The mystical land of Koh Phangan

The great road reveils itself..... 

My footsteps echo across the various pavements and turfs of my terrain as I find myself immersed in the ever present moment. From country to country, town to town a new sense of home appears before my eyes, the people, their smiles, and the stories they share with all their heart.

My final destination in Thailand, was the exotic land of Koh Phangan, a small island just North of the famous Koh Samui. I am greeted by a small motorbike that carries a passenger tray on its side, it moves slow, yet the sites are so startling, that I could only wish that the journey to my hotel would last longer.  We reach our final destination located on the North Western part of the island Salad Beach. Koh Phanagan, is often known as the party island where young teens travel far and wide to party each month at the full moon party. Lucky for me, a traveller whom relishes the silent moments and dives deeply into the succulent expressions of nature, hears that the full moon party has just passed and my destination, is among the quietist on the island. I reached my destination and my jaw dropped wide consumed by the site of paradise. I had once visioned this beach in my dreams, was I living a dream? It appeared so….

I was staying at the Salad Beach Resort and greeted by the delightful manager,  his smile was so large that I believe he could possibly be the happiest man on the island. I guess I would be as well, if I got to live in his house everyday. The hotel was magnificent, steps away from the white sandy shores and accompanied by luxurious living for a minimal cost.

After my recent travels along the border of Burma, I was grateful for a little rest and relaxation. I immediately head to the beach for my first sunset, it was lit by the most enchanting colors of red, orange and pink and as I lay in the luke warm water my body surrendered into an eternal moment of joy. Never before, had I experienced a beach so beautiful.

 

The days were swept away by the afternoon breeze and I began to explore the enchanted island. Scooters on the island are a minimal cost of around five US dollars a day, quite a splendid price, to see the whole island. The roads are windy and at times the hills are steep, so it is advised to only get a scooter, if you are a confident driver. Yet the allure of such adventure is strong for many travellers, me being one of them! I decided to take the journey slow and as a result any pot holes of windy corners were gracefully missed.

At dusk there is a stir in the air as the night time marketplace opens on the main beach (name of beach), it is a fabulous place for picking up some locally designed crafts, along with the standard tourist pieces to take home for memory! Night time seems to last forever with the endless choice of restaurants tucked away on every corner of the island and the delightful warmth that seems to keep you out for hours past nine.

My time in Koh Phangan lasted 7 days, and since I had promised myself time for deep relaxation , I decided to join a local yoga school on the island, called Agama Yoga. It is a fabulous yoga center, that offers both drop in classes to full curriculum and teacher training courses. The first day was free and it consisted of morning yoga and discussion and an early evening discussion, yoga and meditation class. The first day was enough to get me hooked and I decided to spend the rest of my holiday attending their courses.

Each day became richer than the last as I found myself experiencing intimate spaces of relaxation and connection. Perhaps it was the combination of the tropical sounds that surrounded the yoga hall and the sweet teachers that were all donating their time for the bettermeant of the college, or the unbeatable price of just 7 US dollars a day!

By the time my trip came to a close, my heart had been swept away by a love that one feels in deep romance, I had been captivated by this paradise and my smile will always mirror the memories shared on this island, the hands I held, the laughter which sung from my soul and the deep presence that guided me into such surrender. 

Thank you Koh Phangan, for sharing your beauty with me. You are a paradise that brings such special gifts to the fortunate traveller, who stumbles upon your shores!

The bamboo school....

I just arrived back in bangkok, oh my god, my heart has melted and I am
feeling like I have never felt before. Words can not describe the depth of my experience while at the orphange. I feel like crying, I have been moved soooo much. I see how pointless many things are and how important many other things are, such as the value of a human life, the value of children and the love that human beings need.

Over the course of 5 days, I participated in some things that only you

read in books or see in movies, I helped pick up a dead man from the road

after he was in a motorbike accident, a coffin painted and delivered to a

temple in the middle of the night, watch a family mourn, send many of our

thai volunteers who were refugees from Burma, back into burma, into the

most intense malaria zones in the world, the stories I have shared with

the kids about the life they have lived and the things they have seen,

make me cry, and I am sooo moved, and this is why i have a new

perspective. Why do we put such an importance on things that don't really

matter, why do waste our time on things that actually distract us from

truly helping another human being, lending our hand, or taking a childs

tears away.... I am forever changed, and I don't care about a lot of

things that used to bother me before, I know what is important, the human

heart and a helping hand.

I wanted to stay and never leave, I wanted to keep living there with all

the children, I wanted to make it my life.

The road continues, but in a new way, I will always support this

organisation, The Bamboo School www.bambooschool.org and I know that I will return, I can see what is important, what truly is important. The amount of adrenalin that was running through my veins, as I slept in the middle of the jungle, in a straw hut, with very little seperating me from the wildlife that surrounded me, all that I had was a mosquito net, I felt fear that perhaps a wild dog would climb in the hut as I slept, yet I learnt a new strength and was taught how to live, how to be strong and how to appreciate. I close my eyes in the deepest of reverence for this experience, I am so grateful.

One month of travels- bring new discoveries!

Wisdom travels.....

Wow! Where do I begin~ Over the past month, I have been blessed by  travels in both Thailand and Nepal. Both very sacred places, that have bought new vision, understanding, light and love to the very depths of my soul. Sacred surrender, shapes my being and all I can do is say, YES! Thank you divine universe, your all encompassing wisdom fills me and overflows through me. Thank you.

I have posted some blogs from my recent locations, but to give you a summary over the past month I have, trekked upon the border of Burma and Thailand bringing support to refugees and assisting individuals with malaria and political unrest, bathed in the exotic oceans of Koh Samui, dived deep into yoga and meditational studies, traveled through Nepal, discovering the many lives that have been helped in small villages from Habitat for Humanity, an organisation that builds houses for those less fortunate and then basked in the glorious altitudes of the himalayas... 

The stories, the experiences, the people, the love has forever changed me. New clarity envelopes me and I feel honored by this offering. 

Some elements of clarity that have travelled through the infinite dimensions of my experience, bring the following tokens, and now I offer them to you:

1. Give. Give with all of your heart. Don't ask for anything in return, don't expect anything in return and your satisfaction will return to you far beyond any thing you could ask for. For it is a feeling a consciousness, your soul is lifted.

2. Look into the eyes of those you mistrust, or those who have hurt you, and see yourself, see another human being, who is also on the path to remembrance. The only reason they hurt you, is because they forgot who they were and the only reason you hurt yourself is because you forgot who you were. But now you can remember. You are God. And within this perfect presence, their is no right or wrong, just oneness.

3. Enjoy life. Don't wait until tomorrow to be happy, don't put happiness in a distant future or event, make it happen now, the universe will support your choice, for that is the ultimate intention for all beings. Take a risk. Do something new. Dance. Sing out loud. Be silly.

4. Honor your body temple. Breath deep. Move sensuously.  Eat healthy foods. Think happy thoughts. Smile all the time. See what happens. Shift your vibration to a new elevation!

5. Do a good deed for a stranger. 

6. Take on a project of service, where you can give back to your community.

7. Most important. Meditate, do yoga, pranayama, still your mind, send gratitude to the universe, unify with the presence, and experience new dimensions of your being, discover ecstatic bliss!

Okie, so these are some gems which have been arising in my consciousness on this day. Life can be so simple, when we let it be.

I will be heading to the sacred town of Banares in India, this coming Sunday, where I will be traveling for a month. More stories to be shared along the way.

Thank you for embracing your eternal self and knowing that all is already complete.