Popping to Phuket

Head pounding, mouth dry, glugging water and squinting my eyes at the scorching sun that reflected off the surface of the pool. What a sorry state I was in, given our beautiful surroundings. C, J.E and I were on holiday in J.E's beautiful family villa in Phuket, an island off the west coast of Thailand. 

The beautiful villa

The crew <3

As we were driving to the villa on our first day, I looked out the window and watched the lines of newly built, concrete houses; the shrill sound of drilling and construction work was everywhere. The houses along the main strips lacked beauty and authenticity compared to the delicate detail of Thai architecture; it was cheap, concrete and convenient; ideal for the temporary nature of tourism. The size of the island surprised me, it was huge! We drove and drove as the grey clouds began to form dark clusters, preparing for a downfall. The car slowed as we entered the compound that J.E's villa was situated in, surrounded by other identical, luxury holiday villas that were rented out throughout the year - what a genius investment. Our tummy's were grumbling so we dropped our bags and left the compound in search of some cheap, Thai food. As we roamed the streets, we observed the gentrification in the form of expensive cafes and restaurants, built for rich tourists; it didn't take long to realise that my idea of a cheap trip to Thailand might not have been so realistic... We scoped the area for the cheapest pad thai, picked up a pack of Chang from 7/11 and retreated to the pool as the sun began to shine. That evening, the adventure began...

We were on a mission, so we went to the local taxi rank and asked to be taken to the nearest reggae bar. The driver dropped us off halfway to our destination, pointed down a little sand path and charged us an extortionate fee but in our tipsy states, we were in no mood to argue. We got out, paid and followed the wooden sign that was painted red, yellow and green (despite having no association to reggae). Standing around a makeshift beach bar was a group of people, mainly middle-aged men with beer bellies, grey hair and brown, leathery skin from too much sun. It turned out to be the local hotspot for the expats living on the island, most of them unsurprisingly worked in construction and one owned the bar at which we were standing. We ordered a round and conversed about island living. A young, chirpy American/Thai guy J was working as the bartender. In broken bar chat, he told his story and explained that he was now working on the island and being looked after by the men surrounding us, who were his family friends. His ego was evident as he bragged a bit too loudly about his uncle being the chief of police and granting him direct access to a variety of narcotics... it was somewhat entertaining watching his chat being followed by the bar owner sternly reminding him to watch his mouth in public again and again; but he took no notice..

Waterfall walk 
Note: google maps is not always right.

The empty bottles of beer began piling up and I found myself in a heated conversation with a conservative, Californian tourist. He started off telling me about how much he despised Muslim refugees as they were 'ruining his country'... oh man, one of these. I found the irony amusing given my current work supporting (mainly) Muslim refugees. I'd had a few beers and was feeling a little provocative, so I continued to ask him questions and he continued to share his views. He turned around to proudly present the back of his T-Shirt that read 'Guns in!' above a huge, bait picture of a silver gun. Soon he was telling me about how climate change was a money making scam and essentially, doesn't exist; you've guessed that he's also a Trump supporter, right? His deluded beliefs astounded me and throughout the conversation he remained ignorant towards my beliefs or profession. I didn't waste my energy trying to convince him otherwise, one conversation wasn't going to crack that nut but I did wonder how often people did contradict him... for he seemed so sure of such nonsense.

Things lightened up when the men began belting out American country tunes and the bartender J, who was eager to show us around town was finally ready to go. We were given a lift to the 'actual' reggae bar to complete our mission and continued on to the other local hotspots that J insisted we check out. By the time we had reached the last bar, the rounds of beer were hitting me all at once and I was ready to go one of two ways. Thankfully, they served pad thai at the bar so in a blissful state of drunken ignorance due to J's insistence that it was vegetarian, I ate the whole plate (and the next afternoon as I sat raving about how good it had been, C informed me with a smug grin that it was full of minced pork. Fabulous.)

The waterfall (+ a the Russian Couple..)

I switched to water and my vision began to even out again. J was swaying around with a pool cue, giving orders to the local staff who he claimed were his great friends. But after a few warnings from the bar staff, we came to realise that very few of the locals actually wanted to be associated with him (i must admit I was oblivious to it all). The energy in the bar dropped when a buff Thai guy knocked J just as he was about to shoot his ball. The air was tense as the guy sat down with his other buff Thai mates, looked over towards J and shot C a deadly stare, we decided it might be a good time to go. The bill came and J's hosting skills were toppled as we were charged for the rounds of beers that he'd ordered despite no one wanting them. He denied ordering anything and we reluctantly forked out the rest of our weeks drinking budget. We got in a taxi and left, realising that he was a young, naive boy that was probably best to not get involved with.

