Tharn Pliew Waterfall

The photos of Ying gradually get farther and farther away as I explore and climb the waterfall on my own.

Today we got back home from a short trip to Tharn Pliew Waterfall(น้ำตกธารปลิว จ. สตูล) in Satun province. Our original intent was to meet an aunt who is like Ying's spiritual mother. This lady is skilled in a special kind of nerve massage - this is my own English wording/translation. She touches the nerves in the body. It's not quite like a Thai massage. Ying told me that she had visited this special person in her life a number of times while living in the Northeast. Now, the aunty is visiting her daughter in Satun. So we took the opportunity to see her to receive her special touch. 

The atmosphere of the waterfalls takes you within it. The word sphere is in the word atmosphere and it feels like you're in one at this beautiful place. 

The water doesn't fall down in one go. It passes through little pools and lagoons.

The multi-layered nature of the waterfalls can be seen from the top in this photo.

These waterfalls were very close to the home of the aunt and we made two visits. The first visit we made on Friday night, shortly before being taken to a nearby homestay for the night. At that time we couldn't stay long even though I really wanted to stay for hours. We revisited the falls in the morning before undertaking the drive home. Again, we were on limited time but at least this time we spent some more time at the falls. 

When Ying first told me about the idea to go to Satun to visit her spiritual mom, I thought of Wangsaitong Waterfalls, which I had visited in 2017. I suggested we stay at the resort across the street from Wangsaitong Waterfalls. However, I soon found out that the aunty's home was very close to another waterfall. I thought it would be a great idea to see a new site instead of insisting on going to the old one. So we decided to find a place near the new waterfalls we would be visiting. 

I didn't have this blog in 2017 and so the photos from that trip weren't uploaded here. However, I uploaded something else from that trip. At that time, I had recorded the sound of the waterfalls and made an album. That album is called Waterfalls Of Wellbeing: Wangsaitong and can be found on this bandcamp link. I talk about the divine timing involved in meeting the album art creator for that release on this blog post. 

Be Like Water

A Little Gateway

Here is the other side of that rock with the little gateway. Perhaps it was meant for little animals to play in.

I'm getting farther away from Ying now. If you zoom in, you'll see her still sitting in the same position on the walkway.

The 2017 trip to Wangsaitong Waterfall was full of meditation. Waterfalls are perfect places to meditate if there's nobody else there. Even if there are others there, you can still meditate but perhaps it wouldn't be called perfect. The flow of water teaches about Panta Rei, which is a universal teaching about how everything is in motion and constantly flowing. This morning, I had the same taste of meditation at Tharn Pliew Waterfall.

Framed By Trees

Bathed In Sunlight

A camera doesn't fully capture the energy of the ever-flowing falls because a camera seeks to take a stillshot of something that's characterized by constant movement.

I am climbing the falls and taking photos of Ying sitting at the same spot as a reference point.

Water doesn't care for left or right. Whether it flows left or right, water knows that the destination is the same. Be like water and allow the flow of life to take you further. Don't worry about left or right; don't think about right or wrong. Be guided like a stream of water.

A Powerful Flow At My Feet

There's just a little bit more to climb before I can reach the top. This is among my final obstacles. For the mind that's constantly searching for a way, there will be a way. It's not the time to give up or tell myself it can't be done. It's time to push it forward.

I'm pushing the limits as I climb this waterfall, one step at a time.  At no point did I second guess myself. I just wondered about how to get up there and eventually I found the way.

Overflowed With Determination

Ying is seen at the bottom of the falls as I have finally reached the top shelf. 

It was walkable up there on the limestone but caution needed to be taken with every step.

Sun Beams, Water Falls

I ended up sitting on that log to meditate.

It was a beautiful opportunity to meditate in a powerful place. I witnessed the water flow with persistent force. All my thoughts disappeared as I yielded to that power I witnessed from the falls. I couldn't think of any one thing for more than a few seconds. And that was exactly the message from the falls as well. That was exactly the point of this exercise. Don't think. Surrender to the flow. Just be.

Being comes first. Thinking is just one fruit of being. And thinking definitely has its place. Sometimes it's intuitive to sit down and deliberately think about something. That can be life-affirming or even life-changing. However, it's far from powerful to overthink at every stage of the day. I'm going to work and I'm thinking about what happened yesterday and what could happen tomorrow. That's no good. I'm going to work and just caught up in the moment as I feel the wind hit my face; I'm singing songs; I feel happy for no particular reason; I've got nothing on my mind. That's much better.

The water was flowing out from the foot of the mountain, shown in the centre of this photo.

Meditation Log

Experience The Energy

What makes this photo so powersome is that it was taken without my awareness. I must have accidentally clicked the button as I was tucking away my camera. Or you could say the waterfalls wanted to take this candid shot of me. 

 

Big thanks to the waterfall and Mother Nature for a great experience there today. Here is a link to an official website of the waterfalls. I made sure to take enough photos but also to have enough time with the smartphone tucked away. Being absorbed in the present moment at such a high-energy site like this one is recharging. I appreciate the time I spent tuning into the falls but I wish we had more time. To finish this post, I will add a few other photos that Ying took with her own camera. These are the received files photos to wrap it up.

Ying's spiritual mom is giving me a nerve massage.

Nature Child

I like photos to be candid and natural. A selfie just doesn't add up.

Friday night, on our first and very brief visit to the falls.