The Aftermath - Day 8

Yesterday was the last day of the workshop.  It was supposed to be a practice day, but I still had some sections to cover and we ended up doing some very interesting tag team tapping - one client then we'd rotate in and take over where the last one left off.  Pretty cool.

It's been really intense being together for 8 days - not just for the workshop but also breakfasts and lunches all together and most of us sitting together for dinner too!  Today we all tried to sleep in a bit, but I think only one of us managed it.  I was down on the beach by 6:30am trying to beat the sun (without much success).  

I did 3 sessions today for students!  I wasn't expecting that at all, but there was some unfinished business for some of them and they wanted my help.  One of the students had a big place with a living room and aircon and she graciously let us use her place. By the third one though I was flagging and we kind of gave up.

It's dusk right now, the sun is just going down over the mountain and all the color leaching out of the scenery - it's a bad time for mosquitoes!  And it's still hot as hell.  Must be about 90 degrees with super high humidity.  Ugh.  My clothes are kind of stuck to me and my legs have several intense bites.  

I could be out swimming but I'm super hungry!  I spurged and ordered a whole pizza with roasted aubergines for myself.  Takes a bit longer but really really good!  I'm going to stuff myself, sink into a coma and go swimming in the dark.

Day 5 of the Koh Phangan Workshop

I've been getting up at sunrise every morning and heading down to the beach.  It's my favorite time to swim, as the water is mostly warm and the air mostly cool.  Once the sun is up it can be very hot!  Though yesterday it was overcast most of the morning.

Today was glorious as there's waves coming in.  Mostly the sea has been pretty calm - just some little rollers.  These were just big enough to do some mild body surfing....so fun!  

There's a platform out in the bay, with a platform and hammock.  It's just far enough to feel a bit scary or challenging for me (not being the strongest swimmer).  The amazing thing is laying in the hammock and being rocked by the swells.  Divine.

Last night I had dinner at a table on the beach with my old friend Nika and her husband Marco (he's taken the first 4 days of EFT training).  I hadn't seen Nika for 5 or 6 years and we both arrived here on Koh Phangan on the same day!  

She had lived here for a whole year - she rented a beatiful bungalow up on the cliffs overlooking the bay.  We had a lovely visit with the waves breaking and candles flickering.  She wouldn't let me take her picture though!

The workshop has been really intense for some of the students.  Not sure why - maybe the heat?  I've had to do three emergency sessions - EFT triage - to help them be okay.  For two of them the issue was eachother!  They had a big conflict in the first few hours of the first day and it's been rather strained ever since.

I did a remimprinting with one of them before breakfast yesterday and it seemed to help a lot.  This stuff always leads back to childhood trauma.  The other gal just wrote to say she's leaving and won't be continuing.  She's been so prickly and difficult with everyone, and taken up so much of my time and energy that I think perhaps it's for the best.  I hope she finds what she needs.

So I've had my hands full!  But I've met some really interesting folks from England and Europe, I've had many lovely swims - the full moon night was magical.  I was out in the warm sea with the moon rising before me - it's light shining across the calm waters right to my heart.  And Venus and Jupiter rising right behind me over the mountainside.  

The food here has been consistently great.  I arranged for the class to take our breakfasts and lunches together and it's been very yummy and very healthy both.  Twice they've served us yogurt that is SO alive it's actually bubbling.  I've never had the like before.  You can just tell it's so good for you.  Really intense.  And served with incredibly fresh tropical fruit - the mango is my favorite.  

There's not much to complain about - just the incredibly oppressive heat and humidity, the mosquitoes, the 'sea lice' that sometimes sting while we're swimming, stupid Europeans who smoke cigarettes near the restaurant, and straining my voice to be heard over the chorus of cicaidas outside our Zen Hall.  Not bad at all!

At the Sanctuary

I've travelled enough now to realize that this "OMG What the FUCK have I got myself into" feeling is most likely just a phase that will pass.  And it mostly has.  

