Beach Bumming

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April 14th 2008

Published: April 21st 2008

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juggernaut

Later that day

This beach was absolutely breathtaking. The white sand up against the full spectrum of blue in the ocean. The waves never got rough. The water was warm but refreshing and the bodies that covered the beach were beautiful.

Free Write Sunday April 6th - Sitting in my Hammock at the Black and White Bungalows - Koh Phangan, Thailand

Comfort Zone... I spoke very apssionately about his comfort zone concept in my first blog. I wonder sometimes now that I'm on the road if comfort zone really is what I'm looking to break free from. For some people comfort zone means everything in their life. Having a home base, a family, a network, a routine, all these things provide them with the stability they need to eveolve as spirites, as people. I suppose I know this and have experienced it too. When I go and live at an Ashram for a month and re-establish a routine of meditaiton, seva, and personal sadhana, I am creating a zone, call it a comfort zone, a backbone spiritually to grow, to get closer to god, to help me commune with my highest self. HOw ist hat different than people who set up their day with routines. At first the Ashram life feels new and challenging, but with the grace fo the Guru, the Love of the other begins there, ita ll becomes home so quickly. To me the difference is awareness. Do

Sunrise Beach

After arriving on the night boat to Koh Phangan I went out to Haad Rin beach, Sunrise beach, to see my first sunrise.

I approach life and my journey, my evolution, with awareness? In the Ashram we are taught awareness. You go to an Ashram with this lesson already and if not you catch on fast. So Ashram life is a comfort zone, a routine, built on a foundation of awareness. Maybe this is the difference. Is my life in Mill Valley, my routines of going to Gold's Gym, tutoring studetns, being with family and friends, all centered around awareness: For some reason not as much as when I'm in the Ashram. The grace of a spiritual master may play a part in that. But then Sai Maa is always with me and I can call in any number of great saints to help guide me. The fact still remains that it is just hard to stay centered and grounded when I am at home. But I'm getting better all the time. Eacht time I venture out into the world I come back with new skills. And this brings be back to where I began this free write. I am on the journey right now. I'm always on the journey towards finding me and connecting with That which I AM. Ashram gives me

Muay Thai

I took four muay thai classes in three days. This was me after my first double session. I was exhausted but so fired up on my training session. I met my new friend Phill during the second session and the instructor pictured here, Sak, was so happy and enthusiastic that you couldn't help but smile.

discipline and tools. Travel does the same. I am using this trip as an opporutnity to build powerful self-awareness. Things change every day. Some routines I can build in to my travels and some I cannot. All the while I have to listen to my body/mind/spirit. I have to be the stong backbone of awareness all the time. To stay within my power on a journey that fluctuates, changes, and is unpredictable at best, I must be aware. These tools and skills I am gaining, just liek the tools I learn at teh Ashram, will serve me. The truth ofmy life is that a great majority of it will hopefully be spent in what I defined as a Comfort Zone. A zone that is defined by family, home, loved ones, stabiliyt, and some necessary repetitions. But my goal is never to create a comfort zone for myself so that I can swich off the Awareness button. NO! I will always continue to evolve. And this is partly why I've chosen to travel. To add to my ever expanding skillset that wil assist me on my pather towards my highest self.

So for those of you who are living a

More kickboxing

So he let me pose for this picture. I wasn't doing much posing and smiling during the real training because it was serious work.

life right now that I have refferred to as the Comfort Zone then I apologize if I offended yoiu with my initial interpretation. Friends, family, home, routine, these are precious to me. Bless you and all the tings that represnt this in your life. I only wish to share with you my intention that alluded to earlier. That intention is to remain aware of ourselves and others in each moment of our lives. "All my relations" How do I effect my relationship to myself, to others and to the physical and spiritual world. Even from the comfort of our daily lives it is possible to keep asking these questions. Because I always want to serve myself and others the best way I can and all it takes sometimes is to really sit with our thoughts and ask how we can do this. I love each and every one of you. A deep sense of gratitude is rushing through me right this momment as I write these words. This has been a marvelous vehicle for personal growth and for that I thank you, my loved ones and readers.

Infinite Blessings
Om Jai Jai Maa,

I wrote that on

Fight night

One of the trainers at the muay thai gym I went to named Goldie has been training muay thai himself for about 10 years. He's been out here on the Island for 15 months and has had about 20 or so fights. He was fighting one of the nights I was there so I went to see him in action. Here two Thai guys box is out. This fight ended in a knockout.

my second day on Koh Phangan. I came here really by accident. On my way out of Puket to visit the National Park just two hours north I got held up in an internet cafe and as a result missed the last bus. I had enough of Phuket town and wasn't about to stay another night, so I hopped on the next bus to Surat Thani where I figured I could stay the night and get to the National Park in the morning. Next thing I know I'm on a night boat to Koh Phangan. It seemed like a better option than staying in Surat Thani which didn't seem to have much to offer other than the sausages I got nea the ferry terminal.

So here I am. Koh Phangan. The site of the legendary full moon parties. Evey full moon Haad Rin Beach swells to some 30 thousand people, plus, and is an all night rave/rage of alcohol, dancing, hallucinogenic drugs, fire shows, thiefs, and more wild craziness. I'm writing this blog entry on the 20th of the month and it is the full moon. It will comfort some of you to know that I'm not anywhere near

Views

I rented a motorbike one day and toured the Island. I went inland to see some waterfalls and hike up the mountain. I also had views like this most of the way around so I stopped for a photo opp.

Koh Phangan. I missed the full moon party on purpose. I had the opportunity to experience the night life on the beach at Haad Rin without the 30 thousand other people to compete for space with. It was quite a bit of fun when the beach was less crowded. You might be askign yourself, what do you do on the biggest party island if you are not partying every night? Well, I had to ask myself the same question during my stay on Koh Phangan. Did I just arrive in Cancun for Spring break and decide that I was going to skip out on the night life? Could that be considered a crime by some backpackers. I was determined to find another side to this place. What else could this party beach offer me. And so my 7 day stay on Koh Phangan began.

Monday April 7th -

I wake up at 6am to the sound of roosters. Rather than go back to sleep I wrestle some things together and make a move for sunrise beach to catch the last bit of the sunrise. I arrive at Haad Rin beach to see that I missed the best part

Tom Yum

Having survived on Som Tom (papaya salad) and BBQ chicken for the last few weeks, and next few weeks to come, I do occasionally go for some variety. I met a girl named Neng in Thong Sala, the port city on Koh Phangan, and she took me to eat at her friends place. She recommended this soup that was a spicy blend of veggies and seafood, spiced with ginger, thai basil, chili, and lemongrass.

of the sunrise. But I decie to sit and enjoy Haad Rin in it's morning peace. The drunks have stumbled off to their bungalows, the bucket sales have ceised until the next sundown, and the gentle sound of sweeping up the beach of broken glass and cigarette butts is all that can be heard next to the soft lapping of ocean water against the sand. How do folks stay up to odd hours of the night, drinking an taking other sorts of drugs only to go to sleep through the majority of the day, too dazed to stop for even a moment and see all this beauty. It is marvelous beauty. You cannot put words to the contrast of magnificant colors that paint this landscape.

I slowly carr myself off the beach, one reluctant step at a time. I am drawn to the delicious drink that survives me daily in thailand. A hot mix of Nescafe (instant coffee) and Coffeemate. Real coffee is just too expensive so I've settled for the instant stuff and I prefer it now. Mr. K's is my morning coffee stand, Chicken Stop and Papaya salad fix. Three Mr. K restaurants and shops all on

Good food makes me happy

The food never fails to make me smile. That is of course unless I have so much of it that I get sick. But that happens only rarely.

one corner. The family has a monopoly on the best real estate in Haad Rin. They wear matching outfits daily that vary quite a bit from aloha type shits to pink polos.

Two or three cups later, and an episode or two of Friends (most restaurants and cafe's here play episodes of Friends, Family Guy, or Simpsons all day long until they break out the new release movies around 6pm) and the internet cafe finally opens. I do a video chat with my parents for the first time. This was really my motivation to get out of bed this morning so early. I knew the were going to be waiting for my call and it would have been sooner but that damn Friends sucked me right in.

We catch up on my lifestyle on the road. I make it very clear how well I feel, how my body and mind are together as one. My spirit is trying an suceeding at staying in this game. In fact it may just be the thing that is leading the jouney. "I know it is. I am a beautiful spirit foreging forth in this ever changing environment towards divinity."

After

The feet that take me places

I haven't posted a foot photo in a while. These are some of my favorite shots that I take. Here I'm up at the top of a lookout spot. A short hike up from the waterfall I was visiting.

our conversation I head back to bed for a couple of hours and awake to the sound of jackhammers. I crawl from my bed to my hammock on the front porch and finish my book Eat, Pray, Love. I had some serious issues with this book choice for the first half of the book and in the end was so happy I read it an even more excited about my trip I'll be making to Bali in a month.

After a shower and shave I head back to Mr. K's and get my standad Chicken and Papaya salad combination. With a full belly and my beach pad in hand I head own to find a shady portion of sand to do some reading of my new novel, Shantaram. This 1000 page book is intimidating to say the least. I've never picked up such a big book, let alone actually read one. But I relax in to this masterpiece of literature and catch some sun rays on this picturesque beach.

