

Categories: My Europe trips, Others | Comments Off on Bordeaux France 21 November – 6 December 2024

Peru & Chile

Day 11 November 10: Callo (Lima), Peru

We were glad to step ashore after two sea days. Passengers were offered three excursions and I took a 6-hour tour to Huaca Pucllana in the district of Miraflores and Larco Herrera. Huaca Pucllana is an impressive archaeological site belonging to the Lima culture of regional developments. Evidence suggests construction of the great pyramid here began around 200 CE, reached its peak from the 5th century onwards, and the maximum extension occurred in 700 CE. Built on a mud base by means of rammed earth or rectangular parallelepiped-shaped adobes in a vertical position, it was originally composed of a set of pyramids, plazas, courtyards and ramped entrances. During the occupation of the Huari (Wari) Culture (700-1100CE), the highest parts of the pyramid (25 metres) were destroyed and converted into an elite cemetery. The importance of the complex which had been abandoned for a long time, was investigated, preserved and restored since 1981.

After visiting the Great Pyramid, we proceeded to Larco Museum where we had lunch after a guided tour. The museum is housed in a magnificent 18th-century vice-royal building: Rafael Larco Hoyle (1901-1966) acquired it for displaying his private collections showcasing some 5,000 years of Peruvian history and pre-Columbian art with tens of thousands of ceramics, pottery, textiles, masks, crowns, vases and metalware. Larco Hoyle became the director of the museum and developed the first Peruvian chronology of ancient cultures. It has a gallery holding the world’s largest collection of erotic ceramics. The whole building, the entrance of the museum and the ground are most beautiful with colourful bougainvillea and numerous flower plants. I had time only to take a cursory glance at the vast collections and shall return to visit this museum on my next visit to Peru. The expedition team invited a Peruvian group to come onboard to perform. Guests enjoyed the lively performance by the dancers and musicians.

Day 12 November 11: Paracas

We arrived at Paracas in early morning with choices of four activities. As many as 60 guests paid USD690 to take the world famous Nazca Lines scenic flight (I took the flight on my first South American tour in 1988). Sally, Lawrence and I opted for a 3-hour trip to the Ballastas Islands located some 20 miles from the coast. I visited these islands in 1988. But the trip this time exceeded my expectations as I have learnt more about bird species since my last visit. This preliminary understanding already makes a big difference and I love travelling in South America given its history, biodiversity and geology. I was thrilled to see as many as 20 Humboldt Penguins and countless Peruvian Boobies. The red-legged cormorants are abundant and attractive. Guano, once old “White Gold” before the development of chemical fertilizer, has put a white coat on the islands thus making the islands photogenic.

As most passengers were back in the afternoon, the expedition team laid on lectures. I attended David’s talk on “Introduction to Volcanoes”.

Day 13 November 12 At Sea

First time seeing Buller’s Albatross

Lectures kept me busy. I attended four lectures namely “Land Mammals of Central and South America”, “From Deep Time to Modern Mines: Geology and Copper in Chile”, “Hiram Bingham, the Acknowledgment of Manchu Picchu” and “Acoustics of the Underwater World”.

Day 14 November 13 Arica Chile

Arica is Chile’s northernmost city and the capital of the Region of Arica and Parinacota. Out of the four excursions on offer, I joined the tour to Lauca National Park. Three big tourist buses set off at 6:30am as it took over four hours to reach our destinations including a couple of acclimatization stops.

Located over 4,000m above sea level, the park created in 1970 with an area of 137,883 ha covering foothills, lakes, lagoons, and high plateau, offers great opportunity to observe birds and waterfowls. The scenery is fantastic with the snow-cladded Taapaca (5860m), a Holocene volcanic complex as a backdrop. However I found it difficult for the body to adjust and felt exhausted and tired. Our local guide said we had reached 4,600m which was the highest point of the day. A few guests had to inhale oxygen when walking back to the coach. (In the evening, the expedition leader broke the sad news that a lady who joined the tour had passed away with cause of death not known). It was the first time I experienced such exhaustion: this could be a combination of aging and rapid ascent of +4600 in less than six hours. We spent over an hour by the lake before heading to Putre (3371m), a town with over 3000 inhabitants for lunch. We were back in the boat around 7 pm. A good but long day!

