Hello Loves, So, I'm at my final remaining hours on the Asian continent. I can hardly believe two and a half months have gone by. I'm back in Bangkok now, having safely arrived from Chennai in the wee hours this morning and I'll be on the homeward journey before the sun comes up tomorrow. My last days in India were slow and relaxed as I prepared for transition and my travelling partner prepared for a Vipassana meditation retreat to begin today. It worked out well that neither of us was particularly interested in doing the tourist race around the city. We [View Full Entry]

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Hello Loves, Well, it feels like things are winding down for me as I enter my final week of travels. I've been in Pondicherry (Puducherry) now since last Wednesday after leaving the crazyness of Bangalore far behind. It was an 8 hour overnight bus ride to the Eastern Coast this time. Pondicherry is a moderate sized town with colonial French influences and is the place where Pi Patel is from if you're familiar with the novel Life of Pi. I arrived at 6:30 in the morning and it was hot already so my travelling friend Devon and I decided to splurge [View Full Entry]

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Namaste, Thanks so much for the birthday wishes, I enjoyed all the messages and comments. It was fun waking up on the river on the boat in the Kerala backwaters with a group of people from the ashram. The water was calm and the scenery was lush and tropical. We did a short canoe ride through the narrow canals known as India's Venice and saw cows, goats, ducks and a few sea snakes. After the boat trip, we spent one night in Kollam then headed for Fort Kochin. This little town is on an island and has a quaint colonial feel [View Full Entry]

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Om Shanti, Well, I've successfully completed my Teachers Training with the Sivananda Yoga Ashram, hooray! I'm feeling a sense of emptiness yet also closure with the ending of the home I shared with 100 people the last 4 weeks. It's a bit unreal to believe the all the things I've learned and the experiences I've shared are now just memories and photographs. The time went surprisingly quickly and it's amazing the growth I feel on many levels. The challenge now is to continue my own practice outside the supportive, though somewhat restrictive, walls of the ashram. The daily grind was b [View Full Entry]

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OMMMMMM Well, its the end of the third week at the ashram and time seems to have flown by. Each day is so loaded with activity that its hardly surprising. Today, I've taken a two hour drive up the west coast to Varkela beach with a group of people to relieve some tension of the upcoming exam and take in a bit of local culture. I had a western breakfast of fruit and museli and yoghurt to add some variety to my diet. There's not much on the agenda today, which is both strange and liberating. I'll spend some time on [View Full Entry]

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Om! Well I've managed to get a few spare moments to run down the hill from the Sivananda Ashram to the internet cafe to write a few lines. Each day seems to go so quickly I can hardly believe I've been here two weeks already. The days are full with early morning meditation and chanting, followed by 2 hours of yoga (the other day we did 27 rounds of sun salutation!!!) and then breakfast/brunch, a delicious Indian meal we sit on the floor for in silence and eat with our hands. I definately enjoy the vegetarian diet and am surprisingly full [View Full Entry]

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And I breath a sigh of relief as I take in my surroundings, I've made it to India at long last. My journey from Thailand to India has been an adventure in itself but the transition has been easier than I anticipated. I enjoyed my last few days in Chiang Mai in Thailand wandering the city and exploring the markets. I took the trek up to the mountain temple Doi Su Thep and am glad I did. It is a relatively small temple compared to some in Bangkok but it is very ornate and filled with Buddha images and is the [View Full Entry]

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Me again! Well, I made it up to Chiang Mai without much trouble and found a place to stay at the Libra Guesthouse, which has been my home the last few days. My flight arrived just as the sun set and it was a glorious red ball that slowly slipped behind the mountains. Unfortunately, the colouring is due to the intense air pollution this time of year because of bamboo forest burning. It is even worse than Bangkok, if you can believe. But it hasn't taken away from my trip thus far. I roamed the small city the evening I arrived [View Full Entry]

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Sa wa dee ka! (hello) It seems each day gets easier and easier to slip into the island vibe. The last few days seem to go have gone by in a blur and thinking back is a challenge on my jello brain... Well, Friday was the last night everyone on the retreat was around and it was a delicious meal under the stars and Lily surprised us with an incredible coconut chocolate cake. Some of us carried on the evening at Guy's Bar and danced to our heart's content. The following day (on about 4 hours sleep) I took a hike [View Full Entry]

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Hello loves! It is absolutely incredible here. I took off from Bangkok on Saturday and flew into Koh Samui with Winston, and so began our yoga adventure. The flight was short and sweet and we felt the beach attitude immedately. From there, we took a ferry from Big Buddha Pier over to Koh Pha Ngan, another small island off the South Coast of Thailand. Then another long tail boat trip to the other side of the Island to the home of Blooming Lotus Studio and the Bamboo huts which quickly became home. I'm amazed by the friendliness and hospitality here and [View Full Entry]

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