We drove back in silence, processing the event that had just taken place. As we arrived at the villa, the headlights shone on the front door and a black figure emerged from piles of bags strewn across the front step. I squinted my eyes to see and beneath the overgrown facial hair, I began to recognise L! My best friend from Bristol who had been unresponsive online for 42 hours since we'd arrived. He'd intended to surprise me but instead, arrived to a locked, empty villa just after we'd left for our night out... 5 hours before. Classic. We picked up his makeshift campsite, cuddled, caught up and crashed.out. R arrived a few hours later from London to a villa of passed out drunks and the crew was finally together.

R & I <3

We spent our days eating Thai food, drinking beer, jamming and riding mopeds around the island; everything you could want from a holiday in Thailand. Once we'd recovered from our night with J, we braved Patong, Phuket's notorious area for a night out. Needless to say, we would not choose to return. Somehow, half naked transvestites tucking in their genitals on vibrating platforms and 16-year old strippers dangling from the ceiling, doesn't quite spark my serotonin. It's always interesting to see who ends up there; the middle-aged couples drinking beer in silence are the ones I don't quite understand. I felt a mixture of sadness and surprise watching the scenes play out; the excessive alcohol consumption to assist in the 'enjoyment' of it all was just about the only thing that made sense.

mmm... satisfaction.

So we got caught in a few of the tourist traps but you've got to experience it once, right? We'd found our flow by the end of the holiday and ticked almost everything off the list. L and R booked their tickets to Bali and J and I returned to KL; with a bit of a tan and mango sticky rice in hand, we had a smooth ending to a truly eventful trip.

Living in a dream (Part 2)

Eden

The Black moon party (run by the Thai Mafia) was taking place beside us, and the 5000 people that were expected, hadn't arrived by the witching hour. It was $20 to get in and the music, was pretty shit. We were sitting on the beach watching the dried palm leaves and dead branches turn into roaring orange flames, with the distant lightening storm over Koh Samui adding the odd flash. I'd been given a tip to head to Eden by a fellow traveller who'd escaped the full moon party in search of something a little different, so we spent that $20 on transport to and from the party, which involved a tuk tuk to the other beach and a 10 minute boat ride. Our tuk-tuk was full of drunk Poles that were leaving the Black Moon party in search of something cheaper, and after a slurred, excited conversation, J and I hopped on a boat in the dark of the night, to find solace. The boat pushed out into the blackness, and just for our amusement, the engine decided not to work. So we waited as the boatman lunged his anchor millimetres away from our heads, trying to hold on to some form of positivity as I let my head fall backwards and take in the glorious expanse of stars above us. 'If you see a shooting star tonight, everything's going to look up' is what I kept saying to myself. 5 minutes later, the engine was working (due to the help of his fellow boatmen) and not 1 but 3 shooting stars orbited through the night sky, I smiled to myself as the sound of the engine roared above all thoughts, tonight was going to be amazing. The boat arrived in a secret cove, and we started walking along the sand towards the giant rocks, the rickety bridge, jazzy-house-techno beats (played by the incredible resident DJ's), costumes, water, gum, magic balls and trippers. Police were banned from the beach so 'anything was possible' with a bit of moolah and a good attitude, the party went on till 12pm the following day, and everyone was still dancing like no one cared at 11am - with a quick break to watch the sunrise together. J and I lay on shark-rock looking at the clouds blow across the sky as it changed colour from black to yellowy blue. We spotted animals and objects in the clouds and another thought came to me. When I was younger I used to believe each animal you spotted was from the spirit of the animal that had died. So to my excited inner-child, I've now learnt how that can be explained, scientifically (because that's what gets credit now, right). When an animal dies it's recycled back into the earth as it's body deteriorates and it becomes part of the soil again, which in turn feeds the growth of new seeds, that turns into various plants; their moisture evaporates and rises, due to cohesion these evaporated particles all condense as they get denser with atmospheric pressure and they form clouds (excited squeel) which turns into rain, that waters the plants, that animals drink and the cycle continues.. As the temperature rose that morning and the energy wore off, we left our new French friends, with the gift of a pheasant feather in my hair, a drunk Aussie falling off the side of the boat and a grimy couple with their eyes rolling, still causing glares on the dance floor. That day was named zombie-day as it always is, we showed our faces spontaneously to buy food at the local market, spotting the other zombies from the night before and crashing out as soon as sunset wiped the light away. 

The morning after our all-nighter

We spent the next day exploring the island. The sea at night was deceiving,  as by day it was barely visible and took a good few hundred metres to reach (over the coral reef), so we went in search of a more accessible sea and hopefully an idyllic guest house to accompany it. Riding up and down the hilly terrain, looking at guest houses, checking out bars and dive shops, swimming in the ocean and seeing familiar faces, we returned that evening to Sea Love bungalows. The room slowly began to spin uncontrollably, with my eyes open and shut, until something (dinner) gave way, all over the plants next to our balcony :s. 

