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sharkgazing shramanas - Jarod and Heather Raithel

This is where we're at . . .

"You will have to leave it all behind and go on later. Why not make it meaningful and leave it all right now?" ~Milarepa, Tibetan yogi poet

"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." ~Albert Einstein

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Joined on: May 26th 2008
Last Login: November 9th 2009

Blog Entries: 24
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by sharkgazing shramanas, order by Date newest first.

By sharkgazing shramanas
April 7th 2009

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Ra

Koh Ra waving
Koh Ra

After nine months in Thailand, we have headed home. While we are excited to see the friends and families that we have missed so much, saying goodbye to the people, animals, and natural wonders that make up Koh Ra was extremely difficult. Koh Ra is a truly special place; one that has become a part of us. Living for this time in a natural and wild place, leaving less of a consumptive imprint, and shaking off the stresses ever present in our busy day to day, gave us some new persepctives on living a healthier and happier life, as well as [View Full Entry]

Paw, the moken leader working on the new well

By sharkgazing shramanas
April 6th 2009

Bali -land of dancing, rice fields, stonework, and surf Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Ubud

Macaque at Ulu Watu Temple
Bali

Taking a break from the Ecolodge, we met up with Kim and Awe for a quick vacation in Bali. Starting out in the touristy area of Kuta, we enjoyed Mexican food, a movie, and a bit of surfing (Jarod got up on a board a few times at Kuta Beach). We rented an old Kejang truck and Kim drove us all over the island beginning our trip heading west to the incredible Ulu Watu Temple overlooking massive cliffs. We watched a kekak show at sunset where the men make music noises with their voices and the dancers acted out the Ramayana [View Full Entry]

Touring the temple before the kekak show

By sharkgazing shramanas
April 4th 2009

Fun with Family Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Krabi

Krabi Sunset
Railay Beach

Jarod's brother Justin and his wife Michele came for a visit in late March. They were able to spend a little over three weeks in Thailand. Fresh off the plane with no time for jet lag, we rented motorbikes and drove out to Wat Tham Sua for a hot and grueling hike up the limestone cliff with the giant golden Buddha on top showing great views of the Krabi region. After relaxing on the beach and enjoying awesome Thai food, we also did a bit of rock climbing. Always fun, but a true challenge. After Krabi, we headed to Khao Lak [View Full Entry]

By sharkgazing shramanas
January 16th 2009

Down in Fraggle Rock, Krabi, Thailand that is . . . Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand

Like something out of an ancient dream
Ao Phra Nang, Krabi

Sawatdee kap khong peuan (Warm greeting my friends), So there are 61 pics included in this blog that were painstakingly uploaded via a very slow internet connection. Check them out, or at least tell me that you've enjoyed them :) Just click on the word "next" at bottom of page to view 2nd and 3rd pages of pictures. Instead of ending with one, I'll begin this entry with a quote from a great humanist, Walt Whitman, I just received from my friend Bodhi . . . "Dismiss whatever insults your own soul And your very flesh shall be a great poem [View Full Entry]

By sharkgazing shramanas
January 1st 2009

Less is more Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Ra

Muang greeting guests at moken village
Baan Koh Ra

Happy New Year to all of you and we hope you had a very Merry Christmas! We missed our families and friends, but managed to have a very nice holiday season on Koh Ra. Things are busy as we are full with guests, so this entry is mostly pictures of our holiday season. We are doing well, but miss each of you and wish you the best in the new year! Love, Jarod and Heather [View Full Entry]

Moken clay oven for burning mangrove wood to make charcoal

By sharkgazing shramanas
December 21st 2008

Heaven is a state of mind . . . Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Ra

Cuddling with a Cuttlefish . . .
We stumbled upon a female carefully placing her eggs, one by one, underneath a coral head. Marvelous color changes - red to white to purple - striped, pokadots - simply amazing

Heather has been doing a terrific job regularly posting travelblogs, I've been a bit more inconsistent, I know that’s hard to imagine from me :) Anyways, I've caught a day off, on dry land all day today, so figured I'd try my hand at travelblogging. We have another group of Earthwatch volunteers working at the Koh Ra Ecolodge - these are wonderfully kind-hearted folks, willing to spend their vacations working on conservation projects around the world. National Geographic rated Earthwatch as the number one volun-tourism organization, in part, because the majority of their donations [View Full Entry]

By sharkgazing shramanas
December 16th 2008

Island Time (What day is it again?) Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Ra

Bella on my porch
Koh Ra

It seems we have been busy (or just away from the computer a lot more). We now have internet capabilities on Koh Ra, so now the only reason to go to the mainland is ice cream. Don't think we will ever have it here as we have no freezer. We have had a fun couple of months here so far. We are on our second round of Earthwatch volunteers and have lots more guests. Christmas at the Ecolodge should be busy and fun! Life is pretty good here. Slow paced, hard to know what time or day it is. It is [View Full Entry]

By sharkgazing shramanas
November 13th 2008

All Hallow's Eve (Jungle Style) Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Ra

Move like a jellyfish, rhythm don't mean nothing...
Koh Ra

Before getting down to business working on Koh Ra, we celebrated Halloween with a night of jungle mayhem. We had a total of 40 guests that boated to Koh Ra and stayed the night with a costume theme of favorite jungle or sea animal. Awe (and friends) made a huge dinner for us. Then after filling our bellies with squid spaghetti, we all headed back to our respective bungalows to change into costume. We were so impressed with the creativity of the costumes (especially as costume-making resources are limited in Kuraburi). No costume shops here! Jarod and I had a bit [View Full Entry]

By sharkgazing shramanas
October 28th 2008

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok

Nothing Beats an Afternoon Siesta . . .
Sleeping Long-tailed Macaque at Wat (temple) atop Khao Takiab, south of Hua Hin

We have been travelling quite a bit lately. Made it back to Kuraburi only to head to Bangkok the next day. After a grueling all night bus ride (with several men snoring the entire time) we arrived in Bangkok at 3:30 am. We all headed to a friend's house to catch a few hours of sleep, shower, eat breakfast and get back on the bus for two more hours to Pattaya. We finally arrived and met up with Kim on the beach in Pattaya. We went to a huge mall and did a bit of shopping and then went out for [View Full Entry]

Wat nestled into trees atop Khao Takiab (Chopstick or Monkey Mountain)

By sharkgazing shramanas
October 4th 2008

Thai Language Boot Camp Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Phuket

Little fella was checking to see what I'd had for lunch

Saw wat dee ka (and krup)! puak rao koey bpai rong rian lae dton nee rao pood paa saa thai dai! (We have been going to school and now we can speak Thai!) Jarod and I are in Phuket, a big touristy island further south. Our main purpose in being here was to spend two weeks cramming Thai into our older and much slower brains. We went to a language school every weekday and also enlisted the help of a friend of Kim and Awe's here to help us as well. It was a struggle... We learned a bit from our [View Full Entry]

As if we'd miss an elephant in the road?

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