Chumpon Trip 2019

Last year for Songkran, I went to Chumpon and couchsurfed at the house of a very generous host. One of my main reasons for wanting to go to this province was that it was the last province in southern Thailand that I hadn't seen. However I found out that it wasn't exactly the case. For over a year or more leading up to this trip I had been saying that I had been to all but one of the southern provinces. I had seen the deep south and all the provinces except Chumpon. And it turns out that wasn't entirely true. I had been to Chumpon before but I didn't know it.

Making friends with the locals.

I helped move some of these newly planted seeds in soil sacks. Want to know what they're growing?

So as I was getting instructions from my host, she told me to stop at the mouth of a road which led to Haeo Lom Waterfalls (น้ำตกเหวโหลม). Wait a second! I knew those falls! I had not only been there but also danced under the thundering flow of the falls as baba filmed me for his dance activism production. Check out this post for the video itself and more info on that trip. So I was in awe that not only had I been to this province as well, but that I had also been saying it's the last province I hadn't been to the whole time. It took me a moment to digest that.

Just to offer some more clarification on the story. When my father, my sibling, and I were travelling around this particular region, we were in neighbouring Ranong province. We were visiting a few waterfalls all along the way when we saw Haeo Lom on the map. And because it was so near the Ranong border, we never realized that we had stepped into another province. It took me over a year to realize that all thanks to my couchsurfing hosts whose house was in the area. 

The house had this manmade pool of water in the back. My hosts would fish here before many of our meals. It's not the only element of self-sufficiency and abundance they have in this natural environment.

I ended up staying with these hosts for two weeks. This was due to a number of factors. The first factor was the nature of all of my trips in the region after moving to Hatyai. For long periods of time, I wouldn't work Monday to Friday at my language school. And sometimes when I did have a weekday class or two, the students would cancel and again I would have Monday til Friday to go explore. This also meant that I couldn't go very far. It was very convenient to go to neighbouring provinces on Monday and come back home to Hatyai on Friday. I saw all of the southern provinces this way.

In this particular trip I had a weekend off thanks to Songkran as another contributing factor. This meant I could leave on Monday, travel for a whole week and then some, and finally return the following Friday. Initially it wasn't my intention to stay with the same hosts for the whole time. I was eyeing other hosts and considering finding other forms of accommodations as well. That's when the third factor comes in. My host insisted I stay. After the five days that I had requested were up, she insisted I stay longer. And a few days later, she insisted I stay again. Well I really appreciate their warm hospitality because the final factor was that I enjoyed being there with them just as well. I loved my hosts.

This is just one building at the Liberation Garden. 

Durian Fractal

During my time there, I read books from my host's library, meditated in the natural environment their home provided, recorded various sounds that would go on to contribute to my Southernstream album, and travelled with the family. I was in correspondence with another couchsurfer I knew who had also stayed with the family during his trip. He informed me of just how fortunate I was to be there during the holidays. That was which allowed the family to travel around and take me with them.

During the Songkran holidays, we went up to various family homes, various sites, different farms, and more. We went up to the home of my hosts' parents where we stayed for a night. Then we went to the home of my hosts' friend, where we stayed for another night. In between we visited various places like Chumpon city, various other farms, and the Liberation Garden(สวนโมกข์). In this post I talk about my visit to another branch of the Liberation Garden in Bangkok. The one we visited that time was in Suratthani province. I took the opportunity to meditate on a big rock on top of a hill.

This stream was by the town centre of my hosts' district.

Duck Sauce

Our adventures didn't end there. On two occasions, my host had to go to Ranong city to visit a family member in the hospital. She was generous enough to lend me her car during her visit. She told me to go see the city. I took the opportunity to see some sights in the area and some of the photos in this post are from those excursions. Her giving me the keys wasn't only an indicator of great generosity but of great hospitality as well. They had let me drive in our trips on Songkran as well. My hosts did everything they could to make me feel comfortable. 

We also visited the town centre in the district they lived in. It was a small town and offered a unique window into life in southern Thailand. We visited various farms where I met their friends. Actually, on one of our trips in the farms, we stopped by at three or four different farms where my hosts talked about the Treebank project with the farm owners and fellow project members. 

This temple is expanding towards the infinite sky.

The zoom on my camera is expanding towards the same temple from a different angle.

