To Balik Pulau and back

Did something a little different yesterday. We followed the monks from the Nandaka Vihara Meditation Society on a visit to two Buddhist monasteries in Balik Pulau and a meditation centre in Bukit Mertajam. It turned out to be quite a day, almost like putting in a full day's work. We left home at 9.30am and didn't get back until 5.30pm. Eight hours out and about, and thankfully, I wasn't the one behind the wheel.

That job was left to a younger volunteer, which was just as well because it rained heavily for much of the day. Driving in that sort of weather can be quite challenging for me, especially when visibility is poor and the roads are wet. I was quite happy to sit back and leave the driving to someone younger!

Our first stop was the Balik Pulau Buddhist Hermitage. Getting there was an adventure in itself. We turned off onto a road that seemed to get narrower and narrower until it was barely wide enough for a car to pass through. For a moment, I wondered whether we were heading in the right direction, but eventually we arrived at the hermitage. It was a rather secluded place and practically desrted. We had to let ourselves in through the gate. The only person there was the chief monk.

After that, we made our way to Vihara BoonRaksa Forest Monastery, also in Balik Pulau. This place was more accessible than the first, without the narrow approach that had made our earlier journey so interesting. We'd actually visited both places two or three years ago, so this wasn't our first time there. Not much seemed to have changed, although I had the opportunity to explore a little more this time around.

From Balik Pulau, we headed back to the mainland for our final stop at the Bukit Mertajam Buddhist Meditation Centre. By then, the day was already getting on, and after all that travelling in the rain, I was beginning to feel the effects of being out for so many hours.

We finally got home at 5.30pm, feeling thoroughly bushed. And this was despite having done none of the driving! I suppose eight hours of travelling, getting in and out of the vehicle and walking around the various places can take its toll on an old fellow like me. Age is catching up. Even a day spent visiting Buddhist monasteries can feel like a day's work...