Day 15 November 14 At Sea

I had a good rest on sea day. I attended Peter’s talk on “The World of Seabirds“. He spoke passionately about the 400 species of seabirds ranging from his No 1 favourite – albatross, the bird that can fly over 600 miles in a single day and can live up to 60 or 70 years of age, to the smallest storm-petrels that weigh a few ounces. Peter’s wife Shirley talked about her “Journey to the South Pole” in the afternoon. I also joined a talk by Captain Sasha about navigation at sea on board the Silver Wind followed by another talk “A Map of Plants” by Tristan. An educational day!

Day 16 November 15 Antofagasta

I woke up at 4:40am with red eyes, had a porridge, and climbed into a coach at 5:30am with a pillow in hand. Today, three coaches set off for the Atacama Desert which took 4-5 hours’ drive. I love deserts and Atacama Desert with an area of 105,000 sq km is the driest nonpolar desert in the world. Though I have visited the area twice, I would always return whenever I have a chance. As I was exhausted, I dozed off till 10 am. Our first stop was a nature reserve to watch flamingoes for about an hour.

Then we reached San Pedro de Atacama around 1 pm for lunch. We were supposed to set off around 2:45pm for the Moon Valley. Unfortunately we had about 100 people and the service was slow. We did not set off till 3:30 pm. As a result, we could only spent 10-15 minutes at the two photo stops- Three Marias and The Amphitheatre. I am always fascinated by the sand and stone formations in deserts that have been carved by water and wind. The range of colours and texture resembling those on the Moon, are captivating.

The last stop was at Coyote for a traditional offering ceremony for Pachamama (Mother Earth). We rushed off at 7 pm and were back on the ship just before 11:30 pm. What a long day! I was glad I survived. The nice surprise today was the watching of the supermoon (known as the Beaver Moon) rising over the Atacama Desert. As we were in a rush, we could not stop for moon and star gazing. What a pity!

Day 17 November 16 Isla Pan de Azucar

I did not want to get up for the 9:15am briefing by the expedition leader. But being a professional traveller, I pulled myself out of bed in order to find out the arrangement of the zodiac cruising in the afternoon. I have actually visited Isla Pan de Azurcar when I joined a hike in the Atacama Desert. Since I was up, I went to Manu’s talk on the geology of the Atacama Desert. At noon, I took the last zodiac cruise of this expedition. Isla Pan de Azucar, its neighbouring islets and rocks are home for South American sea lions and marine otters in addition to bird species like Humboldt Penguins, Inca Terns, Kelp Gulls, Peruvian Boobies, Pelicans and Diving-Petrels, Red-legged Cormorants and Turkey Vultures. I recall seeing many penguins and birds on these islands which were teeming with wildlife. But this time, I saw only five penguins, few boobies, sea lions, diving petrels and vultures etc. Peter said the drastic drop of wildlife was a result of avian flu.

Day 18 November 17 Coquimbo

The expedition was soon coming to an end. Upon arrival in Coquimbo, a bustling port and major commercial and industrial centre for the export of mineral, fish products and fruits, I joined a 4-hour tour “Enchanted Valley Petroglyphs“. It was a scenic drive to the valley which has well-preserved petroglyphs. But the best part of the day was the 15-minute show with Peruvian boobies diving like bombs into the water to catch fish . I was able to watch with my camera in hand while waiting for passengers to join our coach.

We only had five passengers on the second/last coach including Lawrence, Sally, a couple and myself. We had a wonderful local guide Claudia who speaks clear English and knows what she is talking about!

Day 19 November 18 Valparaiso

All passengers had to vacate the cabin by 8am and disembark by group starting from 9am. We said good-bye to the staff and expedition team members and disembarked before 10am. We took a transfer to a hotel not far from the port for USD30 which is reasonable. We all had a leisure day: I walked to the old town to see the art paintings and had a drink in a terrace while the rest accompanied by a local took the metro to the fish market and Vina del Mar.

Post Expedition- November 19-20 Santiago

My brother and friends booked a 9-seater from November 19 to 21. On November 19, they dropped me off at a hotel near the airport where I stayed one night. On November 20, I took a free shuttle to the airport at 10am and my plane to Madrid took off as scheduled shortly after 1 pm. I arrived in Madrid at 6am after a 12-hour flight. Unfortunately I had to spend ten hours in the airport as my connecting flight to Bordeaux would not depart till 4pm. I wasted no time and had most of the collages sorted out. Time flied and I arrived in Bordeaux before 6 pm and spent a night to catch up with sleep in a hotel next to the railway station.