Hat Yai, just before we realized what time it was..

We learnt that Koh Phangan has long been where the heart of the Thai King lies. A spiritual hub that's been partly taken over by the full mooners but still retains it's beauty. Haadrin beach, the host of the notorious FMParty, has a different vibe, and neon shirts that read 'drugs saved my life' and 'let's get f*cked' litter the shops along the sand. Horny dogs ran around humping whatever they could see, the difference between teenage boys and dogs suddenly seeming less vast..
That day was pure adrenaline, for the second time round. Breakfast, tickets to Koh Tao, room paid for, clothes packed, lunch, trek. It was only $7 to get to Eden by boat, but there was supposedly a path that lead through the jungle to the other side of the beach where Eden was located. We'd only heard one story so far about that trek, a guy had done it at the last moon party, and was found where he'd begun, having made no progress, covered in scratches and armed with one lighter. He'd sat on a giant rock all night, staying elevated from the floor that crawled with snakes and insects before he managed to find his way back in the morning when daylight came. The story didn't put us off trying, and in an effort to prove everyone wrong, we set off, with 1 hour of daylight left, a head torch, clothes for that night and a strong sense of willpower. The first few locals we asked for directions all laughed 'it's hard man, it's really hard' was the general response we got - but we set off anyway. The first 15 minutes were spent heading in the wrong direction, and when J asked a group of local lads for help, he ran back shouting 'he's got a knife' - deja vu?

Koh Phangan

So we scrambled back down the hills we'd just walked up, and began again, 45 minutes till darkness fell. The path was tough, but manageable, we followed the water pipes knowing that if someone had built these, they had to lead to a way out. We ended up at a small, concrete bridge that lead nowhere. Via trial and error we tested every possible path, and with the light fading and our water volume decreasing, panic began to rise. We decided, that no matter what, we had to keep moving, the millions of mosquitoes could no longer get to us, because of the dense jungle that left them with no room to fly. The water pipes were gone, the floor was crawling with tropical tings, we had no clue what direction the sea was and the only visible sign was a patch of sky, to tell us what time it was. J kept his cool and put on the head torch, my breath started quickening as I asked our surroundings for help and looked at the giant rocks in front of us. My plan would've been to somehow climb up a rock (with huge drops on either side of it if you fell), and scream for help, or jump into the water and swim to land, wherever that was. J was contemplating spending the night in the Jungle, and working out how much water we had left, so my plan went out the window. I felt a drip of water, and before we knew it, the rain began to POUR. Hanging onto branches, like Tarzan and Jane we swung, slid and ran through that jungle, in whatever clear space we could find, following the dim light from the headtorch. At last, after 3 hours, we spotted a plastic bottle, a sign of civilization! We followed the bottle and slid down the face of the mountain, landing on a dirt road - whaaaaat.

Crazy roti man

Nearby was a wooden house, we knocked on the door, drenched in rain, trying to keep anything in the bag that was'breakable' dry, by wrapping it in my half drenched sarong. A group of men came out, a look of sympathy evident on their sun kissed faces. We asked where we were, 'Haadrin' they replied. That definitely wasn't possible, we hadn't just walked in a loop - that was where we'd started. We soon realized we'd been asking for directions to the wrong beach, the entire time. 'Eden?' J. asked with arched eyebrows as we held on to the tiniest bit of hope, 'oh just over there!' they pointed to the other side of the beach. We were amazed and still shaking from our 3.5 hour adrenaline rush, we walked into the nearest restaurant that was screening the movie 'couples retreat' on a projector. We jumped into the sea, shivering from the cold but washing all the grime, insect bites, scratches and jungle off of us. We sat down with wide eyes, still in disbelief at being in a completely civilized setting where everyone was calmly eating their dinner. As we sat down, the scene that played in front of us made our mouths hang and our eyes bulge even more. The couples in the movie were on a holiday together and had all just gotten lost in the jungle, only to stumble across an amazing party where everyone was reunited, but get this, the party, was called 'Eden' - talk about synchronicity. We raved our well-deserved night away and I happened to bump into a mate from my yoga retreat who lived around the corner, and a very old friend who I hadn't seen in 6 years since high school in Sri Lanka - strange coincidences made that night incredible, and our story was appreciated by all who knew the land. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlNzGC49-jg  was the song that came on at 7am as everyone's dirty side emerged. The energy began to lapse so we made our way over to bamboo hut for a morning ice coffee, coconuts and tea with my old friend from high school. I looked out over the rocks with the naturally carved faces all over it, feeling a tinge of deja-vu, I'd been in that exact spot about 6 years ago with my family, how times had changed.

