A visit Kechara Forest Retreat with a movie screening under the stars

Last Saturday, I went to Kechara Forest Retreat  that is in a forest (hence the name) near Bentong which is in Pahang. It is located in a place called Chamang.

According to the website:

"The Kechara Forest Retreat will be a place like no other, nestled in the deep mountains of Chamang, Bentong, about 1 1/2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. This village is being created within the green tropical forest, with natural streams of crystal clear water running through it.

Within this lush eco-friendly environment, there will be buildings and features designed for students and visitors to enjoy various activities to calm the mind within the beauty of nature.

The land has been successfully acquired by Kechara House under the leadership of Kechara House President, Datuk May and her team. Datuk May is working hard with her team and everyone else in Kechara to fund raise for the development of the land and servicing of the loan.

Ground works have already begun with the team building a temporary abode for our Lama, His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche to live in. With the sheer dedication and hard work of Datuk May and her team, the temporary abode has been constructed, and soon, Rinpoche will frequent the land to do prayers and blessings in preparations for the construction works."

Here is a picture of the site from the website of Kechara Forest Retreat.

We left after lunch in a bus. The trip included a talk from Pastor Susan about Pujas and Stupas. The puja is fueled by our motivation. For example, if we pack out things for the trip with a good motivation, our puja begins there, at home, while we pack. 

In the bus, some people were sleeping, some people were talking. Lucas Tan and I were joking around with some of the people near us by asking riddles and telling jokes.

She even gave the attendees quizzes to win some incense, which you can purchase at Kechara Paradise outlets throughout Malaysia. 

The bus arrived at KFR at 5:30 p.m. Everyone bought candles and flowers to do their offerings. I did a candle offering. The people who came had the meritorious opportunity to offer candles and flowers to both Vajrayogini and Shakyamuni. Some of us also circumambulated the butterlamp house. 

After giving a tour of an area, Pastor Susan lead us in a very short but effective prayer. It was the refuge prayers and Shantideva prayers. 

The lovely dinner was catered by Kechara Oasis. (The word "Kechara" will bring you to the website, whereas the word "Oasis" will bring you to the fan page )

The food mainly consisted of Bi Hun, Fried Rice, White Rice, Fried Chicken and many other local and international delicacies and the best part was that it is completely vegetarian (obviously!). 

I waited for the older people to get their food first to be polite. When I went up, the fried chicken was finished but I got some delicious fried rice and some international-style food (I think Indian but not sure :P ) 

I sat with my friends, Lucas Tan, Lucas Roth, Julien, Jenny and Jason and many, many more of my friends and some new faces too! 

Then, the movie began after everyone sat down on a mat laid out for us. I will post the movie, which is The Village, right here:

It was a very interesting movie. It was not scary but it makes you think deeper of certain things. I shall not have a complete review of the movie or else I will completely spoil it but I can say that there are a lot of twists and turns in this movie. Hint: The thumbnail is already a spoiler :(

Amazingly, there were no mosquitos but there were a few bugs who sat on the screen because of the light. I was also surprised that it was not too hot and not too cold. The temperature was just right.

A big thank you to the KFR team who organised this trip!

Okay! Gotta go! Bye!