It's really hot and very muggy.  With lots of bugs.  The mosquitoes are mostly just morning and dusk, but bad enough to require caution.  Ants in the bed don't bother me too much since they aren't fire ants.  I love the jungle sounds of the bugs screaming from the trees.  They almost helped drown out the all night Friday rave that went from 11pm to 11am this morning.  Here's a photo I took around 9am.  There were about 40 people dancing or hanging around.  It was VERY loud!

My workshop space is very nice - though a bit of a trek up the hillside to get to it.  Bad news if it was raining!  I've met all but 2 of my workshop folks and all but two are very excited and happy to be here.  The woman from Inida is especially positive.  I don't think she thinks it's hot here!

Here's a photo of Zen Hall.  It's screened on 3 sides.  

The other two are struggling a bit - the kid from Canada is just having trouble with the heat mainly.  The other gal has a basket of 'sensitivites' that have made her quite miserable, and then last night she encountered two cockroaches in her bathroom - she has a full on cockroach phobia!  Or had, until I spent an hour or so tapping with her.  

I know that she'll be a lot happier after going through the 7 day workshop.  But she was all set to leave last night until I made it clear there would be no refund.

The food is very good here.  And it's very pretty.  And exoctic.  I'm hearing wild bird calls I don't recognize at all and last night I finally swam in the bay.  It was gorgeous and serene.  If I can get a massage in today I might just be through the OMG phase entirely.  Oh, and there are just swarms of butterflies - I even saw a few on ferry ride over - way out over the water!

Here's a picture from our breakfast table.  At 10am the sun was already too fierce for me to swim.  I look forward to actually teaching - I know everything will just get better and better once we're underway!

I Fed a Hippo!

What a day I've had.  The Chiang Mai Zoo was crazy.  It's spread out over 200 acres and most of it steep hills.  I can't believe how much walking and climbing I did.  Thank god I was able to get a good massage tonight, or I probably wouldn't be able to walk tomorrow.

So the first real exhibit (I'm not counting the flamingos) was the hippo family.  There was a big old male, two mammas and a little 3 month old baby!  You could buy a little basket of cut up carrot or yams for 10 baht and feed them.

And by that I mean drop the chunks of stuff in their huge open maws.  I actually patted one on it's muzzle (but it was too slimy to want to do that again).  Can you imagine a situation like this in the US?  I'm not using a zoom lens here.  I could literally have stuck my hand (or whole arm) in the hippos mouth!

This was the high point of the whole zoo for me, and I came back before I left.  The baby was hanging out under water and only came up once in a while for a quick breath.  So damn cute.

Then the whole family came out to stand on the bank.  I took about a million photos.  

The next stop was feeding giraffes!  Holy shit!  Once again I walked up and couldn't believe what I was seeing.  So freaking awesome.  I fed them something like very long green beans, though bananas were also on offer.  They have super long, agile tongues that actually would wrap around the bean and grab it.  There were two of them and they were both so beautiful.  

They have this velvety pelt.  And such goofy yet intelligent faces.  And of course they are truly enormous. Both of them were a bit skittish, but I managed to touch the female's nose.  This was so awesome!

Of course there were droves of other animals--the giant panda, lots of kinds of monkeys, an entire aquarium, birds galore including ostriches, an otter, penguins, an asian bear and many many Thai school children.  

The kids were my least favorite critter, mainly because there were hundreds of them jabbering excitedly and making an awful din.  Worse, they were being guided by adults with bullhorns who blasted out information, jokes and directions all at top volume.  I encountered them first at the big cats exhibits.  There was a lion, jaguar and tiger and the awful racket of 150 school kids with the blaring adults seemed to be driving them frantic.  Well not the lion.  He wasn't moving.  Maybe he was stunned?

Fortunately we went in separate directions and I didn't have to endure them after that.  Seriously freaky.  

The aquarium featured a tube you walk through and the fish swim around and over you.  It was pretty cool I guess.  It was here that I met Chen, a tourist from Beijing about my age.  I offered to take his photo with the fish behind him and after that we were fast friends.  It was really good to have a buddy going through the ginormous compound.  Kept me going really.