Remarks

This was an unexpected expedition which I only decided to join in March while on Silver Cloud from Chile to Namibia. It was a lovely journey for a few reasons. First, it was the first time I travelled with a party of seven on an expedition and we celebrated the sixty-sixth birthday of Lawrence, my younger brother on the boat. Second, though I have visited Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and Chile before, all except three sites (Ballastas Islands, Atacama Desert, and Isla Pan de Azurcar) visited were new to me. I particularly enjoy the Cocos Island in Costa Rica, the Great Pyramid and Larco Museum in Callo Peru, and Ballastas Islands where I saw some 20 Humboldt Penguins. The previous expeditions I joined were mostly nature and wildlife-based. This time, I had a rarely relaxing and leisure time to enjoy both cultural sites and nature. Third, I am glad to see Lawrence, Sally, Sally’s sister and her husband taking this opportunity to travel around South America for the first time of their life after the expedition.

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Costa Rica to Chile 26/1–18/11/2024

My Third Expedition in 2024

While on Silver Cloud travelling from Puerto Williams to Namibia in March, I signed up for an expedition from Costa Rica to Chile on the recommendation of Peter Harrison. I invited my brother Lawrence and his wife Sally to join. Then Sally’s sister Sylvia and her husband Chu Sir and their friends Stephen and Bonnie also decided to join.

Pre-cruise: Los Angeles & San Jose 26 – 31 October

As my niece, Lili, lives in LA, I decided to join Lawrence and Sally to fly to LA on 26 October to spend the weekend with her. We also took the chance to visit Ken, Lawrence’s classmate from primary school. On 28 October, I flew around 10 am on United Airline via Houston and arrived in San Jose at 8 pm. Lawrence and Sally and the other four all took the direct flight to San Jose with Alaska Airline and waited for me for almost an hour at the airport. We took a minibus to a flat with three bed-rooms downtown.

We had a leisure day on 29 October strolling in the Central Market and the old town. I spent an hour and a half at the Jade Museum. Though the entrance fee is USD16 for foreigners, I am impressed by the collections of jade and ceramics and the illustrations. It is a nice surprise. As it started to rain after 2 pm, we all returned to the flat and had a good rest.

On 30 October, we hired a 7-seater and drove three hours to the Arenal Volcano. Stephen was not feeling well and stayed behind. We hiked for an hour and a half in the park and were lucky to got back to the car before torrential rain poured down after 3 pm. A narrow escape. It was after 8:30pm when we got back and were totally exhausted.

The boarding time was after 2 pm on 31 October. Sylvia, Chu Sir, Sally, Lawrence and I decided to visit the Butterfly Garden in San Jose. The garden is an oasis with lots of butterflies. We spent a delightful morning with butterflies. We arranged a minibus to take us to the cruise terminal. The journey took two and a hour hours because the traffic was heavy and the driver took us to the wrong terminal.

Day 1 Puntarenas Costa Rica – Boarding

Once we reached the cruise terminal, everything was plain sailing. I shared a cabin with veranda with Lawrence and Sally (Cabin 725) and had a comfortable bed set up in the sitting room in the evening. Everything looked familiar as Silver Cloud (that I took in March) is a sister ship of Silver Wind: the size, layout and decor of the cabin are the same. Before dinner, we met Captain Oleksandr Kolosov and the Expedition leader David during the briefing. The boat had about 240 guests. Seven of us had our first dinner in the main dining room on L4. But the service was slow: the waiter at our table was new and anxious. By the time I went to bed shortly after 10 pm, I was tired and had a good night sleep.

Day 2 Playa Panama

The expedition team arranged six itineraries for passengers. I decided to take the 7-hour ‘Palo Verde Wildlife and Traditions” trip. I disembarked at 8 am and set off in a coach to Hacienda El Viejo that is about an hour away. Here, we saw the traditional method in extracting sugar cane juice and the making of tortilla in the hacienda. Then we spent an hour on the river looking for birds and wildlife. It started to rain and we were lucky to spot green and dark iguanas, many herons (white, blue, green and tiger herons), white face monkeys, crocodiles, and a kingfisher. We heard callings of a tucan but it flew away. We returned to the hacienda for lunch before returning to the boat. Tonight at the Captain’s cocktail, we were introduced to the department heads of the boat and the expedition team members.

