During a couple of days, I've tried something a bit different : stay at a Buddhist monastery. It also houses an orphanage, created after the 2004 tsunami. Here we are very close to the coast, and the memories are still very painful, specially a few days away for the 5th anniversary. Lots of houses have not been rebuilt, and every other kilometer there is a small cemetery with dozens of recent graves. In the monastery live 10 children who lost their parents then, and 2 more who are housed here for social reasons, plus 5 monks. And they have decided to open their doors and have a guest house for people who want to spend a few days there (mostly Japanese, because the money to create the foundation was mainly sent by Japan). There you can share the lives of the children and the monks, including the prayers and meditation at the temple every morning and evening.
Located in the middle of a very small village, close to the river, it gives the opportunity to discover the life in the surroundings. Below : one of the many water monitors that you can, either in the water or in the gardens, girls from the village, a prawn fisherman (and I can tell you that his prawns were good !), a man working in a moonstone mine and an elderly lady working in a cinnamon plantation.
Yes, I could also have chosen the nice hotel which was on the other side of the river, but honestly it would probably have been less friendly and interesting...
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire