My OperaWe're back.
Sunday, February 11, 2007 11:43:38 PM
We've been back in England more than a week now and already our three weeks in Thailand have moved into the realm of pleasant memories.
Phuket was heavenly, but as every good Buddhist knows, heaven too is impermanent. We were on Phuket at Sri Panwa from Sunday to Wednesday, which meant two full days between arriving and departing. They were days with really nothing much to do and yet the time passed more quickly than I'd expected.
Back in Bangkok on the Wednesday evening we had our little annual reunion of former Warwick students who used to come to our Monday and Friday evenings at the Forest Hermitage and Warwick Uni Buddhist Society and who are now living and working in Bangkok. Then on the Thursday morning after our meal we went to see Professor Yongyudh of Siriraj Hospital and he asked me to briefly address a meeting of the Royal Society. My purpose in meeting him was really to discuss plans for the Buddhist contribution to the ceremonies this coming August at the Jamboree celebrating a hundred years of the Scout movement. Next we went on to Wat Sraket where I had arranged to meet an old friend, Sathienpong Wannapok. Now that he's a senator he's very busy but as it was his birthday he'd found time to make merit and to see me. He couldn't stop long and had already left when the Somdet appeared. Next stop was more treatment for my foot. This time it was the turn of a firm of chiropracters who have treated some of the top monks and the chap who worked on me was very good. Then it was back to where we were staying to get ready for the plane and I'm happy to say that by the time we boarded all the considerable efforts to care for my foot and get us upgraded had paid off and we returned to England in some splendour.
I have posted the best of the pictures we took in four albums. Just click on the Photos tab at the top and you will see them.
Phuket was heavenly, but as every good Buddhist knows, heaven too is impermanent. We were on Phuket at Sri Panwa from Sunday to Wednesday, which meant two full days between arriving and departing. They were days with really nothing much to do and yet the time passed more quickly than I'd expected.
Back in Bangkok on the Wednesday evening we had our little annual reunion of former Warwick students who used to come to our Monday and Friday evenings at the Forest Hermitage and Warwick Uni Buddhist Society and who are now living and working in Bangkok. Then on the Thursday morning after our meal we went to see Professor Yongyudh of Siriraj Hospital and he asked me to briefly address a meeting of the Royal Society. My purpose in meeting him was really to discuss plans for the Buddhist contribution to the ceremonies this coming August at the Jamboree celebrating a hundred years of the Scout movement. Next we went on to Wat Sraket where I had arranged to meet an old friend, Sathienpong Wannapok. Now that he's a senator he's very busy but as it was his birthday he'd found time to make merit and to see me. He couldn't stop long and had already left when the Somdet appeared. Next stop was more treatment for my foot. This time it was the turn of a firm of chiropracters who have treated some of the top monks and the chap who worked on me was very good. Then it was back to where we were staying to get ready for the plane and I'm happy to say that by the time we boarded all the considerable efforts to care for my foot and get us upgraded had paid off and we returned to England in some splendour.
I have posted the best of the pictures we took in four albums. Just click on the Photos tab at the top and you will see them.