Day 3 Punta Leona

I had a busy day joining two half-day trips. In the morning, I took a boat ride on Tarcoles River which is about an hour’s drive from Punta Leona, a private resort. The weather was fine with clear blue sky. I had a wonderful boat ride seeing a dozen of crocodiles, numerous herons, white stork and Roseata spoonbill. I had to skip lunch as I jumped on another bus heading for a jungle and wagon trip in a private refuge. I had a bumpy ride and it was quite an experience.

Day 4 Golfito

When I woke up and looked out of the window, I found the boat by a pier in Golfito located in a calm bay (Golfo Duce) backed against steep green hills covered with pristine rainforest. It was a misty and atmospheric morning! We had for a change a dry landing this morning. I joined a nature walk in a private refuge. For the first half of the walk, we walked along a muddy flat path looking at different wild ginger flowers, Panama palm trees, strangle fig trees and tadpoles near a pond. The second half part of the walk to a waterfall with crossing of two small streams and climbing on rocks and muddy path was demanding. Luckily, some passengers lent me their hands and kept me from falling into the stream. But an elderly gentleman was not fortunate: he fell on a downhill muddy slope and then in the first stream. He carried on crossing the second stream before giving up. The staff and a few strong fellow passengers had to carry him back to the refuge office. I thought he might have hurt himself as he could not stand up and walk. He was carried back to the boat and I did not see him around the boat.

The boat set sail in the afternoon for Isla del Cocos. I attended two lectures namely “Forest Stories” by Tristan Kusel and “Tropical Seabirds” by Peter Harrison, a wonderful speaker and an expert on seabirds.

Day 5 Isla Del Coco

We arrived at the Cocos Island around lunch time. The original plan was to have a mandatory briefing by the Park rangers before visitors are allowed to go ashore. Owing to unexpected problems with the public address system on the boat, the briefing could not proceed. As a result, we had zodiac cruising for 75 minutes. I was in the second zodiac group and had a wonderful time when the weather and light were both reasonably good. We saw plenty of Cocos booby on the islets.

Day 6 Isla Del Coco & Day 7 Journey to Ecuador

Day 8 Puerto Lopez

Day 9 & 10 At Sea

Categories: Expeditions, My American trips | Comments Off on Costa Rica to Chile 26/1–18/11/2024

Shikoku Bekkaku 20 Sacred Sites 9 -14 October 2024

After having completed the 88-Temple Pilgrimage last November, I decided to join a pilgrimage to visit 20 sacred sites associated with Kukai, Kobo Daishi (774-835). This 20 sacred site pilgrimage route celebrated its 50 anniversary this year. We had a small group led by MY with 14 participants. covering over 1000km in four days in Shikoku. We began and finished the journey at Tokushima visiting one site in Kochi, four in Kagawa, six in Tokushima and nine in Ehime.

October 9 Hong Kong – Osaka – Tokushima

The group taking a 8am-flight from HK to Osaka, arrived at Osaka Kansai Airport after 1 pm. I waited for them at the arrival hall. By the time the group was ready to set off, it was 2:30 pm. We boarded a comfortable bus and drove all the way to a shop in Tokushima to buy noukyocho (stamp book), name slips, other pilgrim regalia (incense, candles etc). It got dark shortly after 5:30pm. We arrived at JR Clement Hotel next to Tokushima train station before 7pm. A long travel day!

October 10: 4 Temples- Temple 1 – 4 in Tokushima

We basically followed the same routine setting off at 8 am. When we arrived at each site, we followed the same procedures including washing/cleansing our hands and mind, lighting incense/candles, put name slips in a box, reciting Heart Sutra, chanting mantra for the principal image in the main hall. We then moved to the Daishi Hall and repeated the same procedure but without chanting the mantra of the principal image. While some of of the sacred sites are located in built-up area/village and close to each other, a few are located high in the mountain. On a few occasions, we had to drive about two hours to reach the site. One the first and second day, we only visited four temples.

We visited Temple 1 -Taisan-ji with Senju-kanseon-bosatsu as the Principle Image. We had to walk a few flights of staircases. The temple ground is peaceful. It did not take long to arrive at Temple 2-Dogaku-ji which Principle Image is Yakuyoke-yakushi-nyorai. It is said that Kobo Daishi had played in this site when he was a child. Hence the name.

