Headstands on Haad Rin

When Gabby got back to Koh Phangan, I immediately broke my fast and we went to the night market...

We delved into tofu burgers, spirulina shakes, pad thai and lots of other goodness for the short few days we got to spend together... I couldn't be in Thailand without having some of the fabulous food!

We also did some touring and I got to have her as my own personal yoga tutor...  which led to a yoga photo session with headstand attempts on the beach in front of the centre!

What fun, good friend!

Wat Pho Thai Traditional Herbal Sauna

This place was perfect for a visit during my detoxifying cleanse.  The hot, steamy, herbally goodness is pretty intense, but also felt very purifying.

It's a traditional setup with a fire-powered cauldron piping steam into two separate male/female rustic steam rooms.  The steam is filled with herbs such as lemongrass, jasmine and tumeric, which are healthy for the skin and also aid the body to purge toxins.

We also pumped it up a notch with some natural exfoliating scrub of tumeric and seasalt.  I felt like a squeaky clean newborn when I left there and was apparently glowing for days!

Healing

I feel very lucky not to actually need a healing retreat... but when one of your best friends happens to be the manager at just such a retreat not sooo far away, and you happen to have to leave the country for a visa run... well, the universe was aligning itself...

So here I am at the Orion Healing Retreat Centre in Koh Phangan, Thailand.

Here's a blurb from their website (orionhealing.com):

The Orion Healing Retreat Center is set in the serene Srithanu bay in Koh Phangan, Thailand. Nestled in peaceful surroundings, amid soothing sounds and rippling waters, your mind and soul are balanced, restoring a sense of serenity and vitality.  At Orion we have created a unique life changing retreat program which combines detox, healing and yoga to create Absolute Alchemy.

Our detox retreats are specially tailored and supported every step of the way. As healers we ensure that your cleanse is a healing experience for your body, mind and soul. A personal touch is given to all our cleansers and this will ensure that your individual needs are always looked after.  Using ancient methods with modern day touches, our unique treatments harmonize, balance, attune and charge your body to leave you feeling completely revitalized.

I can't say I had the right motivation in coming here... I wasn't feeling toxic, or the need for healing necessarily... I really just wanted to see a good friend in her element, and thought the best way to do that, since she was to be working, would be to integrate myself into her life... so I signed up!  And no doubt it will have all kinds of additional positive benefits as well.  Although I am still a little upset about being in Thailand (with some of the best food on the planet) and not EATING, I am really enjoying the daily yoga, and have been to the Wat Pho Traditional Thai Herbal Sauna, and am taking advantage of being here to get some work done in my sweet little bungalow!

(All the pics are from the Orion website, since my camera is in the shop... )

Thai Trip - Boomin' Bangkok 2 - Movies n' Malls and MODERN!

As I was saying... Bangkok felt shiny and modern in a lot of areas (a lot of areas still held some traditional charm, and were not too far away from what I used to imagine 'Siam' was like).  The most stark modernity was to be had downtown at the Siam Paragon mall.

Siam Paragon, Bangkok, Thailand

The Siam Paragon also houses the first truly luxury movie theatre I have ever seen... Completely private deluxe seats which adjust all the way into lying position, Thai silk blankets and pillows... complete with service right to your seat - in case you forgot to get popcorn or a drink, or have a sudden craving after the movie begins!  You pay for this luxury, of course... about the same as the price of a normal movie ticket at home!?  600-700THB compared to 180 for the regular theatre (which is still pretty comfy)!

When we were there, the Siam Paragon was also hosting a fabulous food event - specialty foods from all the regions around Thailand were on expo... so we got to taste a few more without even leaving Bangkok!  Yumm...

Thai Trip - Many forms of Buddha

After traveling around a few areas in Thailand, I became more aware that the Buddha is represented in many forms, and I was sure that his position in the statues must be representative.  I guess I used to have a vague notion of these different forms, and assumed it had to do with different religions, and different forms were no doubt manifestations of various cultures' influence on a religion... as it turns out, it is not nearly so simple (as anything to do with culture or religion goes, I guess)!