Reservoir 

The Treebank project is managed by my hosts. It values trees in their living form as assets. It is opposed to the view that a tree doesn't have value until it is cut down. That kind of value is economic. But the Treebank project wants to move away from that worldview and embrace a new one in which trees are regarded as more valuable than what money can buy. It resonated with me a great deal and reminded me of some dance activism projects I did titled Listening to Trees. 

In this post about the Southernstream album, I also talk a bit further about the project and other topics we discussed in the house in Chumpon. For example, the intro track for the album is titled Treebank and it features the voice of my host who summarizes the project. It's in Thai so for non-Thais that may mean that you have a Thai friend translate the message. And for non-Thais living in Thailand who can speak the language, the track becomes an excellent opportunity to the southern dialect.

The Grand Canyon of Ranong was one of the places I explored while my host visited the hospital.

A Natural Frame

The reservoir of water radiates quite a unique glow of green.

Sky is the Limit

Also it was in the house of my hosts that I met Remy. Remy was the yoga teacher of one of my hosts and I met him while he was at the house. He was someone who was very expressive of his appreciation and thankfulness. He would always say thanks and in a way that let you know he really meant it. I heard him thanking my hosts often and then turning to me to tell me how generous and welcoming they were. 

Remy and I enjoyed talking about all kinds of spiritual topics. He had a very interesting lifestyle of spending part of the year in France and the other part in Thailand or anywhere else he wished. Last I heard from him, he was in Oaxaca, Mexico. The track Freedomstream on the Southernstream album features his voice. It will be obvious to listeners of the track that he resonates with the message of being your true authentic self. 

The temples are often guarded by the Great Serpents. This staircase is also lined with a pair.

Reaching higher heights.

A point where spirituality touches the sky.

Chakra

One story that I remember Remy telling me was about a yogic training school he was in. His instructors told him that he must meditate under the full moon at every cycle. This seemed like a ridiculous piece of instruction to him who thought it absurd that it be absolutely necessary for him to do a certain meditation because they told him to. We both agreed that meditating under the full moon has its energetic benefits and perhaps certain activations. However such meditations give you full benefit when they are done willingly and spontaneously. When anything is shoved down your throat then it doesn't give you much benefit at all.

Meditation is about relaxation just as much as it is about awareness. Feeling stressed, we will not be aware of much. It is about ease and spontaneity. If it is forced you are better off stopping your attempt at meditation in the first place. Let it come naturally to you. I also don't agree with certain fixed instructions that say it must be this way or that. "You need to do this, do that, breathe this way, sit that way." That kind of meditation serves to distance you from any joy you could possibly experience. Meditation is a joyful thing, a spontaneous thing, a soul thing. 

This beehive was the inspirational source for my track Buzybeez. 

The family working away.

Southern Comfort

One of the elders we visited on their farm during Songkran. 

To wrap up, I offer my thanks to my hosts once again! I sincerely appreciate all your hospitality, welcoming, generosity and loving care you provided during my stay. I know many others feel the same because I saw their references on your profile. Remy certainly feels that way too. So thank you for making this world a more beautiful and welcoming place in your own way. Everytime you host someone there is an opportunity for great expansion. And that kind of expansion is truly joyful.

I haven't mentioned the names of my hosts in this post. Back when I was at their house I told them that I would be happy to send couchsurfers their way. I hosted many travellers in Hatyai, some of whom could really enjoy that kind of experience. However, my host told me not to. She hosts enough people and didn't want more exposure than she already gets. I respect that and hopefully this blog post doesn't give it away too much either. 

I saw my hosts one final time last year in Hatyai during the FIFA Women's World Cup. I had gone to watch the Netherlands play against Canada and they briefly joined me. I'm sure we'll meet again and if I'm ever in the area again, then I'd be very happy to stop by. It would be nice to continue our conversations and language exchange where we left off.

I was waiting for Remy at his eco-friendly resort one morning when I was sucked into the vortex of this stream. I stood there and became engulfed in a meditation. I observed the flow of the water, this unending current. That was a spontaneous meditation that just happened. It could not have been forced. And I don't even want to try to explain it any further because words don't do justice to the actual experience. Actually if you released the linguistic mind completely and just imagined a blank canvas, that would come closer to describing the experience. 

My meditative experience was logged at this location.