In January 1999 my husband Ron and I cashed in some frequent flyer miles and journeyed to Thailand. For many years he has been telling me that it is "paradise on Earth." Since we conduct numerous tours for sacred site tour groups, we were especially excited because this would be our own personal pilgrimage - something that we have done very rarely. Our itinerary would begin in Thailand's second city, Chiang Mai, where wats (temples) are plentiful and the shopping is extraordinary. From there we would fly to the south to a tiny island off of Phuket island called Koh Phi Phi. ("Pi Pi Island"). After spending 5 days there we would venture onward to Krabi, a once-small fishing village that is increasing its tourism but still can boast empty beaches and white sand. Since this was my first time in Thailand, this itinerary would give me a taste of both the north of Thailand with its many temples and the south with its breathtaking beaches.

After more than 24 hours of travel, we settled into our Chiang Mai hotel and couldn't wait to begin temple hopping. We rode a "took-took" into the walled city, which is like a motorbike with a coach for customers attached to it, and set out on foot to begin visiting the Buddhist wats. The first wat we visited was Wat Chiang Mun, whose most famous enshrined item is a quartz crystal Buddha. We spent some time meditating there until we heard the ring of a cell phone inside the temple. Looking up, we saw a monk dressed in orange robes engrossed in an animated discussion with his cell phone to his ear! This surreal sight brought smiles to our faces as we wished we had a camera with us to document this amusing sight.

Next we went to Wat Phra Singh which had an altar of several huge and beautiful golden Buddhas. This was a large meeting hall and there were many people gathered. Some were stretched out on the ground sleeping or engaged in discussions. Tourists wandered in to take pictures and carry on conversations. After spending so much time in Japan where temples are places of silence, I was quite surprised that even the locals talk loudly and socialize inside the temples. It looked like there was to be a lecture shortly because a thronelike chair was placed conspicuously in front of a microphone. We waited nearly an hour, but nothing happened.

When we traveled to Bali in April/May of 1998 we had to adhere to specific dress codes inside of the Balinese Hindu temples. Both women and men had to wear traditional sarongs. In Thailand the dress codes were not as strict, but it was still important that women did not show their bare legs above the calf or show their bare arms above the elbow. In addition, it was important not to sit with one's feet pointed toward the Buddha because that was an act of disrespect. Even still, many foreigners came into the temples in short-shorts and skimpy tops, having done no research about temple etiquette. Unless it is a main temple where dress codes are enforced, most foreigners are allowed in no matter what they are wearing even if it is frowned upon.

Our next stop turned out to be my favorite wat in Thailand thus far. It is called Wat Bupparam and we found it by "accident." I'm not sure why this was my favorite wat except to say that while inside the grounds I always felt more peaceful and more spiritual energy than at any other place. It was fairly new and immaculately kept. Staring into the eyes of Buddha here was like staring into the cosmos. What a powerful place!

We met an elder woman here who spoke English fairly well. In fact, she spoke the best English of anyone we met in Thailand. She volunteered at the temple every day helping the monks and greeting tourists. Over the course of our visit to Chiang Mai we spent so much time at this wat that she became very friendly with us. One day she invited us to return for the evening prayers. She said we could sit in the temple while the monks chanted. It didn't take much convincing for us to attend! We said we would return some evening to attend the prayers and thanked her for the invitation.

The final wat we visited that day was Wat Chedi Luang where a huge reclining Buddha statue is kept along with an intriguing structure that is reminiscent of pyramids in the Yucatan. This structure had striking (but reconstructed) figures of elephants and dragons on it. Once completed, it will be an awesome sight.

That night we ventured into the Night Market, which is a sight one shouldn't miss in Chiang Mai. Every night merchants gather on one city street to sell their wares. It is crowded with tourists and there is a lot of activity, but the shopping is beyond compare. Local crafts are sold at such inexpensive prices that one needs to buy a second suitcase just to get them home! Since I am so petite, it is hard to find clothes that fit, so I like to shop in Asian countries where the sizes are more compatible with my body frame. We bought silk and cotton clothing, batiks, lacquer items, Thai figurines -- and this was only the beginning of the trip! But after an hour or so the jet lag kicked in and we rode the took-took home only to collapse in bed.

The next day we returned to Wat Bupparam to meditate before walking around the city. More shopping! Ron purchased a very large teakwood Buddha head for our yard that we had shipped to the USA. We also enjoyed the Thai food immensely with its spicy tastes and sweet coconut milk. But soon the chaos, pollution, and frenzy of Chiang Mai was beginning to wear us down. After a brief rest, we headed back over to Wat Bupparam for the evening prayers with the monks.

