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Comment by raamdev | Hacker News Reader

That sounds like a great way to live cheaply in a peaceful/quiet environment. How did you find and approach the monastery? Did you already know someone there?

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In the plane, I met a woman who'd been there before.

The monastery is "not open for business", as one of the monks reminded me. Normally only practitioners can stay. But I also had the goal of teaching science and computers to whoever was interested, and there are 500 children and teenagers here.

I'm sure you could find a monastery to stay in. For all the rigidity of the core monastic rules, I have found them to be remarkably flexible and pragmatic about daily life. If you're interested, email me. There are some wonderful places in the Himalayas.

How do you get Internet connection? Or do you just post from the local version of an Internet Café?

They have a land line at the monastery, though no network. Some people use satellite connections.

120 usd/month is about 200 Rupees a day - you do not need to look that hard to find accommodation&food in India for that amount.

I was in Northern India about 4 years ago for 2 months, and traveling (which is several times more expansive than just staying in one place, especially since I ate at restaurants and did all kinds of touristy things) cost me about 300-400 usd/month.

Well, I haven't heard of any other accommodation that cheap, but you're right, there are options in the same ballpark. Don't forget that prices have gone up substantially since the last 4 years.

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