Solitary Monk sits atop a mountain in Phu Hin Ronkla, Thailand

bkkshadow (70)in #stories • 8 years ago (edited)

Some friends and I had traveled to Petchabun province in the north of Thailand to see how the locals celebrated Thai New Year. Nearby where we were staying there was a large National Park. The national park although not particularly well known among travellers, covers nearly 80,000 acres and stretches across 3 Thai provinces all the way to Laos. Due to the rugged terrain and isolated location, the park served as home to the CPT (Communist Party of Thailand) during most of the tumultuous late 70's and early 80's.

We were suggested to take about a 20km drive to the top of one of the mountains in the park (Phu Hin Ronkla) where we would see the rock formations of Lan Hin Taek (‘field of the cracked stones’). At this point, near the edge of the mountain sandstone knolls create a strange visual aesthetic.

image source: http://f.tpkcdn.com

It was an overcast day, and we were the only ones about, or so we thought. As we arrived, we found this monk, sitting serenely, all alone, simply watching the storm clouds roll in over Laos. We made an effort not to bother him, and I think we came and went without him even noticing.

Even though its a fairly low-res picture taken on an old pocket camera, i still love this image.