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Thanks everyone

I suppose I will just hope for the best

Hi, I am living in Australia but will be moving to Thailand shortly. It is spring here in Oz and as usual, I have hayfever like every spring. I was wondering if anyone in Thailand gets hayfever and could tell me what time of year it occurs. Do they have good hayfever medicine in Thailand or should I bring my own?

Thanks for any info

Hi again Pandit

Today I went to the Thai consulate here in Perth and had a chat with some people there. They gave me a non immingrant(ed) visa pretty much straight away

They were more than helpful when I said I was going to be ordained

The woman there recommended me to go for a 30 day retreat at Northern Insight Meditation Center WAT RAMPOENG in Chiang Mai

She said by the end of the retreat you can request ordination or the head monk could refer me to another monastery if I like so this is what I will do

Thanks heaps for all your advice

Wow, thanks guys. You have been really helpful.

I am living in Perth, Western Australia. I have stayed at a monastery called Bodhinyana here in Aus. It is a branch of Ajahn Chahs forest monasteries like the one in England with the famous Ajhan Brahm as abbot.

I only stayed there for 2 weeks. As a lay person I really didnt have much to do with the monks. I mainly cooked food and dug holes and stuff and was welcome to listen to the weekly talks.

The only problem I have with western monasteries, and I mean no offense, but it kind of felt like a retirement village. There was an abundunce of quality food, I never went hungry, cold or even had a mosquito bite. This may sound like a good thing but I felt like I was too comfortable and just got lazy and uninspired. I feel as though by going to Thailand and live rough for a while the dhamma may feel more urgent if that makes any sense. I have also been trying to teach myself Thai and would really like to learn it fluently.

I just turned 21 and have been accepted into uni starting next year. It feels like a total waste of time. I realize I am naive about Thailand and am probably expecting too much but i suppose I will never know if i dont go

Ideally, I would like to find a place where I can practice meditation in peace and also learn how to be a good monk and about all the rules and things that would be expected from me.

Thanks again for all your advice.

Thanks for your advice Sabaijai

Hi, I have been planning on going to Thailand to ordain as a monk for some time now and I have finaly got enough money together to take off. I think I would rather have a wat to go to when I land rather than just wander around and hope for the best. Of all my research done on the web, I have been only able to find one wat that accepts westerners "wat pa nanachat"

I am thinking of going there because it is the only one I know of, does anyone else know of another?

Anyway, at the site I discovered the forest monastery, it said write ahead to avoid dissapointment. I am not very good at writing letters and i dont know where to start.

Should I adress it to the abot, like, Dear Abbot or Dear Bhante or Dear Monks

This probably sounds silly but any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Thanks again guys

Thanks, I live in Perth. Getting a letter from the abbot shouldn't be a problem.

Hi, I am interested in ordaining at a wat in north-east Thailand. I live in Australia and I was wondering what I need to do about my visa. Should I enter on a tourist visa, ordain then apply for an extension or is there another way?

Any info about this would be great.

Thanks