International Yoga Day - 2017!

Yesterday I attended the 3rd International day of Yoga,  Bangkok!

It was a super early start and I admit when my alarm went off at 04.30 I did toy with the idea of giving it a miss (mainly cause I had only gone to bed at 2 am!) - but I hauled my lazy behind out of bed for something greater than myself and the chance to be apart of a truly amazing experience.

Tickets to the event were free, you had to register online and just rock up - yoga mats, water and snack were provided! I arrived at 5.45, got my free t-shirt (I will do pretty much anything for a free t-shirt!), found some of my yoga buddies and got a possie near the action, watched the sunrise and the event unfold.

3rd International Day of Yoga Bkk!

The ceremony started at 6.30 with a welcome from the Indian ambassador to Thailand and general formalities. Then the Yoga began - my Yoga teacher lead the session and along with thousands of yoga enthusiasts I got my yoga on! The session lasted for an hour - it was a great way to start the day with a few stretches and peaceful mantra chants. The slogan for this years Yoga day was - Yoga for Harmony and Peace - it was pretty amazing coming together with so many people from all walks of life to share this. 

Getting our Yoga on -  picture courtesy of Divine Yoga!

24 hrs in Kuwait!

In May we went to London Town for a wedding and family catch-up! We flew with Kuwait Airlines and en route back to BKK we had a 24 hr stop-over in Kuwait City! 

It's never been on my list as a place to visit - but why not see as much of the world as you can ! We arrived bright and early to an already sweltering Kuwait City (40 degrees at 5 am!) and got the local bus to the hotel. We were the only foreigners on the bus and I was the only woman on the bus - we were pretty popular and had our picture taken a few times! When we arrived at the hotel I hopped into bed to get a bit of shut-eye while the city was waking up! A few hours later we set out for our mini tour of Kuwait!   The souk was a close walk to the hotel, but in the 45 degree heat it felt like hours! I love the heat - Bangers is hot- but this was unlike no heat I have experienced before...it's relentless! We had a little wonder around the market then indulged in a delicious lunch - chicken kebabs - Kuwait style! After lunch we headed to the central mosque and city centre for a wonder before the sweltering heat just got too much and we headed back to the hotel for some much needed air-con! 

When it had cooled down a few degrees we made our way to the city's main attraction - the Kuwait Towers! I'm usually a big fan of Google maps and the allocated time they predict is usually correct - however it's quote of a 15 min walk was very misleading on this occasion - we arrived at the Towers 1hr after we set off! (The promise of another kebab and ice cold non-alcoholic beer - Kuwait is a dry country - kept me going!) The towers serve as water tanks opened to the public 4 years ago and are Kuwait's number 1 tourist attraction. It cost 3 Kuwait Dinar (£7.60) to go up to the viewing sphere. The main tower is 187 m high and holds the restaurant and the viewing sphere - they both rotate so you can enjoy the view of Kuwait city and the  gulf coast! After the sunset and the bright lights of Kuwait city came out to play we headed back to the souk for dinner, then back to the hotel to get ready for our early flight back to Bangers!

Kuwait Towers

Kuwait - it was short and sweet but you are far too hot for me to handle!

Mini Yoga Retreat!

Last month I went to Ranong for a Mini Yoga Retreat!

Ranong is in the South of Thailand and has the fewest inhabitants of all provinces. The flight from Bangers to Ranong takes just over 1 hour and you arrive at possibly the smallest airport in Thailand! I booked the Mini Yoga Retreat with Eco-Logic Resort that offered daily yoga sessions, clean eating and a relaxing break! You can imagine my disappointment when I arrived, and the Yoga teacher left!
My Mini Yoga Retreat - turned into a Mini Retreat!  

My digs!

My room was lovely - tucked away on the other side of the resort, it over looked the river! My 'mini retreat' turned out to be more like an episode of 'Survivor'!!! Me...all alone, in the Thai jungle...fending for myself against massive spiders, snakes, frogs and other unidentified wild animals. The first night was pretty scary (as were night 2 and 3!) I heard every sound and imagined the worst! Then I went to the loo and found a frog in the toilet - just chilling there like 'what-up dude'! (I am TERRIFIED of frogs!) There was also a small black snake hanging around the shower...that was the quickest shower I ever had!!! 

So with pretty much no Yoga in site, I decided to make the most of my trip and signed myself up for some adventures! First on the list was a Thai Cooking Course - number 6 for me but I love cooking and I love Thai food so figured - why not! We walked around the resort, picking veggies and nicking freshly laid eggs (most of which were still warm!). Then off too the kitchen where we whipped up spicy chicken salad - Thai style, Pad Thai and chicken coconut soup! Yum Yum Yum!

Chef Hayley strikes again!

The next day I went river rafting...not one for swimming, I was just happy to sit on the raft and watch the world go by! It was a beautiful sunny day, and I was so happy to be out and about in nature and experiencing this! We rafted for almost 2 hrs, me almost falling off when I decided to try out the stick and be the guide, then stopped at my guides house for lunch on the way back! Lunch was delicious - various types of river fish cooked in Thai spice! My guide then got his pet monkey out - kid you not - and sent it up the tree to get me a fresh coconut! The monkey kindly obliged and threw one down - I'm pretty sure he was aiming for my head as he almost knocked me out with a coconut!

River rafting!

Despite not being the ‘meditative, mantra filled, one with nature, look I can touch my toes and almost do a head stand’ Yoga break I had expected - the 'mini break' actually far exceeded my expectations! I was so lucky to have been able to have the experience, I had a super relaxing time on my own in the middle of the jungle and learnt that I am braver than I think! When face to face with extreme danger – frogs, snakes and spiders - I learnt that frogs will disappear if you threaten to flush them – spiders will leave you alone if you hold up your shoes and threaten to stomp them and snakes can’t ‘run’ – so I was at an advantage! 

Farewell Ranong - I survived!

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