When we arrived at the wat, the prayer halls were empty. We caught a glimpse of our elder Thai female friend (who I silently nicknamed "Evelyn"). She was seated inside a cluttered hall with another western woman beside her. She motioned for us to join them. As we walked in we saw an older monk sitting up on the altar, in conversation with the two women. "Evelyn" introduced us to the abbot (head monk) of the temple. Such an honor! The other woman was a tourist from Canada. The abbot welcomed us (through Evelyn's interpretation) and passed out soy milk and crackers to us. He then began giving us a brief dissertation on the virtues of vegetarianism.

There was so much love in the room. It was such a joy to just sit and listen. The abbot was surprised that we were from Phoenix, Arizona because he said his niece works in a Thai restaurant in Phoenix (though he didn't know which one). As the abbot watched, Evelyn also instructed us in a simple Buddhist walking meditation that can be done by anyone. She is such a joy-filled woman who seems so at peace that we could have listened to her speak on any topic at all with total fascination and interest. After about an hour of conversation, Evelyn told us it was time for the prayers and we should proceed to the temple.

The three of us (Ron, myself, and the Canadian woman) removed our shoes and went into the temple where two monks sat with microphones. For the next half hour they chanted Buddhist prayers in the Thai language. The sounds of their prayers filled the great hall. The sensation was phenomenal. The moment they began chanting I felt my crown chakra open and a great spiraling energy begin inside of me and spread all through the temple hall. At one point it felt as if a beam of light shot through my heart from behind, cleaning my entire heart area. The sound felt as if it was magnifying light energy brighter and brighter. It truly was a sensation of bliss. When it ended, it was difficult to leave but we had to because they were closing the temple so the monks could retire.

We got into a took-took in an altered state and went to eat dinner. It took nearly 2 hours to return to "normal" consciousness, and even then one could still feel the profound spiral energy moving around and through reality itself. Even walking through busy Chiang Mai, I could feel as if I was emanating so much light. I began to understand how the monks could maintain serenity even amidst chaos. I began thinking about the gruesome ordeals Tibetan monks experience as they watch their fellow monks being slaughtered by Chinese soldiers and began to understood how, by perfecting their religious practices, they can maintain high frequencies of spirit even amidst the most challenging circumstances. Though I lack those skills, at least I was given a brief glimpse of the possibilities of spirit if one is humble, discipined, and open hearted.

By this time we became aware that a "spirit monk" was shadowing us. I first encountered him at Wat Bupparam while taking a photo of a temple spire. From the corner of my eye I literally saw an orange-robed monk walking high up near the spire. My mind tried to rationalize what I saw by thinking, "Oh, he must be up there to do maintenance." But as soon as I finished taking the photo, I realized that there was no physical monk up on the structure. From that point onward, I could see him from the corner of my eye as we walked around Chiang Mai. Sometimes I would turn quickly to see if it was a human monk, but his image always disappeared when I directly looked at him. He felt quite friendly and a bit curious. At times it felt like he was guiding us to see or experience certain things. In all the travel I have done around the world, I have never felt such a solid presence as I did with the spirit monk in Chiang Mai.

One night we were reading in the hotel room. Suddenly Ron gasped and looked out the window. He showed me the goosebumps on his arms. He said that out of the corner of his eye he saw a monk in orange robes walking outside our window above the railing of the balcony. (We were on the third floor!) That was when I knew that I wasn't imagining things! Sadly, our spirit monk did not accompany us when we left Chiang Mai a few days later.

The next day we hired a taxi and went up the mountain to Wat Doi Suthep - a breathtaking wat covered in gold. There is a long dragon-lined staircase to climb to get to the wat at the top of the mountain. This is a major tourist spot and a very sacred temple, so all dress codes are enforced. Upon entering the inner sanctuary of the temple, one is struck by the marble floors and walls, and the red and gold décor. Statues of gold Buddhas are everywhere and the courtyard is filled with windchimes, giving the place a feel of magic and mystery. Inside a small hall where we were meditating, we were interrupted by and old monk who sprinkled holy water on us and said a prayer - what a great blessing! The beauty and peaceful atmosphere of this wat makes it a place where one could spend the whole day in quiet contemplation. It reminded me of what the Mayan and Egyptian temples must have looked like during their heyday. It provoked a longing to have more active temples in the world where one can go to reflect on the self and the cosmos in utter serenity.