3pm rolls around sooner than I anticipated and it is time for me to go and take my first Muay Thai kickboxing class. I enrolled earlier in a beginners

Lookout Spot

Just another look at the scenery.

class that started at 4pm. For that first hour of training I get a few lessons on the basics. Kicks, elbows, punches, and knees. Sak, my Thai instructor is energetic an very clear with his directions. After an hour I'm still relatively fresh and get invited to stay for the advanced session at 5pm. Goldie, the other instructor, a British guy who has been working at the Jungle Gym for 15 months or so, is my instructor for this session. Another English guy named Phill has shown up to take the class and he and I go to work for the next 90 minutes. We get a proper workout. Golie seems to take more pleasure in working us hard than instructing us on technique. Either way it is a great session and I make a new friend out of it in Phill.

I leave the gym feeling exhausted but so happy that I trained and really worked my body hard. My dinner of BBQ fish and salad tasted that much better. And my dessert of Banana Nutella pancakes was well deserved. But before the dinner and dessert I walk own just a few paces from the gym and take

Sunset after training

It is pretty spectacular when you can finish a hard training session of kickboxing, and then walk outside just a few yards and have this view. The sunset every day was just after I got out of the gym.

in an increadible sunset. With sweat still dipping off me from my training session, I sit alone to watch the sun sink down behind some distant thunder clouds. The cool breeze is refreshing my tired body. The mosquitos serves as a gentle reminder that it is time to shower and get the insect repellent on before going for my dinner. As with most restaurants in this town, dinner is accompanied by some new movie that is either still in theaters or has just been released. I catch then end of some movie I can't remember. When it is over I wander down to the beach and find a seat at one of the numberous tables that have been set up along the length of the beach for people to do their nightly drinking at. I order a soda water and take in the atmosphere. Fire shows, fire games, dancing, and party seeking backpackers are everywhere. To tired to participate in the activities I am content to observe and head back to my bungalow for an early night at around 12am.

___________________________

That was a typical day for me at Haad Rin. In the morning I might do some

Papaya Salad

The famous Som Tom that I have had every day for weeks now. Get ready family, when I get home this is on the menu my first night. I'll be cooking up a feast.

exercise. Usualy I was able to generate quite a cheeing section from the local shop owners as I ran sprints up the hill. One evening during my exercise the tatoo shop owners came out and became my trainers for the evening. They made me do all sorts of exercises and sprint combinations while they sat and laughed or cheered me on. During the hot parts of the day I found myself enjoying the beach, getting tan, swimming in the cool ocean from time to time. One day I took a tour of the island on a motorbike, another day we went to a pool part at the Coral Bungalows, and on yet another day I went into the main town to celebrate Songkran, the Thai new years festival that consisted of water fights, baby powder getting tossed everywhere, and loud music, dancing and drinking. Another day I took a 2 hour yoga class that was amazing. The warm weather made me feel so loose and flexible and the closing shivasana was the most beautiful I have ever experienced. By evening time on most days I found myself at the Jungle Gym for Muay Thai training or weightlifting with Phill and

Muscle Mania

Phill and I pose for a picture after a hard weights session. I really enjoyed being on Koh Phangan and being so active every day. While the vast majority of backpackers lounged on the beach, preparing themselves for the next night of drinknig, Phill and I were hard at work. Nothing feels quite as good as doing something great for you body.

the other regulars. I made some great friends at that gym. This seems to be a theme of my life. I make great friends around things in my life that promote health. On a couple nights I did inulge in the party atmosphere. I felt it was only fare to go and experience Haan Rin beach until late hours. I needed to see what it was all about before I really made any judgements. As I mentioned I was eating well every day. Either chicken and papaya sala or BBQ fish and vegetables.

That pretty much tells the whole story of Koh Phangan. I had a great time there and was ready to leave when I did. On a different trip I may stay for the full moon party. It just didn't work out this time.

Thanks to all the people that made my stay in Haad Rin what it was. Phill, Mel, Aidy, Goldie, Sak, Mr K workers, Black and White Bungalow staff, Fat Guy at the corner market who sold me coffee each day, Strange man in the bungalow next to mine that sat in his hammock several hours a day and never exchanged a word

Aidy and Mel

Goofing off for the camera behind the desk at the Jungle Gym.

with me, Ginger, and more...... I was successful at finding joy on an Island where most of what people come to do, party all night, doesn't really appeal to me on a nightly basis. We create our own environment wherever we go. We create our own hapiness. It is nobel to let down your guard an experience a place the way the locals do. But sometimes there are no locals, just tourists, and their way of enjoying a place is not my idea of fun. So I set an intention and draw those people who share my passions in to my life.

Loving you all
Marcus

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