Eden

We had skipped on accommodation that night in favour of dancing, but the lovely manager gave us back our room for a shower and a chill-out, before out boat to Koh Tao left at 12pm. Being our usual selves, we were the last ones on the boat, with -1 minute to spare - running along the deck, with our backpacks on, trying to stop our eyes from closing and craving a glass of water, as the boat driver screamed that they were leaving, we somehow made it. I closed my eyes for a second and we were in Koh Tao, with tuk tuk drivers all screaming down our necks 'TAXI! TUK TUK! WHERE YOU GO!? I TAKE YOU!' Oh godd. 

Right after our last dive!

We walked through the crowds and sat down to eat our first meal, at about 3pm. Our free pick-up arrived on time and we were whisked off to our sterile room in the middle of a little village, close to DJL diving centre, where I spent the next 3 days getting qualified to dive. Koh Tao is the cheapest place in the world for diving, hence why a million dive shops litter the area, but once you're away and in that underwater world, listening to the rhythm of your breath, watching the bubbles from other people's regulators below you race up to the surface, turning into silver plates with the water pressure. It's like you're on the moon with no gravity, floating up, down, hovering above the surface to watch the symbiosis between a crab and it's guard-fish, the beautiful coral gardens, the odd sting ray and shooing away the annoying blue fish that nibble at any cuts or dead skin. The weather was a means to an end, we were caught up in a week-long storm, but as a first diving experience, it didn't really matter as the excitement trumped all other emotion (after the cringey 80's diving video had passed through our system). It did make J's life slightly harder, staying entertained on land. But when I finished my days work, we'd drive up to 'high bar' that looked out over the island and the sea, or play backgammon at a sweet local cafe, or light candles and read in the room. We walked through stumbling, drunk teens with red eyes, to get to the roti stall where a mad-man flipped around his rotis. He moved with precision, flare and a touch of violence, causing everyone within a 2m radius to take a step back. That's one of the things I can appreciate most about SEAsia, it may not be the most developed region in the world but the little things are done to perfection and with such admirable skill.


Suddenly, like a slap in the face, the last day had arrived. We somehow had to cram in 3 dives, as the previous day, my diving buddy's hungover dad had passed out overboard, meaning a crew of about 50 divers had to leave the site early. So we soaked up every minute that we had, exploring all the cracks and crevices of Mango Bay, Koh Tao for hours. I watched a parrot fish rip apart a sea urchin, hearing the crunch of it's spikes as the fish ruthlessly ate away - it was no different to watching a dog rip apart a piece of meat.. fascinating. We arrived back, paid for our room,, collected our passports, inhaled our last delicious Thai meal and jumped on our sleeper boat for our 35+ hour journey home. All the beds were lined up next to each other, and just as my eyes began to droop, a shriek from a French woman nearby made us all jump. A dead gecko had fallen onto her shoulder, leaving a nice yellow smear on her T.Shirt and stinking out our area until the sea breeze blew it away. A live alarm clock bellowed 'everyone get off! We're here!' 6 hours later, so we wiped the sleepy dust from our eyes, and headed to the bus station to wait for our bus to Hat Yai. Into a mini van we squeezed, picking up various people that had all been on our sleeper boat (and scammed into being driven to the 'correct bus station' when we hadn't paid a thing). With not enough sleep, J and I rowed over my bladder control as tears were shed and hair was ripped out.. in the least violent way possible, so we kissed and made up and arrive in Hat Yai. 

Sleeper boat

Hat Yai is a maze, a gridded city where I'm sure everything was designed to look the same. We were given one hour, so we headed off to wander the town, making sure we had a landmark to return to (the 7-11 on the corner..) An hour later, we're running around like headless chickens, asking everyone 'Is there more than one 7-11??' and getting a laugh in response, followed by a little nod of the head 'yes, only one'. So we circled this one 7-11, sure that it wasn't the right one but going by the word of the locals. 30 minutes later, we'd jumped into a tuk-tuk and instructed him to drive us around to every 7-11 he knew, turning each corner to see a new one, much to our frustration. Soon enough we spotted the right one and ran into the travel agent with a look of total hopelessness, preparing to argue our case. Much to our surprise, we got the immediate response of 'You got lost? Don't worry we've booked you another bus for 3.30' phew, I guess we weren't the only ones who'd done it... 

Nasi Kandar in Penang :)

We wandered around talking and playing backgammon to kill time, before being put on a bus loaded with a family from Indonesia who were all wearing matching T.Shirts and excited to share their stories and hear ours. We made it through immigration, had a little snooze, played a bit of wordmole and arrived in Georgetown, Penang for dinner. Nasi Kandar! Roti Cannai! mmm, it was good to be back, and the hospitality was more than we'd experienced in a while. We filled our tummys and wondered back to the bus, half an hour early. We weren't going to take our chances. We hopped on the freezing cold sleeper bus, and passed out until arrival in Kuala Lumpur. J told the taxi driver his address and we rode along familiar roads, passing the twin towers, the billboards and the Nasi Kandars. Hopping over the fence wasn't an option this time as J's new dog righteously barked at the strangers with backpacks until his parents came to the door. We shared a few stories and laughs and crashed out in a luxurious bed, with hot water in the shower and clean sheets. Wow. We're back, and I can't help feeling that the last 6 months was all a dream..