I enjoyed watching these monks watching the panda. One of them had an iPad and was taking photos or video with it.

I'm happy to say that the elephants I saw seemed to be treated well enough.  Some of them were being used to give rides to tourists, but there you go.  It takes a LOT of food to keep them and they have to earn their keep.  Actually I paid to feed the hippos, the giraffes and this elephant.  All of them earning their keep I guess.

Speaking of feeding, I was operating on a small plate of sticky rice and mango for breakfast.  Not a lot of ballast.  So Chen and I stopped for lunch and I had two young coconuts, slurping down the juice and eating the soft slippery innards.  Doesn't seem like much but it kept me on my feet somehow.

Near the end of the long long slog, we came across the orangutang.  It has a huge compound and was ambling down toward the front, toward us.  I thought I knew what they looked like, but this one at any rate was different.  It was very big and heavy and its hair was super long.  It had such a weird way of 'walking' and they finally sat down to nibble on some grass.  I'm certain it was aware of us (it was just Chen and I for quite a while) but it didn't really react at all.  It seemed totally meditative.

We actually stayed until 5pm and the park seemed to be shutting down!  Chen offered me a ride back on his scooter.  At first I declined, feeling it would be too dangerous.  But then, this guy lives in Beijing. I'm certain the traffic there is much much worse!  So he gave me a wild ride back and I lived to tell the tale. 

For dinner I went to that really gorgeous restaurant I've posted photos of.  Despite my fascination with the place, I've never eaten there before and this was my last chance.  I had some sort of Pad Thai, not spicy, and it was incredible.  That place was hopping, I tell you.  I counted at least 8 waiters too.  

After dinner I wanted a massage but was feeling too full.  So I walked a few blocks to my favorite Wat, the teak one where the monks were launching the lanterns.  

There I was treated to another beautiful sight....about 30 saffron robed young monks were in the Wat, being led through some kind of chanting.  It was beautiful to see and moving to hear.  To be honest it was a bit overwhelmingly wonderful. 

And yes, those are two temple dogs soaking in the vibes...

Then a really gentle (thank god) massage, and here I am at the Peppermint Coffee House blogging it all over more sticky rice and mango (not as good as Kajana's I must say).  Back to my room soon to pack  for Siem Reap.  I'm feeling a bit sad really.  The first few days here I was caught up in a 'been there done that' sort of feeling.  I think it came with the jet lag.  That's all gone now and I know I'll really miss this place and all the people I've seen over the years...the cafe folks, the massage people, the laundry lady, the drivers, even my guest house hosts.

Last Day in Chiang Mai

So it's my last day here in Chiang Mai.  It's overcast and cool.  Last night's rain was pretty spectacular.  I don't think I've ever heard it rain so hard anywhere.

So here are a few more random photos from yesterday's outings.  I still had my rented bike and went down to the Wororot market and then across the river.  I also went to parts of the old town I'd never been to before and got totally lost.  So much of Chiang Mai is "same same" with all the guest houses, cafes, shops and all.  But then you'll come across a new temple that's really spectacular.  

I actually took this photo to help me locate my bike when it was time to find it.  It's extremely confusing around this area.  The streets are definitely NOT in a grid.  As my mom used to say, it's like they got a bunch of goats drunk and everywhere the goats went they put in a road.

It's also heavily traffick'd here!  Crazy.

The ground floor of the market proper is always amazing.  This is where Thai people shop for food.  Years ago I asked one of the vendors about this bowl of green glop she was stirring.  She laughed and said "not for you, sir!  Not for you!".  But that said, there are an incredible array of nuts, spices, dried fruits-including varieties I'd never seen before, noodles, teas, and of course french fried meal worms.

It's not just food though.  There are a number of stalls selling religious supplies.  These statues were about ten to twelve inches high and cast out of metal.  Way too heavy to bring one home!

I liked this warrior with the witch's hat, sword across his knees.  Like so much here it's hard to even guess what it's all about.

I came across this flower market facing the riverside.  I stopped and bought one of the jasmine rose garlands.  It's really meant to adorn a shrine or Buddha, I think, but I have it in my room and it smells lovely.  I got the smaller one, fourth from the left.  It was 30 Baht.