In Temple 3- Jugen-ji, there is a cave at the top of the hill behind the main hall where Kobo Daishi had medicated. As a return trip would take an hour, we did not visit the cave. Pilgrims have to pass a body fitness test here: I passed the test as I was able to squeeze through the narrow space behind a marble stone plaque as shown in the photo below. The Principle Image of this temple is Juichimen- kanseon-bosatsu.

Temple 4 – Sabadaishi-Honbo which Principle Image is Kobo Daishi is unique. In the Daishi Hall, there is a stone mackeral with a story. A horseman once used abusive language at and refused to give a salted mackerel to Daishi. Then when his horse reached Umabikizaka, it suddenly began to suffer. The horseman then realised the monk he had seen was a Great Master and went to apologize and offer the mackerel to cure the horse’s illness. Once Daishi gave the horse divine water, it immediately recovered. When Daishi blessed the salted mackerel on Hosho Island, it came back to lifeand swam away. The horseman then built a hermitage there making it a sacred place for salvation for people in the past and future.

October 11: 4 Temples: Temple 5 in Kochi and 6-8 in Ehime

Temple 5 Daizen-ji which Principle Image is Kobo Daishi, is the only site in Kochi. Over 1250 years ago, the sea inlet at Susaki was very wide and the current Daishi Hall site was a cape jutting out into the sea. At that time, people usually went over the mountains and could go around the edge of the two-stoned cape. Sea disasters were frequent and people who were unclean were said to sometimes encounter strange phenomena. When Daishi heard about this, he prayed on a large rock on the coast for the souls of those who had died in sea disasters, praying for safe travels on land and sea and built a temple which is the origin of the current Daishido. From the grounds in front of the main hall, one can see the Pacific Ocean below. Even today, Kobo Daishi prays for everyone’s eternal happiness on top of the two rocks.

Daishi lived in various parts of Shikoku while training, received cultural blessings from the cities he visited, requested the creation of 88 spiritual halls in Shikoku. In the year of Daido, his personal wish came to fruition: Temple 6 Ryukoin was built in 1615 in commemoration by Hidemune Date, the first feudal lord upon his entry to Uwajima, to ensure the peace and security of the domain and its people. The Principle Image is Juichimen- kanseon-bosatsu.

After lunch, we proceeded to Temple 7 Kinzan Shusseki-ji which Principle Image is Senju-kanseon-bosatsu. The temple was founded in 718. A hunter followed a deer up this mountain. When he was about to shoot it, the whole mountain shook and a brilliant light shone. The deer disappeared and the rock under its feet split into two and the statutes of the Thousand-Armed Kannon Bodhisattva ( Senju-kanseon-bosatsu) and Jizo Bodhisattva emerged from the ground emitting a golden light. The hunter gave up hunting and became a Buddhist. Daishi during his visit to this place praised the statue as “the most beautiful gold mine in the three countries” and sealed it in a stone chamber as a secret Buddha.

It was almost 5 pm when we arrived at the location of a former earthen bridge over a stream where Daishi had spent a night and that one night felt like ten nights. This is the raison d’etre of Temple 8 Toyogahashi Eitoku-ji ( Principle Image – Miroku- bosatsu) that was badly damaged during a flood in 2018. The main hall has been totally rebuilt and the Daishi Hall next to the stream has been renovated.

Today, I took a few photos of the countryside in Kochi, the Shimanto River and the coastline. I watched sunset from the coach. During a brief stop, we met an elderly Japanese man drinking sake and having sashimi by a beach. A simple but most wonderful way to enjoy life!

October 12: 7 Temples- Temple 9-14 in Ehime and 16 in Kagawa

Guided by Bodhisattva Manjusri, Daishi had stayed in Temple 9 Monjuin with Jizo-bosatsu and Monju-bosatsu and enlightened the people. Kono Emon Saburo who realized his sin after losing eight children, set out on a pilgrimage to repent and apologize to Daishi. This was the beginning of his pilgrimage and after eight years and 21 pilgrimages to the sacred sites of Shikoku, he finally met Daishi again. Later Daishi reincarnated Emon Saburo as the lord of Iyo Province and ruled well. In later years, the temple was moved to Emon Saburo’s former residence and became the Kono family’s temple.

Temple 10 Nishiyama Koryu-ji covering an expansive ground on West Hill founded by monk Kuhachi in 642, is a gem with many scenic spots and nationally designated important tangible cultural property. It was visited by Daishi and highly revered by imperial families, military commanders and feudal lords, and local believers. The Principle Image is Juichimen- senju-sengen-kanseon-bosatsu. We had a beautiful walk to the main hall and the three-story pagoda. This was a highlight of the day!

