Whether we are believers, or whether we think it's a load of baloney, most of us are curious about our future. Will we find the love of our life; will we become rich and famous; will we live to a ripe old age? These are among the questions that arise at some time or another.

I'm no exception. So I went on a search around the island to find a moh doo, literally "doctor of seeing", and stumbled across the wonderful Ajarn Phrawet. During our meeting, it was revealed to me that not only is he an adept fortune teller, curiously correct at times, he's also a remarkable character who's led an interestingly chequered life.

I parked my Honda outside a run-down, corrugated iron-roofed shack off the road to Kata from the Chalong Roundabout. A smiling Thai woman pointed to the door, and urged me to go inside. Ajarn ("Teacher") Phrawet, who sat cross-legged on the floor of his humble, sparsely decorated house, indicated we should sit nearby. He wore the white clothing and shaved head of an anagaraka, who is similar to a Buddhist monk, except that he adopts fewer vows.

This gentle, yet energetic and charismatic man was born in the southern Thai province of Patalung. As a young boy, he worked his father's rice fields, but always had a funny feeling that he would end up doing something more spiritual. "When I was 18," says the ajarn, "I decided to ordain as a Buddhist monk because I wanted to learn about the dhamma [Buddhist philosophy and teachings], and I just knew it was the right thing to do."

He took full ordination at the age of 21, and spent the next 10 years happily studying and providing religious services to the community in a tiny village in Patalung. During his time in the monastery, Ajarn Phrawet also learned about astrology and such matters as black magic and palm reading. He found he had a natural flair for it, and that it comforted people when he predicted for them. Indeed, it was this flair that led him to disrobe and then pursue the path to marriage.

I asked if he'd look into the future a little for me. He lit some incense and prayed for some 10 minutes in front of a golden Buddha image. Sitting opposite me, he then brought out an old-fashioned writing slate. He asked for my birth details, and started to scribble numbers. He seemed to be placing the numbers in some sort of table, but it all happened too quickly for me to be sure of what was what. Within a flash, he had described my personality, my likes and dislikes and my current situation regarding love. All of it accurate. He got my ex-husband down to a tee, and explained what would be my approximate path over the next few years. Nothing too precise or over the top — just a pleasant reading that ensured I left his home with a feeling of warmth and positive energy.

Towards the end of his 10-year period of monkhood, Ajarn was asked to perform a ceremony in the Samnaksong (Religious Affairs Centre) at Nai Harn, on Phuket. One day while he was there, a Thai woman came to the centre. She had family problems and needed help but, since she was Muslim, she had to keep this visit to a Buddhist institution quiet. She found Ajarn Phrawet, and he did a reading for her. He told her she'd marry very soon, and she'd bear two sons. "I thought nothing of it," the ajarn laughs, "Many, many women and men came to me for direction in those days, and I didn't see anything different about this woman. But when she came back to see me a few days later, I felt there was something strange between us. It was as though there was a chemistry there and I couldn't control it. The next thing I knew, I was disrobing and Nittaya and I married.

"That was nine years ago, and now we have two sons aged six and three. It all worked out, as I had said it would when Nittaya came to me for doo duang (fortune telling). The ajarn grins. Nittaya, meanwhile, is nodding enthusiastically as we speak, and the pair smile at each other fondly.

Ajarn's wife is understanding, when it comes to dealing with his lifestyle. He gains a lot of his energy from practising and teaching vipassana meditation. This is different from concentration meditation, where the practitioner reaches a state of extreme relaxation. Vipassana involves a form of self-observation of the mind leading to heightened awareness and understanding regarding the processes of experience and mind. For four hours every day, Ajarn Phrawet does walking meditation around the two mango trees in front of his house. "Once I am finished meditation myself, my mind is clear and I am able to teach others," he sasy. "Every day between six and ten people come here to learn and do walking with me. I enjoy teaching very much and hope it gives pleasure to others when they learn."

Two or three times a year, Ajarn goes tudong, a quiet time of personal and spiritual contemplation. In this practice, one goes barefoot into the forest with a single set of clothes and a grot, a small tent that is hung from a tree. Ajarn goes tudong for up to 60 days at a time, and says he comes back completely refreshed and at one with nature. He sees several people a day for readings, never asking for money in return. But most people leave a donation of whatever they feel they can afford. He has some "clients" from Europe who are devoted followers; they even call for advice from as far afield as Germany.