On our final night in Chiang Mai we returned to Wat Bupparam for the evening prayers. This time, Evelyn and a few other Thai women joined us. The service began with just a few monks but as we sat with our eyes closed, the cadence of the prayers kept getting louder. When we would open our eyes we would be stunned to find more monks. Each time we opened our eyes during the service there were more and more monks surrounding us in prayer. Orange robes filled the hall and the effect of so many voices created a powerful energy field. The spiral I felt earlier returned even more powerfully than before. It was sheer bliss! The prayers went by in a flash. Stunned by the energy, we sat quietly after they concluded until one of the monks, in broken English, politely asked us to leave so they could lock the temple grounds and retire for the night. Leaving that temple was the hardest thing we had to do during the whole trip to Thailand!

The next day we boarded a plane back to Bangkok and then to Phuket. From Phuket we were to take the ferry to Pi Pi Island. During the previous week we had been reading the English language newspapers because of the controversy going on near Phuket. American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio was there filming a movie called "The Beach" on Maya Beach, part of the Pi Pi Island group. The film crew had replanted some coconut palms for the film and Thai environmental groups were protesting and filing lawsuits. Tourists had come out of the woodwork to see Leonardo, so there wasn't a hotel room in sight. Instead of a quiet beach holiday, we feared we would walk into the middle of a tourist-crammed melee.

Sure enough, Pi Pi Island was jammed with tourists. This tiny island was only a small Muslim fishing village a decade ago until mass tourism exploded on the island. It is gorgeous - aquamarine water, white sand, coconut palms and limestone cliffs. And people. Lots of them. (Mostly European, which is refreshing for a change.) Boats crowded the beaches, making it hard for swimmers. But even with the congestion, the aura of the place was upbeat and breathtaking. (Next time, however, we will find accommodations farther away from the activity!)

There were several highlights of this leg of the trip, in addition to simply spending time by the shore! We hired a boat and left the island to go to the nearby Phi Phi Ley island where Maya Beach is located. (No, we did not see Leonardo. It was Sunday and the film crew was not working). Surprisingly, we were able to dock the boat at the beach and walk up to the set. It was easy to see why this location was chosen to shoot a movie. It is totally breathtaking. (We were told Gina Davis' movie Cutthroat Island was filmed here also.) The entire boat trip left us in awe of the natural beauty of Thailand.

Back on Pi Pi Island, we also got in the habit of getting nightly massages. Local woman set up massage studios in thatched huts on the beach. In Thailand, we hear that women have to learn traditional Thai massage before they can marry. So, there are a lot of women with amazing skills and many tourists who want massages! Massages cost the equivalent of $6 for an hour, $12 for two hours. I went back three nights in a row and got the same woman - a beautiful young Thai woman, about 21, who was even smaller than I am! Each night she went deeper and deeper into my muscles and it really felt like she was moving a lot of energy. Thai massage is like a combination of massage and yoga. It can be painful but it releases toxins quite dramatically. When it is finished, one feels incredible! (Luckily we had some experience. We have gotten Thai massages from a Thai friend in Phoenix before the trip, so there would be no surprises.)

From Pi Pi Island, we traveled back to the mainland to Krabi, a fishing village that is only now beginning to see an increase in tourism because of its natural beauty. In fact, we even found a deserted beach that stretched for miles just a stone's throw from our hotel on Ao Nang Beach. Krabi is another place that we could spend a lot of time. The beach resorts are quiet and the tourist spots are only sparsely visited.

One of the highlights of this last segment of our trip was the day we hired a motorbike and deciphered a Thai map enough to go to Wat Tam Sua, also called the "Tiger Cave". Here, a Buddhist temple is built into the side of a mountain. This place is a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists from all over the world. At this site, one also has the option of climbing a set of narrow steps to the top of the mountain where there is a small Buddhist temple. We made the (difficult) climb and it was well worth it. The view from this temple was magnificent, offering a panorama that spanned from the shore to the limestone cliffs, and into the inland jungle. Our timing was perfect. A thunderstorm was coming in and watching it from this vantage point was an amazing gift from Mother Nature!

After our trek to Thailand it became obvious that it would take years to explore all the splendors of Thailand. (We didn't even tour Bangkok!) The food was amazing, and the people were generous and kind. Though it is a long trip (nearly 24 hours from Phoenix, Arizona) it was well worth it.

I've been so fortunate to have had the ability to travel around the world to many of Earth's sacred places. This is one of the reasons why I like to write about my journeys, so that others can visit these places of beauty vicariously through my writings. In this way, I can share these amazing travels with others and give back some of what I have learned.

Any time we travel to a sacred site it is like visiting a sacred site within us - whether we read about a journey or experience it ourselves, it puts us a little bit more in touch with the sacred spaces within ourselves.

-- Lyssa Royal Holt, February 8, 1999