Temple 11 Ikiki Jizo (Living Wood Jizo) has an interesting legend. Daishi slept one night at Mt Shio and saw a brilliant light on the mountain. At dawn he saw the auspicious large camphor tree. A boy appeared and the Buddha spoke to him saying, “The boy’s incarnation will show me”. That night Daishi struck the camphor tree with his sacred sword, making three bows and carved a sacred statute of Enmei Jizo Daibosatsu which becomes the principal image of this temple. On September 26, 1954, the sacred camphor tree was blown down by strong winds but the Jizo statue did not fall: it still stands in the Main Hall today.

After a short drive, we reached Temple 12 Enmei-ji which Principle Image is Enmei-jizo-bisatsu. Daishi found a certain Izari Pine tree at this temple taking pity on her and created an Awl Amulet. He gave one to Izari and due to subtle miracle, she immediately recovered. She recited the Awl and was ordained as a monk. The Awl from that time still exists as a temple treasure. It is a vow that if you pray sincerely for this awl Amulet morning and evening, you will be relieved of all kinds of illness. You will also be praying for safe childbirth.

The spectacular and atmospheric Temple 13 Sennryu-ji perching on a cliff was founded by Kobo Daishi at the age of 42 when he climbed the mountain and enshrined Takizawa Daigongen and Kaiun Fudoson in Kongo Cave. He built a goma altar for health and disaster prevention, purify his body and mind in the “Kiyome-no-taki” waterfall every morning and evening, and made tow requests for “good luck protection” and “protection from insects and bountiful harvests”. He performed goma training for twenty-one days and then carved a statue of himself and enshrined it on the mountain. The principal image of the temple is Kobo Daishi and believers from all over the country visit the temple throughout the year.

Temple 14 Tsubakido which Principle Image is Enmei-jizo-bisatsu, was first built in 807 as a hermitage by Kuniji Koji. A traveling monk (Kobo Daishi) visited the hermitage on 15 October 815 and learnt about a terrible fever that spread and caused suffering to the residents. He gathered the residents and stuck his walking stick in the soil, prayed and sealed the disease in the soil along with the stick before leaving. Later, a camellia sprouted and grew upside down from the stick. Nowadays, faithful believers come to touch Daishi’s left hand with his/her right hand and then touch the parts of his/her body with problem.

Founded by Kobo Daishi during the Daido era, Temple 16 Hagiwara-ji is serene and elegant: it was the place of imperial consultation for Emperor Suzaku. Later it became a place of prayer for Lord Hosokawa. It has been the head temple of the Roppoken Shinkata school, the light of the law has been passed down and the Onza Goma ritual is famous. It is known as a famous spot for Hagi, with Hagi bush clover designated as a prefectural natural monument. There are also numerous temple treasures. The Principle Image of the temple is Karadasan-hibuse-jizo-bosatsu.

October 13: Temple 15 & 20 in Tokushima, and 17-19 in Kagawa

When I opened the curtain in the morning, I was thrilled to find clouds floating in the valley and at top of two mountain ranges. We sat off as usual at 8 am hoping to visit the last five temples today. First after a short drive, we reached the foothill of Temple 15 Hashikura-ji (Principle Image – Konpira-dai-gongen). We had a short ride on a cable car followed by a fairly long walk to the main temple. It is wonderful to find the Heart Sutra engraved into the long staircases lined with old trees. Very serene atmospheric!

Another interesting feature of this temple is the installations of the principle deities of the 88 Temples on a flat ground after the temple ground. By walking counter-clockwise this year, one can accumulate three times the merit. So I walked counter clockwise twice! I could have spent the whole morning in this temple.

Temple 17: Kanno-ji founded by Kobo Daishi, protects the Mannoike Pond with Yaskushi-nyorai as the Principle Image. In 1581,the temple was burnt down and became abandoned. In 1934, the Manno Daishi Associaiton was formed and rebuilt the temple marking the 1,100 anniversary of the death of Kobo Daishi. Here The Daishi Hall is open-air and unique: a Kobo Daishi copper statue stands on a small hilltop overlooking at the pond. Here we met an elderly pilgrim in shorts who chanted, sang Italian opera and rode a bicycle.