(A little verse of summer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkDDRdKaN8o)

Through the yellow curtain

Seeing the girls on Khao San!

Thailand has arrived and our 15-day free visa has almost passed its half-way expiry mark. Where does time keep dissapearing off to? Before we started this trip, I had my doubts that we'd last this long given that a free bed, food and home-comforts are just a stone-throw away. But after a few weeks of really getting into the groove, the idea of 'going home' becomes less and less appealing. Given, there were days of feeling sick as a dog, and wanting to be cradled and looked after, but there has to be a few dark days for the sun to shine.

We're in Chiang Mai at the moment, staying at a nice, clean and relatively cheap guesthouse 'JJ's' in the old quarter. Since my last post I left my detox-centre with a clear head and a heavy heart, whisked J out of Siem Reap with a pounding head from the night before, made it through the high-security barricades at immigration, braved Bangkok, survived the craziness of Khao San road, managed a rigorous 3-day trek, bathed elephants, discovered waterfalls, insect zoo's, flower farms, tiger sanctuary's, been chased down dark back-roads of the city with a mad-man and his knife, seen the latest Hollywood hit 'The Great Gatsby', lost our only bank card and got to know this city by day. Let's start from the beginning shall we?

Downwards dog at Hariharilaya

The detox-retreat was everything I wished it would be. Every day there would be a lecture/ a workshop on something fascinating. I won't go into details and spill all the secrets but a few interesting facts are in order. So the first night we had S, the resident magician/ hypnotist perform a show for us, we began sitting excitedly around the table and ended with bulging eyes and gaping mouths. It spurred on most people to take his 5-hour 'body language' workshop, that taught us the psychology behind magic and how we see, what we see. After taking the workshop every action people made was suddenly under scrutiny. Pupils dilating, heads nodding or shaking, the positioning of your hands or the way you stand - once you're aware of it, it adds a whole dimension to what someone's saying. You can tell whether someone's lying without listening to the words, or if someone's trying to intimidate you, flirt with you or manipulate you. It's interesting given that my books 'Brain Rules' by John Medina and 'Blink' by Malcolm Gladwell explore the same concepts - that in the blink of an eye, your unconscious 'intuitive' mind makes decisions about our surroundings before we can even process the thought. Based on the workshop, I will share this; in terms of attraction there are certain signs you can look for before you make your move, just to be sure they want it. Concerning boys, there's only one thing that you really have to look for, if they're staring at you - they want you (obviously under the right circumstances). More unnerving however are the actions you can't control, if the other persons pupils dilate (this applies to both sexes) they're attracted to you - the lighter your eyes, the easier you are to read; your pupils will naturally dilate in response as a sign of flattery, and vise versa.

Ommm

Signs to look for in girls are far more complex but once you know them you'll see them more often (I feel like I'm writing a column for cosmopolitan..). Gestures of submissiveness or vulnerability, like elongating the neck (an evolutionary explanation for this being, if your neck's on display, you're an easy target), fleeting looks, stroking phallic objects (like wine glasses, candles, bottles), biting/ licking your lip (as it's subconsciously what you want the other person to do to you) and many other things that just seem to make sense.

Another fascinating lecture was on The enneagram. A method of measuring your 'personality' type using a wheel with 9 options. Each option has many many layers and many connections to other numbers as we are all ultimately part of the same circle, hence we all share personality traits. Look into it online, some tests are too basic to label you a number, and it usually requires an objective opinion, but if you find out what you are it's amazing how accurate some of the descriptions can be. Here, see if the most basic explanations for each type grabs you and look up whether the description follows suit:

The Enneagram

1= The perfectionist

2= The helper

3= The achiever

4= The individualist

5= The observer

6= The loyalist

7= The adventurer

8= The leader

9= The peacemaker

The enneagram is based on some of the early teachings by Gurdjieff "a great influential spiritual teacher in the mid-20th century". In a way, knowing what type you're 'born into' puts you in a box of 'what and who you are'. But in another way, by understanding what box you're in, allows you to understand and utilize it, the whole goal of the enneagram is to reach the central point, and be centered, a mix of all 9 types.

Another lecture was simply a woman at the centre discussing very openly, her low points in life and her spiritual awakening. In her talk was included a great TedTalks on 'The power of vulnerability' by Brene Brown (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o).