Here are some of my pictures of these various positions with their meanings (as I have understood them from the Thai, and subsequent readings... since I couldn't always understand everything everyone was trying to communicate to me - one of the greatest frustrations/adjustments to Thailand, actually... I have been taking for granted how easily I can communicate with people in Indonesia now!):

Touching the earth: aka. "calling the earth to witness".  This form is supposed to represent the Buddha renouncing 'worldly desire'.  It is the one I saw MOST around Thailand... I guess that's appropriate since life is full of temptations, and their renunciation is the central moral precept of Buddhism.

 

Absence of fear: either one or both arms are shown bent at the elbow and the wrist, with the palm facing outwards and the fingers pointing upwards. It shows the Buddha either displaying fearlessness in the face of adversity, or enjoining others to do so.

Teaching:  The gesture represents intellectual debate or discussion and teaching; it indicates communication and explanation of the Dharma (or Buddha's teachings).  This is when the tips of the thumb and index finger touch, forming a circle... Sometimes the middle finger and thumb touch - a gesture of great compassion; and sometimes the thumb and ring finger touch, expressing good fortune.

Charity: the right palm open, signifying that the Buddha is granting or receiving charitable offerings.

Setting the wheel in motion: both hands held in front of the chest.  I thought it would have something to do with love, or feeling 'touched' (and maybe in a sense that's true)... This pose refers very specifically to the Buddha's first sermon, when he "set the wheel (of his life's work) in motion."

Meditation: the hands are shown lying flat in the seated Buddha's lap, palms upward.  It shows that the Buddha is disciplining his mind through mental concentration, a necessary step to achieving enlightenment.

Reclining: The reclining posture may represent the Buddha resting or sleeping, but more usually represents the Buddha's final state of enlightenment before his death.

Then there's the fat laughing buddha, whom I only saw ONCE in Thailand... unfortunately I was on my own, so didn't have a chance to ask anyone why.

Thailand Trip - Boomin' Bangkok!

Bangkok was so modern!  It reminded me of Singapore, actually... a lot less regimented, and a lot less clean, but very efficient, and shiny (in places).

I guess it was the public transportation that impressed me most - coming from Indonesia, where public transport is a nightmare, Bangkok (and Thailand in general, in the areas where I travelled), was bliss!

There are a variety of systems, EVERYTHING connects, the cost isn't prohibitive, it is used by everyone, and it's fairly fast, clean and efficient!  There are the sky train (BTS), subway (MRT), busses, trains and planes (and all manner of each)...  Then there are (super-cheap) boats and ferries floating along the cities' extensive system of canals (Bangkok = the Venice of Asia!?)...

And then, of course, there are the colourful, boisterous, brash and brazen, belching tuk-tuks careening around the city centre!  For character... and short distances!  And only for the brave!

Thai Trip - Ayutthaya

I went 'templing' in Ayutthaya.

"To Temple" is a new verb, created by Cecilia and I on our first trip to Bali... it's meaning is obvious, I think.

Ayutthaya was described to me as the 'mini Angkor Wat', and since I wasn't going to get there this trip, I decided I would like to see a little more of the history and culture of Buddhism in Thailand, so I went on a very accessible day trip from Bangkok.  After a two-hour train ride, I arrived and chartered a tuk-tuk for 31/2 hours to take me around to some of the sights.  Apparently the city and its temples can be very enjoyable by bike, or boat, but with my time constraints, I opted for this speedier, louder, more brash, method of transport!

(Even the tuk-tuk driver's daughter-in-law got into trying to read the GPS to look for the caches!)

I was unsuccessful in my attempt to find any geocaches in Ayutthaya (I think they have all gone missing), but, as is the true point for me, the search brought me to some beautiful spots around the various temples and ruins of the ancient city!

(Don't even ASK about the chickens... I did, and couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone!  (Except the correction that they were roosters, thank you very much)... but honestly, they popped up everywhere around Ayutthaya... and not just alone or in pairs - there were ARMIES of roosters!?  Perhaps the beloved king was born in the year of the Rooster?  Perhaps the rooster is the true 'ultimate reincarnation form'?  The mystery remains unsolved, so if anyone can enlighten me... ???


And as you can see, the intensive 'templing' (and puzzling over roosters) had me totally exhausted for the train trip back to Bangkok...