Taungtha

Slackline workshop number five. One for the books. The monks we taught at Taungtha monastery are, we're pretty sure, the first Buddhist monks to have slacklined. They have a setup now, and the knowledge to rig it and take it down. From the looks of things it might join their morning meditation.

They offered us a space in the monastery to sleep. We came back from a late dinner and a group of immigration, intelligence, and police officers was at the door. It is illegal for foreigners to sleep in monasteries. We were told to pack up and ride 25 kilometers, at 10pm, to the nearest town with an approved guesthouse. The elder monk pantomimed a sobbing face behind their backs.

An intelligence officer followed us on a motorcycle with no headlights for the first 10 kilometers, to make sure we didn't veer off. An absurd sight, and a bizarre end to a beautiful day. Three cheers for the monks. Three jeers for the paperwork.