Tuk Tuking round BKK

Some sessions were more physical, we learnt the basics of Thai massage, awkwardly thrusting and twisting each others bodies and hearing the squeamish crack of joints as they loosened .. After that particular day, we were all pumped up and stretched out, so Chase n Status blared in the yoga hall as we all practiced the work-out that our chiropractor had taught us earlier on how to strengthen our cores.. A sweaty end, a quick shower and a guided visualization meditation with a guide talking you through the steps of a story. Embarrassed to say I fell asleep pronto and woke up with 'well done everyone, dinner time'. It was welcomed with open arms as tummy's grumbled in suspense. The post-dinner angel cards popped up, and a few of us sat in a little circle giving 'tarot readings' and fantasizing about the results we'd found. The last card I pulled on my reading about 'what to do concerning next year' was Enchantment.. spurring on my decision to be another one of the many travelers we've met, to move to Aus, come September. The creator of the cards and The Californian archetype, 'Doreen Virtue PhD' smiled her generic smile from the card box and I wrinkled my brow.. still wandering what the PhD stood for..?

Meditation was, I'd say one of the largest focuses of the center. The importance of containing your energy, given that most of our time is spent exerting it, via using our eyes (our most dominant sense), talking, moving, eating etc. Sitting still and containing that energy, frustrating as it may be, is one of the biggest disciplines that exists. The importance of your hands and posture being imminent in the practice. Hands grow from your brain tissue when you're developing as a fetus hence they have a direct connection to your brain. Open hands allows the energy to flow out, closed hands keeps it inside and touching specific fingers (mudras) stimulates specific energy pathways within your nervous system (nadis), allowing you to activate different parts of the brain. One great meditation was listening to music that correlated with each individual chakra in turn, as you imagined it's colour and it's position in your body. A chakra translates to 'wheel' in sanskrit, and is a bundle of 'major plexuses' or arteries/ veins/ nerves within your body that corrugate in 'balls' - there are 7 that exist from your root to your crown and each is associated with a different colour. The experience was quite profound for many that endured it, while others just enjoyed the psytrancey goa'esque music.
A long day of meditation was our day of silence. Our diet for that day, so as to calm the mind, did not consist of any stimulating foods (like garlic, ginger or chilli). It was interesting to say the least, at times you feel a bit crazy, stuck in your own thoughts for hours on end with only books, yoga and meditation to entertain you. A guy we had breakfast with today put it perfectly 'when all your distractions are taken away and you're only left with a few, it's a profound experiencing seeing what 'greed' humans have in constantly wanting more/ something different', watching it in yourself is interesting..

The Plearning Museum

That day we had a talk on 'problems'. The quote of the day was 'something's only a problem if you make it one'. The example given was, if everyone's wearing a white shirt and only 1 is wearing a black one, where does your attention go to? We tend to notice the things that go wrong in our lives instead of all the things that go right - being mindful of gratitude we were taught, is key. Another way of seeing the white shirts, is focusing less on the impermanent objects around us, or the fleeting 'experience' that made us feel a certain way, but more the permanent space between the objects, or the multiple reasons that lead up to the experience - just something to think about.. The mediation later on was more light-hearted as we were instructed to let loose, waving our arms and 'hoo-hooing' whilst jumping up and down - it ended in fits of giggles and smiley faces.

The rest can be summarized in catalog form, the girls had a session of listening to 'El Sol' and 'Alt-J' whilst weaving dream catchers, we monged out at night to 'Cloud Atlas' - flinching but giggling at the sillhouettes of the rats above the white cloth on the ceiling chasing each other. The mango tree above us continued to drop their mangoes on our tin roof at night and the students of the 'Tantra' workshop shared their saucy tips. A tough work-out sesh lead to painful tummy cramps as I curled up on the floor with two cheeky lizards staring at me curiously from the sink, offering no help whatsoever. The nightlife continued until dawn as the frogs jumped around and the snakes slithered silently along the dusty roads.  And then the motorbike to take me to J was suddenly outside, hugs were exchanged and snacks for the journey were bought. I wondered around the hostel in the heat of Siem Reap, suddenly feeling the familiar stress of city-life again.

Tattoo time!

Our gaze met and a shaggy haired, hungover J ran towards me for a tight squeeze. Tickets were booked and we were whisked off to Bangkok - the rush continuing through the shabby border-town of Poi-Pet and the high security immigration that gave everyone chills after all the stories we'd heard about Thai prisons. We made it across and into our hotel, for $10 each p/n, in the center of the chaos of Khao San road. We had spring rolls to munch on the way, a disappointment as we bit into the red oily grizzle - a change from the fresh vegan food of Hariharilaya..

It was the first time we'd had AC in months, and we took full advantage of it, sleeping soundly under the covers, and waking up disoriented with no idea what time of day it was as the room had no windows and we had no clock. It was midday so we got  dressed and joined the hustle and bustle that Bangkok had to offer. We ended up bumping into many old friends from Otress, the dutch girls taking a photo with the noodle-lady, the English couple from our guesthouse walking past the golden arches and the boys, from J's night out in Siem-Reap browsing hippie pants at a little stall. We found cheaper digs after 'check-out time', making up stupid excuses for having to leave BKK, shuffling back hours later to reception (when our bus was supposed to have left) to collect our forgotten passports .. woops.