MY, our guide explained Temple 18 Kaigan-ji with Sho-kanzeon-bosatsu as the Principal Image, was the birth place of Kobo Daishi and his parents. The Main Hall looks relatively new. The Daishi Hall considered the inner sanctuary, which is quite a distance from the Main Hall, is atmospheric and ancient. It is said that one can see the birth basin. But I missed it. I also climbed a small hill with a two-storey pagoda a next to Daishi Hall.

Temple 19 Kozai-ji founded by the monk Gyoki in the Nara period was originally located at the foot of Mount Shoga and called Shoga-ji. Kobo Daishi rebuilt and moved it to the current location. The Principle Image is Enmei-jizo-bisatsu. The temple has a fairly complicated history rebuilt, relocated and renamed several times. It was selected as an imperial temple by Emperor Saga and during the reign of Emperor Suzaku, it was selected as a dangisho (a place to study for monks). It was rebuilt and named as Kozan-ji during the Kamakura period. It was relocated back to the current site during Manji era (1658-1661) and rebuilt in the Kanbun era (1661-1673). However most of the original seven buildings were lost in a fire and today, only the grand Main Hall, Daishi Hall and a couple of small structures remain. However, I can see its grandeur during its hey days. MY arranged our certificates here as the 86-year-old head of the temple writes beautifully.

We then raced to Temple 20 Otaki-ji which Principle Image is Nishiteru-dai-gongen. Located near the peak of Mt Otaki (940m above sea level), the temple is accessible by taking a narrow and winding for over half an hour. I almost had an upset stomach. We arrived at the temple just before 5pm and we were thrilled to complete the pilgrimage within four days. MY gave us the certificate of completion and we took photos in front of the temple while watching sunset. It took us almost an hour to reach the hotel.

October 14 Tokushima-Osaka-Hong Kong

We had a relaxing travel day. We departed at 8:30am returning to the same area where we purchased our stuff on the first day. We placed order for a Buddhist beads bracelet using the 20 beads obtained from each temple. Then we had a sumptuous lunch in the same private club where we had our 88-temple graduation lunch last November. The setting, presentation and quality of the food were both gorgeous. We set off for Kansai Airport after lunch. While the group CX flight was at 6:45pm, my cheap HK Express flight would not leave till 8:50pm. I had to spend over five hours at the airport. By the time I got home, it was after 12:30 am on October 15. I felt exhausted but was glad to be home after almost two months.

Remarks

I am pleased to have completed the 88-temple pilgrimage that I began in 2012 as well as the pilgrimage to 20 sacred sites on the occasion of the 1,250 anniversary of Kobo Daishi. I particularly like Temples 1 (Taisan-ji), 2 (Dogaku-ji), 7 (Shusseki-ji), 10 (Koryu-ji), 13(Senryu-ji), 15 (Hashikura-ji) and 16 (Hagiwara-ji). It would be wonderful to see foliage in Temples 7, 10, 13, 15 and 16. I hope to revisit some of the 108 temples one day. (to continue)

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Japan Nikko & Tokyo 2-8 October 2024

A Gap Week

The raison d’etre of my visit to Japan is to join the Shikoku pilgrimage would take place from October 9 – 14. After Hokkaido, I flied to Tokyo, spending two nights in Nikko and three nights in Tokyo before spending a night at the Nikko Hotel at Osaka Kansai Airport to wait for the group from Hong Kong.

October 2 Sapporo – Tokyo

I toyed with the idea of purchasing a 7-day Japan Rail Pass for use after Hokkaido. As I find it increasingly difficult to travel with my luggage, I finally decided to fly when I found a cheap ticket on Spring Airlines. The plane took off around 11 am and I was in Narita an hour and a half later. I took an airport bus to Shinjuku and then a taxi to my hotel in Kabukicho. It was the first time I stayed in this entertainment district best known for adult-oriented nightlife. I am not interested in nightlife: a brief stay and people watching give me a feel about this district. The young people I have come across early in the morning all look pale and a bit weird. I suppose they might have stayed up the whole night drinking, smoking and having fun. It is an eye-opening experience. But I would unlikely return to stay in this area.

