This is a guest blog post written by Joel and Trudy Berkovitz, who joined our September 2016 ‘Journey Through Time’ spiritual tour.
We are seasoned travellers, although some might call us ‘senior travellers’. We like to see our destinations through the lens of the spiritual and indigenous traditions of the countries we are visiting. We chose Ayana to provide us with this lens for visiting Cambodia and experiencing its Buddhist traditions. We also chose Ayana based on the description of its guide who had been a Buddhist monk for many years. Our tour and Yut, our guide and teacher, more than met our expectations!
Ayana‘s well thought-out spiritual journey through Cambodia was one of our most enriching travel experiences.
It was enriching in many ways – through Yut’s generous sharing of his life stories, we gained an unexpected depth of understanding of the trials endured during the Khmer Rouge years and the significance of Buddhism in their survival and renewal. Through Yut`s contacts throughout the country we witnessed the determination of Buddhist monks and nuns in their efforts to not only protect the environment and maintain the forests, but to also train and educate the next generation for self-sufficiency.
Yut’s group facilitation skills supported us to joyfully spend time with other tour participants, and learn through their experiences as well as our own. His compassion ensured all group members’ needs were included and cared for. Through his understanding of Buddhism, and his skill as a teacher, we were able to live the beliefs and experience some of the practices during our stay.
With the rest of Ayana’s staff`s assistance, we had carefully arranged accommodations and some little extras that made us all feel at home in Cambodia.
We have returned home with a love for Cambodia and a feeling of connection with the Cambodian people. We have also increased our understanding of Buddhism and its power in people`s lives.
For your chance to experience our flagship A Journey Through Time experience too, please visit this page for further details about our September 2017 journey.
