4-nights of fun on Koh Phangan

I haven’t written in my blog in a while. I guess it is easier to read other peoples blogs than I write in my own. Hehe It is so damn hard to type on this little keyboard and without a proper desk.

I am getting more and more adjusted to life on Koh Phangan, but to tell you the truth it is a bit boring. I am having trouble doing my own self-practice for yoga.

I have started Level 2, and it is going okay. Not quite the dynamics or intensity that we had in Rishikesh. I guess you can never repeat your experiences and you have to be content with the memories of the past. We only go three days a week for 3.5 hours each day. There is about 25-people in the class, many just took Level 1 here on the island. I wanted to attend simultaneously a Third Eye Retreat, but it was for 10-hours a day for 10-hours. I thought it would be too intense to do both courses at the same time. I also had concerns with so much meditation and sitting still. I’m afraid I might find myself to be a crazy woman when given and forced with so much time to focus! Someday I will do something like that, I just don’t think now is the time.

One of my classmates from Australia had to leave Rishiksh a day early and missed graduation. Her grandfather was dying and she had to return home. So now she has arrived here on the island for our yoga class. We have done a few things together. Her first night here we went to a “1001 Arabian Nights Party” that the yoga school was sponsoring. I didn’t expect much…………boy I was blown away! There must have been 40-belly dancers entertaining us. They had all just graduated from a belly and mystical dance class as part of our tantra yoga school, Agama Yoga. They were all ages, sizes, shapes and nationalities with beautiful costumes. I enjoyed their performances very much and hope I can take classes someday. I actually taught myself to belly dance when I was about 20-years old.

The second night another friend and classmates from Rishikesh was in a Thai Boxing Match. I wasn’t crazy about attending but thought I should go just to give him my moral support. I ended up loving it! Our friend’s opponent was Thai. Three were to be 5-rounds of three minutes each. Within 1-minute of starting, our friend knocked the Thai guy out! He is such a good yogi, and boxing might be considered controversial. We watched several different fights.

The third night of her being here, we went to a Full Moon Party on the Beach. That it what this island is famous for. Basically a bunch of young kids partying and getting drunk. It was fun to go, just once! There were fire dancers and jump roping with fire. Not good for drunks! There was even a stand for Magic Mushrooms which are illegal. Tons of bars, a water slide, trampolines and all kinds of music. People were drinking buckets of cocktails. You buy a bucket, let’s say with vodka and Redbull, and they supply the ice. You drink the drink out of your bucket! We came and left early before it got too wild on the beach. Thousands come for this event every month. There are now Black Moon and Half Moon parties as well, so just about every night of the week there is a party here.

And the 4th night of her arrival, we had a Yang Spiral Meditation. Basically the full moon produces a lot of yin, female energy, so we did a yang, masculine meditation to counter balcony the effects. There were over a hundred people in attendance. You divide up by your astrological sign, then male/female. By dividing in to all the twelve astrological signs this helps give healing energy from the universe. You get into a spiral position holding hands, male, female, male female and so forth. Then trance music plays, you hold hands in a standing meditation for 45-minutes. I was concerned this would be a struggle for me, the wiggle worm that I am. You can’t let go of holding hands or you break the spiral. If you do, you have to step back and connect the people on either side of you. Within a few minutes my belly area felt like it is on fire. I thought, if I hugged a snow man it would melt. It was an incredible experience. Unfortunately, I could not get the energy to move any higher which is the goal, to get to the higher chakras and out the crown. You are suppose to get all kinds of healing benefits from the meditation. Google Yang Spiral Meditation. So maybe now my belly will be healed! I carry a ton of emotions in my abdomen!

So what a contrast in the 4-nights of activities! Last night I stayed home and watched a sci-fi movie!

Penang, Malaysia

I took an exhausting 15-hour trip by ferry and mini-bus ride to Penang. The reason was to get a visa for Thailand so I could stay beyond 30-days here. Now I have a visa to stay 2-months longer, which I won’t need. I needed more than 30 days but not 60. The travel to/from was awful, except for the ferry ride. But my time in Penang was fabulous, yet expensive for me! I stayed at a cute boutique hotel for 3-nights because I was scheduled to get in very late and all the on-line guest houses were sold out. The first night and second day I was worn out from the trip. I visited the Red Garden Café and Food Court a couple of nights for entertainment and good food. It’s always fun to listen to Asian musicians singing American songs. An older, local gentlemen sat next to me the first night. We visited and he wanted me to return again the next night. Our visit reminded me of my around the world trip in 2005. I spent about 10-days in Penang, but I mostly stayed on the beach area and did not come into town. I made friends with a Malay man. We had a great time together. He took me to the train station and cried when I left. I had thought of trying to find him again, but didn’t. I can’t even remember his name! I came back again to the food court my last night and a young Thai tried to pick me up. He was very aggressive with me and I was starting to get scared. A rarity for me! My warning lights were going up to not go anywhere with him. Another night I went to the famous Eastern & Oriental Hotel to their English Style Pub. Heard great music and had one drink. I like to visit interesting hotels in every city I visit. My last day there I met a delightful lady from Montreal and we went on a private city tour together. We got to see all the sights of Penang! Such as all the British Colonial buildings, Penang Hill, (a cog wheeled train up a mountain) a couple of beautiful and scenic Chinese Temples, the port, and old immigrant village. It is a lovely city of 1.2 million! I could see myself living there. I had some trouble getting home. The travel agent screwed up and consequently screwed me! Gawd, sometime I hate being a tourist and taken advantage of.