The weird rows of foot-massages
all over the street in BKK

Bangkok had it's highlights. 'The Plearning museum' - play/ learning that taught us of Thai culture through interactive games or activities, mango sticky lii down a little hidden road behind 'Wat-pho temple', where a tattoo artist was discovered, and a new tattoo was born on my right wrist, the Sanskrit symbol for 'White Tara' who represents compassion, healing and long life. We watched a ping-pong show, a range of expressions flying across our faces as she drew razor blades, ping-pong balls, UV string and darts out of her vaj.. she opened coca-cola bottles, smoked cigarettes, drew pictures and performed a multitude of other shocking acts, that she'd repeat every half an hour or so. It was amazing to see the skill of these women, but sad to see the boredom and complete lack of joy in their faces. The crowd was interesting to see too, sweet young couples, creepy-looking businessmen that had constant smirks on their faces and groups of girls on tour. One man next to me laughed repeatedly saying 'Oh sugar! Oh sugar!' as Californication played in the background.. that song will never be the same again.. The ping pong balls would occasionally fly onto peoples feet in the front row and their girlfriends/ wives would whip out hand sanitizer and wipe them down shaking their heads.

Giant stick insect!

We wandered around the clubs of Bangkok and returned to our dingy hostel, run by a French tattoo artist - the faint smell of cigarettes hung in the corridor and the broken banister swung from side to side as you held it. The beeps from the bathroom could be heard in jagged rythms as he played a game on his phone while sitting on the toilet, a man lay on the floor outside, passed out and snoring softly.. bet his head didn't feel great in the morning..

The next day we checked out, braised beef noodle soup for breakfast, ice-coffee, booked bus to Chiang Mai and chose to take a break from temples and check out the huge shopping mall 'The Pentagon'. It was funny looking around at the millions of shops and adverts, we could've been in KL - it was so overwhelming as consumerism takes over and you want everything. We ended up going bowling, getting lunch and checking out the book-shop, buying 'Brain Rules', 'Blink' and 'The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying' - all really inspirational. ATM problems followed (surprise surprise), and then a rush with our backpacks, running after a little lady through all the backstreets of Bangkok and to the bus station. We met 2 lovely travelers C and A, and we all settled in as the lady at the front of the bus made it clear that we were to have 'NO BEER/ ALCOHOL onboard!'. She then pressed play on the TV at the front of the bus to the movie 'G.I Joe', and everyone reclined their seats and went to sleep. We were awakened abruptly in Chiang Mai, attempting to hitchhike and avoid the extortionate tuk-tuk fee, ending up getting ripped off on a local bus and dealing with an angry tuk tuk driver at 6am that got lost in translation, expecting double the amount we'd agreed on, and finally checking in to 'JJ's'.

Giant flutterby

We'd had an early start but thought we'd keep the ball rolling. A yummy Italian coffee was well appreciated and we looked around at the city around us. It's all very narrow, divided into grids with the main square surrounded by a moat, overhung with beautiful orange-blossom trees. We rented a bike and headed up to check out all that there was to offer - we were overwhelmed with choices. Passing Tiger sanctuaries, Insect/ crocodile/ snake/ orchid and flower farms we didn't know what to choose. Based on morals and money we checked out the waterfall and the insect zoo. Arriving in the pouring rain, we christened the waterfall as we ran around, completely alone under the pounding water below, that carried the peaceful little stream above it. The insect zoo was interesting, giant cicadas, spiders, scorpions and stick insects scattered all over while the next door lead into a colorful storm of butterflies and flowers. The tiger sanctuary was appalling, watching people pay $10 to take a photo with the tiger, making no meaningful connection with the animal at all, as the workers hit them with sticks to keep them still and sedated. Luckily we still got to catch a glimpse of the beautiful creatures, without paying to support it.



Waterfalls in Chiang Mai



Our next 3 days were spent trekking through bamboo forests, to elephant camps and mountain-villages. We were with another Dutch couple, a lumberjack B (that came in very useful when slipping and sliding on dangerous hills) and gorgeous R. We all started off in the orchid farm before checking out the local market (and noticing how ridiculously clean the food is all kept compared to all the other countries in SEA), munching down breakfast and starting on our difficult trek up to the elephants! It surprised me how R and B managed to chain smoke while we all panted our way through sticks of bamboo, pulling ourselves up through dry leaves, and slipping down steep slopes. Stopping for lunch and sitting on banana leaves, learning how to make fire out of dry bamboo, suck water out of plants, make walking sticks, eat termites, laugh as J almost collided with a giant spider that was positioned right next to his head, get eaten alive by mozzies, blow bubbles from round leaves, shoot darts out of pointy leaves, pick our own bananas and herbs, cut footholds for climbing coconut trees, bathe and ride elephants while the one lazy water buffalo grazed on the grass, cook our own dinner, find mushrooms in elephant shit and catch fireflies when the moon came out (deep breath).