October 3-4 Nikko

Nikko is one of my favourite places in Japan. I was looking for foliage on my third visit. Unfortunately it was too early. On this occasion, I bought a 4-day Nikko All Area Pass (4780 yen) which covers a return ticket on local train on Tobu Railway between Asakusa and Nikko / Kinugawa Onsen, an extensive bus network in Nikko and a lake cruise. I had to pay an extra 1650 yen to take a limited express to Nikko. This was the first time I bought this pass. Though I would use it only for three days as I had to return to Tokyo on 5 October, I still considered it most value for money and would highly recommend it to visitors without car.

Despite the unstable weather, I enjoyed doing whatever my mood took me and my hip allowed me to do. I treasured my time in Nikko with many memorable moments.

First, I loved the long scenic ride to Lake Yunoko (with 45 stops) each day. Second, I visited the three most famous falls in Nikko and enjoyed walking 1-2 km through the wood or along the river to the Ryuzu and Yudaki Falls. For the Kegon Falls, I paid 600 yen to take a lift to a platform 100m below in order to have full view of the waterfall.

Third, I had a most atmospheric Lake Chuzenji sightseeing cruise. When I got on the boat, it was so foggy that I could not even see the boat till it was right in front of me at the pier. Then with ten minutes later, the sun suddenly pierced through thick cloud resulting in most beautiful lights and rolling mist over the lake.

Fourth, I took the train to Kinugawa Onsen and saw the Kinu River and the famous steam train in action.

Fifth, I was stuck in the Lake Yunoko for an hour owing to the rain. So I could not walk round the lake to Yodaki Falls as planned. But I enjoyed sitting in the cafe watching the rain, trout jumping out of water and talking with a French couple from Avignon. Later despite the rain, I went to the Yodaki Falls, then follow the boardwalk to Kodaki Falls and finally following the staircase next to the Yodaki Falls back to Lake Yunoko where I took a bus.

Finally, I was moved when an Austrian couple whom I ran into twice that day offered to give me a lift. As it started to drizzle and getting dark, I took their kind offer instead of standing in the rain to wait for a bus.

October 5 – 7 Reunion

On October 5, I had dinner with Miyo a friend I first met in Yellowknife Canada watching Northern Lights in 2014. She accompanied us hiking Mt Fuji in 2016. She is elegant and kind and we had a great time catching up while having most delicious sushi omakase.

On October 6 and 7, I went to Yokohama to meet Alan, my brother from Australia and Vicki, my sister-in-law. They just got off the boat in Yokohama after a 13-day cruise. It was wonderful to be able to meet up and spend time together. We had dim sum lunch in Yokohama China Town and sashimi and tempura in the fish market.

During my stay in Tokyo, I went to the National Art Centre to see “Keiichi Tanaami: Adventures of Memory”. Tanaami (1936-2024) is highly regarded as a pop-artist and modern border-crossing person. I don’t know him but am most impressed by his energy and 60+ years of creativity: as a prolific artist, his graphic designs, illustrations, paintings, collages, sculptures, animations, experimental videos, installations etc are iconic and distinctive.

After lunch in Yokohama, I went to Harajuku strolling aimless for almost two hours. It was wonderful to see a young dog-walker with 19 dogs. It was nice to window-shopping. I have no fashion sense and it is great to watch the young people in trendy fashion walking by. I sat outside Laforet watching people and the streetscape. Then I went to Tokyu Plaza which has an expansive green garden on the sixth floor. A nice urban escape!

I had never taken long distance bus in Japan. This time, I took the overnight bus leaving Shinjuku Express Bus station at 10:35pm. It was quite an experience. The Bus with 44 seats is neat, clean and tidy. There is a curtain between each seat (for privacy I suppose). Most the passengers were Japanese young ladies/girls probably under 30. I noticed that the men were assigned seats at the front. I do not fine the seat too comfortable (perhaps it is designed to meet Japanese preference and habits).

October 8 Osaka Kansai Airport

Today was a rest day as I had nothing particular I wished to do. I got off the bus at Namba Osaka shortly after 7 am. Then after having a breakfast in a nice coffee shop, I took the Nankai train to Kansai (970 yen) and waited till 2 am to check in Nikko Hotel at the airport. As the hotel Chinese restaurant offers a dim sum buffet, I might just as well enjoy a nice lunch before check-in. As a senior citizen over 65, I only had to pay 3600 yen for a buffet with a choice of 25 types of dim sum. The restaurant has elegant decor. Presentation of the dim sum was good though the dim sum in Hong Kong is more authentic and delicious. I spent the rest of the day in my comfortable room writing travel notes and read. A relaxing day

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