“The World We Are” Holiday Retreat
REGISTRATION INFORMATION HOLIDAY RETREAT (December 24th, 25th, 2024 - January 01st, 2025)
Time & Location
Dec 25, 2024, 12:00 AM – Jan 01, 2025, 8:00 AM
Pong Ta Long, Thailand, Nakhon Ratchasima, Pak Chong District, Pong Ta Long, 30450
About the event
Dear Friends,
Thai Plum Village brothers and sisters are happy to announce the upcoming year-end Holiday Retreat to be opened for registration. The retreat titled “The World We Are” will be organized from December 24th - 25th, 2024 to January 01st, 2025 at Thai Plum Village International Practice Center.
Below are the information for those interested in joining the retreat:
- Languages: Our main language is English, and translation into several languages, including Vietnamese, Indonesian, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese, will be available.
- Number of retreatants: 500 friends.
- Instruction for registration: Please click the following link to complete the registration form (link below). The link will be opened on September 14th, 2024 (3:00 P.M. GMT+7, Thailand time). Please note that all individual registrations have to go through our system (we do not take email reservations).
- Arrival date: The Monastery’s representatives will pick you up at the airports on two days: December 24th, 2024 and December 25th, 2024 between 12:00 P.M. and 04:00 P.M. Therefore, please kindly book your flight that arrives at the airport in the morning or before 03:00 P.M.
- Departure date: Drop-off transportation service will be available from the Monastery to the airports on January 01st, 2025. The bus will leave the Monastery at 08:00 A.M., please kindly book your flight that departs after 03:00 P.M.
Notes:
- The Monastery is not responsible for your flight ticket if you decide to settle it before a successful registration is confirmed.
- To co-create the calm and stable energy of our retreats, you are recommended to arrive and leave the Monastery on the listed arrival dates. We may refuse to enroll in any case that comes too late, or any other days (earlier or later than the mentioned days).
- The monastery will have a period of monastic practice, so extending your stay after January 01st, 2025 will not be possible .
- To guarantee community practice and activities, the Monastery only receives participants five years old or older. Participants under 18 years old need to be accompanied by their parents or a legal guardian.
- Please read all information below prior to filling the registration form.
A. REGISTERING TO VISIT THE MONASTERY
To visit the Monastery, these are must-haves:
1. Registration link: To register, please fill out the form: Breathe and Smile. The link will be opened on September 14th, 2024 at 03:00 P.M. (GMT+7, Thailand time) and closed automatically when fully booked.
Necessary details for registering: email address, date of birth, telephone number, Viber or Whatsapp, passport number, address,...
2. After successfully registering on the link above, you will immediately receive an email notification that shows you have successfully registered and provides instructions for you to send us your flight ticket details. You are asked to read thoroughly all information and all the attached files. Your flight ticket details should be sent to us before September 28th, 2024. On September 28th, 2024, if your flight ticket has not been sent to us accordingly, your registration will be considered canceled.
3. Health insurance and travel insurance: Depending on your needs, you may consider purchasing health and/or travel insurance when traveling to Thailand. You can consider purchasing travel insurance before traveling abroad (to protect your benefits in the event that you require medical assistance abroad, you can purchase travel insurance packages at a low cost - these packages cover general medical treatment while in Thailand).
B. PICK-UP AND DROP-OFF TRANSPORTATION
1. Arrival date:
1.1 For participants who registered “to be picked up at the airport”:
- The Monastery’s car will pick you up from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) or Don Mueang Airport (DMK) from 01:00 P.M. to 04:00 P.M. in two days: December 24th, 2024 and December 25th, 2024. You are suggested to select a flight that arrives in Thailand before 03:00 P.M. If possible, please select one that arrives at about 12:00 P.M., so that after being picked up, you will have time to rest and be ready for the activities.
- If you are currently living in Thailand or arrive in Thailand before December 24th, and could not arrange your own means of transportation to come to the monastery, you could register “to be picked up at the airport” too. Please arrive at BKK airport between 10:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M. on December 24th, 2024 or December 25th, 2024.
To co-create the calm and stable energy of our retreats, you are recommended to arrive and leave the Monastery on the listed arrival dates. We may refuse to enroll in any case that comes too late, or any other days earlier or later than these days.
1.2 For participants who chose “will arrive in my own means of transportation” (not registered “to be picked up at the airport”): Please arrive at the Monastery on December 24th, or December 25th, 2024 from 03:30 P.M. to 07:00 P.M. We may refuse to enroll in any case that comes too late, or any other days earlier or later than these days.
Please note:
- To help our pick-up team: Please buy a Thai sim card (or use Wifi) to stay in contact with the Monastery and our pick-up team.
- Upon welcoming you at the appointed assembly point, our pick-up car will go directly to the Monastery. Please wear a face mask for the whole trip; the car will stop once for toilets at a pre-planned public place.
2. Pick-up fee (Airport <--> Monastery): The pick-up fee (van, bus) is around 600 Thai Baht per person (or 1,200 Thai Baht per person for two rounds).
3. Departure date: January 01st, 2025: Our drop-off car will leave the Monastery at 08:00 A.M. To avoid traffic jams, you are suggested to select a flight that departs after 03:00 P.M.
C. REGULATIONS DURING YOUR STAY IN THE MONASTERY
- Except for medical emergencies, please do not go out of the Monastery.
- Please clean your own space regularly according to the instructions of the Monastery.
- If you are currently taking any medication, please make sure to bring it with you.
- If the rooms are not sufficient, tents will be used as an accommodation in the retreats.
- As a Buddhist monastery, the internet is not available, so please kindly arrange everything before coming to practice at the monastery.
- Information on general rules, and personal items to bring when visiting the monastery: Please Click here
- The Monastery is a non-profit practice center. All activities are therefore donation-based only. We look forward to receiving your support during the time you stay in the Monastery. For the time being, the estimated expense for your food and accommodation during the Retreat is 1500 Thai Baht per person per night. For children from 6-12 years old, the estimated expense for your food and accommodation during the Retreat is 1125 Thai Baht per child per night.
- Your donation will support the Monastery to cover the monastics’ daily expenses like food, electricity, water, and health care, too. Donations can be made in cash (Thai Baht or USD) at our Registration office. Credit cards are NOT available.
E. OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please read the information carefully below to prepare for the best visit to Thailand:
- If the retreat is unable to take place for whatever reason, the monastery will not refund your flight ticket. The monastery will notify you via email of the retreat's cancellation.
- Pets are not welcomed.
- Please note: Thai Plum Village Practice Center is a non-profit organization without any support from commercial establishments. The funding is provided solely by donations from those with kind hearts. Therefore, should you develop any health problems or personal issues (including the case of being infected by Covid-19) that require treatment during your practice and stay in Thailand, please be aware that you will be fully responsible for any expenses incurred.
- If there are updates from the Thai government related to the immigration and quarantine guidelines for international visitors, Monastery will amend this document accordingly.
- Thai Plum Village on Google Maps: Click Here
If you have any further questions regarding attending retreats or other Monastery events, please email us at visitus@thaiplumvillage.org.
Thank you very much! We wish you a great Holiday Retreat with a lot of joy and happiness!
Thai Plum Village Registration Office Breathe and Smile