In early March, 2004, I had the honor of being both a host and tour guide to John Morton during his brief stop over in Thailand before going on to Australia. Although John had performed my Causal initiation in Chicago back in May of 1992 and my Minister’s ordination in Japan last October, this was my first opportunity to spend time to get to know him.
I have been living in Thailand, physically separating me from the MSIA community I knew in Kalamazoo, MI, since August of 1993. In recent years I have felt a growing desire to reconnect physically with the greater MSIA community. Thus when Angel Gibson called me up at 3:00 AM(a little time zone confusion there), to tell me that John Morton was going to be in Bangkok in a couple of weeks, I was so excited I couldn’t go back to sleep for hours. Like a child waiting for Christmas to come, those two weeks couldn’t pass fast enough for me.
On the night of John’s arrival, I flew down to Bangkok from Chiang Mai. I got to the international airport around 11:00 PM and anxiously waited for his arrival. As I waited I realized that I hadn’t brought John’s flight number information with me. All I knew was that he was coming in on a United Airlines flight connecting through Japan. This flight wasn’t supposed to arrive until 11:30 PM. However, the monitor showed a UA partner flight had arrived from Japan around 10:30. Was John on that flight? I began to worry that he had already arrived and that we had somehow missed each other. I asked the Light for Light columns to be anchored into the arrival hall as a spiritual beacon or Light house to guide John to me if necessary. As my anxiety was just about to transform into panic, John’s flight landed and he walked out into the arrival hall to my great relief.
I had chartered a taxi for our travel needs during the John’s visit. To be honest, I was expecting John to be traveling rather lightly, and was a little shocked to see two big bags and a set of golf clubs. My friend and taxi driver, Amnuay, did his best to get everything packed into his small taxi, and we were off to the hotel. It was a bit cramped, but I didn’t mind and actually saw the humor of the situation. Even now, I giggle at the thought of us and all that luggage packed into that small taxi. As for John, his ability to take everything in stride was first revealed to me there. I would see it many times before he boarded the plane to Australia.
We arrived at the Oriental Hotel at about half past midnight. As we checked in, there were some questions regarding the special promotion for the rooms John’s assistant had reserved for us. Although it meant paying more for the rooms than expected, John didn’t complain or make a fuss. Instead he just flowed with the situation.
As I am sure many others already know, traveling with the Traveler can be very interesting and at times challenging. We arranged to meet at 8:00 AM for breakfast. I was concerned that John might be jet lagged or just tired out from getting to bed so late. Yet by the time I knocked on his door at 8:00 AM sharp, he had already been up several hours exploring the hotel.
Breakfast was our first challenge, as almost every meal would turn out to be. The three main staples of Thai cooking are onions, garlic, and pork. I was never so aware of this fact until challenged to order something without them. Our Thai servers, I think, were confused as to why we wouldn’t want these ingredients in our food. John’s breakfast had to go back one time, and I think round two was more a compromise than a resolution. Once again, John didn’t complain. He just flowed with the situation and ate what he could.
Our first tourist stop of the day was Wat PhraKaew, which is a royal palace used today for formal occasions and as a national museum. We road a boat from a pier next to the hotel up the Jao Phraya river — the river of kings — to the pier next to the palace. Unfortunately, much of the palace was closed to the public that day due to it being a Buddhist holiday. We flowed through the palace taking a few pictures along the way.
Our next stop was to be the largest teak house in the world and former residence of King Rama V — the son of the king represented in the movie “Anna and the King.” Unexpectedly, it was closed and we opted for an early lunch. Once again we were challenged with those three favorite Thai ingredients. I felt bad for both John and our Thai servers. In the end, John got the right food, and our taxi driver got a free dinner. Again and again we were flowing with the situations as they came forward.
As John’s guide, I was beginning to be a bit concerned that he wasn’t going to see as much of Thailand as I wanted him to. This was my chance to make a good impression of the country I love with a person I both love and respect. I was beginning to get frustrated because it didn’t seem to be working out according to my plans. All I could do was flow with it. This was obviously a lesson being brought forward for me.
I decided to take a chance and take John out to King Rama V’s summer palace. As we drove out to the palace John started to experience a stomach disturbance. As we got to the palace we found it was open to the public and we went in. As we walked in, John said to me, “Brian I’ve got whatever we needed to get here.” And, out we walked again. Amnuay, our taxi driver, suggested that we take a boat ride from the summer palace up the river to Ayuthaya, which was our next stop, instead of driving.
The boat ride lasted about forty minutes and was very peaceful. Neither of us talked much, but instead did spiritual exercises and enjoyed the view. John was able to use this time to clear up his stomach disturbance.
Amnuay picked us up at the pier and drove us the short distance to the old ruined city of Ayuthaya. He suggested driving us around the city before we got out of the car. As we had just about completed our trip around the city, John said, “Brian, I got it.” “O.K., back to the hotel,” I told Amnuay — another opportunity for me to flow with the traveler.
Just as we were about to leave the old city, John spotted a place giving elephant rides, and asked me if I had ever had one there. I hadn’t. So we stopped and got in line for a mount. For the most part, our ride was peaceful and relaxing. However, as we reached the turn around point, something brushed against my back and John asked me if the Thais used bows and arrows. He said he had been hit by an arrow. I looked around for some prankster, but couldn’t see anyone. A bit embarrassed I didn’t ask anything more. After the ride, we got in the taxi and drove back to the hotel.
Later at dinner, as we were being challenged with those three ingredients again, John and I discussed the bow and arrow situation. John related that it was a karma clearing situation, and that he felt the pain of being struck with an arrow. Wow! I do not know what or how the situation was being cleared, but I was excited to have been a part of the clearing. After dinner, we retired early.
At 6:00 AM the following morning, we were packed and down in the hotel lobby for our trip back to the airport. On our way to the Airport, John called in the Light and we did spiritual exercises in the car. We made it to the airport in good time, and not long after that John was on his way to Australia.
It was a pleasure to be John’s guide. I look forward to his next visit whenever that may be, and to the visits of other members of the MSIA community.
