So this is Christmas....

wow. crazy. it's warm & I'm swimming in the Gulf of Thailand. At least my toes are painted green. Hope Santa is great to everyone....

Get in Ma Belly!

oh my goodness, we are in gastronomic heaven here at Yoga Thailand! Our days begin with our yoga practice from 7:30-10:30 and following, we are greeted with the most glorious buffet breakfast/lunch. Our afternoon yoga practice is from 4-6 followed by a lovely dinner buffet. How can we get this at home???? Is the question of the hour!! Take a looksee at some of our meal selections.

For those of you that may be envious, don't be! We've purchased a Yoga-Thailand cookbook and are prepared with a cooking class under our belts. We're gonna do our best to recreate, stateside!

Yoga Thailand...the beginning of a wonderful week!

We're still here, at Yoga Thailand, which is why we've been remiss on our blog posts. It's been absolutely incredible. We've learned so much about our yoga practice, about balance, clarity, discipline, and caring. Not to mention gratitude, forgiveness, guidance and love.

Welcome to Ko Samui!

So, we are backpackers you know. And we rough it most of the time. In order for us to be on sabbatical this long, it's a delicate balance of knowing where to skimp and knowing where to invest. Transport= invest. We NEED to get places safely. HOWEVER, we did experience a travel day from hell that almost sent us into a meltdown. If a yoga retreat wasn't on the receiving end of the day, we would have been crying! I'll sum it up: a 40 minute ride in the back of a pickup truck stuffed with other backpackers and of course, backpacks. Another pick-up truck ride to the bus station. (which is utterly insane, btw). A nice bus ride for the next 4 hours, it was air conditioned, which was awesome. BUT, the driver & his "assistant" decided that it would be a great idea to blast really awful Thai boy-band music on full blast. Now, one thing that I've learned is that the Thai's really enjoy their music LOUD, and even distorted. It doesn't matter. It just has to be loud. I took about as much as I could handle (having a flashblack from another bus ride when we were subjected to the Scorpions LOUD for 2 solid hours) and asked the "assistant" if he wouldn't mind turning it down "just a little". If looks could kill, I would have been dead, dead, dead. But, silver lining is that he turned it completely OFF. (happy girls!)Basically thrown off the bus at the next stop, shuffled to a waiting area, then shuffled off to another bus for another hour or so....Then we took a ferry for about an hour and 1/2....then a taxi ride to our resting place for an eve. When we landed we were greeted with coconuts with straws and a gorgeous little bungalow called "Easy Times". Yes, we'll take it! Thank you very much. We're NOT complaining, at all. Just appreciative of our destination!

Who can tire of sunsets?

"Not I!" said Jenni Jo. "Not I either!" said Carmen. And with that, the two friends promised to catch as many sunsets as possible on their sabbatical. Boy, this surely beats watching the tube! Mother Nature hosts the VERY best programs. All in HD. Rock on!

Friends that Pod together, stay together...

So, we've been the laughing stock of some and the envy of others! But after a few out-of-country run-in's with bed bugs, skeeters, and critters unnamed, we decided that our two month sabbatical in SE Asia deserved a little protection. Yah for the Long Road.com for creating the recipe for a great night's sleep, The Mosquito Pod. Not always needed....but dang appreciated when necessary!

The Kings

Check out the King of Rock 'n Roll with the King of Thailand. We've seen this posted in a few places....couldn't help but get a chuckle out of it!

Thai belief in the purpose of the days!

WASHING YOUR HAIR?
On Sunday-you will live long
On Monday-you will be lucky and have a lot of money
On Tuesday-you will defeat your enemy
On Wednesday-bad luck, some people will say bad things about you
On Thursday-very good, the angels will look after you
On Friday-good, you will live a happy life
On Saturday-very good, the things you plan and carry out will prove to be successful

The Real Experience of Travel....from AFAR

The following quote sums it up, how we feel about our travel experiences, from the new magazine AFAR:

People used to just want stuff. the more, the better. And not
only more stuff, but fancier stuff. Many of us took the same approach
in our travels. We went to the most glamorous places, stayed in the
trendiest spots. We took pictures so we could show that we had "acquired"
these places just as we had acquired stuff along the way. We came, we
saw, we acquired. But something has changed. Many of us have
realized that life is about more than how much we consume. Instead, we
now search for meaning wherever we can find it. So when we travel, we go
beneath the surface of a place and look for experiences that enrich and
stretch us. We try to connect with people. We embrace what makes
each culture distinct, even as we recognize that we have more in common with
our neighbors than we may have thought. We discover insights about
others-and ourselves.

AMEN! To check out more from this amazing new magazine, go to http://www.afar.com/

Krabi and the Tiger Cave Temple

We've landed in Krabi for a few days before heading to our yoga retreat. It's a little fishing town and a major travel hub to the islands. One of the biggest highlights of our trip so far was our visit to Wat Tham Seua just a few kilos outside of Krabi. We raced over just before sunset and climbed up a steep 1272 steps to an awe inspiring view of the limestone outcrops and the islands. We made it to the top just as the sun was setting and for a few minutes we had the place to ourselves. A serene platform 600km high with the largest buddha I've ever seen (20 ft tall?). Oh, the monkeys were super cool as well. Kinda trippy walking down the steps at night with handfuls of monkeys climbing up them. Wow.

Leaving Lanta

What an amazing intro to the beaches. We are so grateful for our experience in Koh Lanta. The people we met were incredibly gracious, particularly the folks at Lanta Pearl Beach. Highly recommend staying here. A and Lim were super helpful.

Snorkeling in Paradise

Here's a glimpse of our snorkeling excursion in the Andaman Sea. Yes, the pictures are real. Ko Mook, Ko Hai, Ko Cheuak & Ko Kradan. The sea water is like a warm bath. Crazy amazing....

Thailand Toilet Training

Not much to be said about this...the diagram says it all!

Sea Gypsy Long Tails

The chao ley (sea gypsy) culture is rich on Ko Lanta. They are thought to have been the island's first inhabitants, perhaps as long as 500 years ago, living along the shoreline during ht emonsoon season and settingoff along the coast again with the winds abated...

Treetop Dining

After our "schooling" and doggie walking, we decided to be the "lazy partners" and enjoy a 6 course tasting menu at Time for Lime. Each course was better than the last, ending with our very favorite treat, sweet sticky rice with fresh mangos. So romantic! Wishing our boys were here but treasuring our adventures together as friends forever...

Jenni Jo's Beach Buddies

I've fallen in love! Once meeting these guys, I was drawn to visit them again, and again....Bubble, Buddy, & Long...

For only $27 per dog, I was able to provide food & medicine for
each of my walking buddies for 1 month each. A little goes a LONG way!

Introducing Mai Tai, Sarrah and Zippy

The dogs were very eager to get out for a stroll however we had to exercise some caution due to the stray dogs that would gang up on us when we hit certain stretches of the beach. I fell particularly in love with Sarrah (top corner) who was incredibly sweet. After our walks we cuddled before they had to return to their cages.