Our tour guide was lovely and very ADD, I suppose you have to be to keep your spirits and energy up for a group all day. Our second day of the trek was all uphill and left everyone completely breathless. We had our 2 guard-dogs (Buster and Ginge) trotting along next to us. We visited various waterfalls on the way, the first one on which we slid down and bathed, while the boys kept busy building their dam. Just as we got out of the water we spotted a long parasite, that are known to swim up cavities in your body and lodge in your intestines - great. After an exhausing day, on our last night we jammed around a fire, laughing as we tried to repeat multi-lingual tongue twisters, with flower fumes curling into the cold night air. We dozed off, covered in blankets, the sound of J's sniffles beginning to grow as the pigs squeeled nearby and the roosters continued to crow..

Our tour guide blowing bubbles out of a leaf :)

Whenever we ate a meal the skinny dogs would all come running, it was sad seeing what starvation does to animals and how instinctual it makes them. But our two buddies that were relatively healthy, trotted along with us till the end. A and I spent our last morning doing yoga together, rudely interrupted by N as we were hurriedly told that we had '10 minutes to eat breakfast and leave!'. So we rushed out of our downwards dog positions, inhaled our food and got our shoes on, only to peek into the kitchen and see N lying on the floor, breathing poppy fumes out of his bamboo pipe - yep, a rush indeed.. We hadn't bought towels, so the blankets became versatile, J's sneezes continuing to grow after a freezing cold night above the clouds. We walked on, away from the village with our bags, passing by the school that the village kids were building themselves. It was sad that a lot of the adults were either druggies or alcoholics who didn't seem to care much about re-vamping their surroundings, but the kids were making an effort at least?

We climbed down to a fairly crowded waterfall, sitting in the cold water and watching a little girl smash around her puppy that was shaking with cold fright, caught in her grasp. We tried to teach her to no avail as her mother smiled on happily watching her torturous daughter and the frightened puppy. We left the scene and made it down to the bottom, hopping on rafts after we were geared up with our helmets and oars. The locals were all sitting by the river having civilized picnics and splashing us playfully as we rushed by. We manouvered our way around other boats as our guide instructed us on what to do, a brown water snake slithered passed to my delight and we managed to make it down to the bamboo rafts unscathed. We floated along more leasurely until the road was in sight and it was time to hop off. The bags under our eyes were darkening and the ride back to the hostel involved no chatter as everyone zoned out to the hum of the traffic into a bumpy dream.

The kids building their w

We loved not having technology or distractions for 3 days, but a treat was in order and 'The Great Gatsby' played by the stunning DeCaprio was on at the cinema; I reminisced about HL English back at school as we withdrew money and headed off to a freezing cold mall. It was only after the movie that we realized the ATM had sucked up our only bank card, and cortisol levels rose as we tried to find someone to take us home and sort out the problem. We ended up in a tuk tuk where no one spoke English and we got further away from where we needed to be, so I stormed off, into the night of Chiang Mai, with J letting me get out of my strop and 'prove my sense of direction'. We'd been walking for ages and had gotten nowhere, before J came running past, shoes in hand, shouting 'Run! He has a knife!'. Adrenaline kicked in and we were running towards god-knows what. We escaped the drama on the back of a strangers motorbike, paying double what we would've paid if we'd taken the easy way out. A chilled sesh on the balcony was in order as we met another cool Aussie 'S', and crashed out in bed, falling into a lucid dream until morning came.

Chiang Mai by day is delightful, we discovered sweet hidden bookshops, buying 'Change Your Brain' By Tim Leary and finishing it that day, playing pool, having a munchathon at the local market that was a-light with cheap food everywhere you looked. We attempted to nab a free swim at the Shangri-La, but decided against it as our loose shirts and sruffy shorts gave our game away. We watched 'Iron Man 3' instead, played arcade games, enjoying the free AC and engaged in D&M conversations on our little balcony with an older American guy, our new mate D and S. On our last day the rain fell hard, knocking over all the street signs and blowing the leaves all over the road. We ran for it, exhilarated, back to our hostel; reading the signs and sensing the itch, we booked a bus to Pai, a beautiful town in Northern Thailand that was discovered by chance by a bunch of Hippies - sounds like our kinda place ;)

Recipe of the day: Gai Pad Grapow (Thai Basil chili chicken & rice)

http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaicookingessentials/r/Thai-Basil-Chicken-Stir-Fry-Easy.htm