There's a neat little street on the other side of the river.  Lots of cute or swanky restaurants with river frontage.  We ate at one of them with Joyce when we first came almost 8 years ago.  They really are beautiful at night.  I came across this winged elephant along there.  First one I remember seeing here.

I hope you like this graffiti, because I actually went to some trouble to circle back around on my bike to take the photo.  By 'some trouble' I guess I mean almost getting killed doing a stupid maneuver in heavy traffic.

One temple I happened upon had a pretty big labyrinth all set up for Loy Krathong.  At the very center were two wax museumish life size replicas of old monks, sitting cross legged on a platform.  I found this a bit creepy, but the Thai lady behind me saluted them reverentially.

I was feeling a bit peaked by this time and once I was in, I wasn't sure if this was really a labyrinth or a freaking maze!  Luckily for me I was tall enough to see over the bamboo walls.

Right after I got back from dinner, the skies opened up and it rained cats and dogs and pandas.  The Kavil Guesthouse has a metal awning out front and the sound was astonishing.  I sat on the couch for a long time enjoying it.

So I've got this big plan to head off to the Chiang Mai Zoo.  I've seen enough Wats for now, and done enough shopping, and I can really eat much, so I'm looking for a diversion.  I'm fully prepared to be saddened by the experience.  The Thai aren't well renowned for their treatment of animals, and in general i find zoos depressing.  But I'm going for it anyway.  They have a pretty cool sounding aquarium, and 3 giant pandas (of course being Thailand you have to pay extra to see them).

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Rolling With It

Wow.  I had a bad massage!  Didn't even know that was possible here. It was a temple massage, at the Wat that's at the end of my Soi.  I had one there last year and it was good.  Quite good.  My usual place was super busy with an hour wait, so I thought 'what the hey?'.  

I did notice that all the massage people looked super grumpy.  When it was my turn this big older woman barked at me to come along.  Turned out there were more mats in the back.  At first I was happy I wouldn't have to wait as long.  But once the massage started I became alarmed!

This woman seemed to have anger issues....very rare in a Thai.  Also, she didn't have good technique. And she was massively strong.  In other words, it hurt.  A lot.  Often.

I should have just said 'fuck it' and gotten up, but everytime I thought about it she'd do something good for my very sore muscles.  So it wasn't all bad.  Just 80% bad.  

Thai massage is rarely super quiet and private, the therapists often chat a bit or make comments.  This woman was actually yelling across the room while she was finishing up--meaning I was sitting up with her doing my shoulders so her big mouth was right next to my ear.  One last chance to wince.

The frosting on the cake?  When I paid her she actually said "No tip?".  No lady, no tip.

But now I'm sitting in my favorite open air restaurant, next to a big French family.  It's raining and I'm eating this incredibly good sour coconut milk soup.  I think it's called tom klah.  I'm typing as it cools down a bit, but the tastes I've had so far are making me very very happy.

So I'm putting a bunch of random photos into this post, just for the hell of it.

This is the team who just finished installing my dental implants.  They were taking photos of my teeth, so I whipped out my little camera and turned the tables on them!

Temple wreckage.  Do you suppose I could stick one of these in my suitcase (they're made of painted cement I think)?  It might be tricky explaining to the customs agent "No really, I didn't bust this off a temple, it was just laying there".

Samlor driver who gave me a ride to the old Chinese Wororos Market.  I sure would love to have one of these back home!

Accidental Meaning Dept.  I think this Buddha (or whatever) was just covered up to protect it during construction, but it put me in mind of some ancient mystery cult.  The Goddess who can not be seen.

Look at this tree.  Those temples to the right of it are not toys.  They are regular ol' full size temples.  That tree is massive.  It, and several like it, are at Wat Chedi Luang, one of the older Wats here.

I'll take this as a message for me tonight.  Bad massage?  Boo hoo.  

The soup was awesome!

The Big Parade

I had no idea there would be a parade, and if I had known I wouldn't have had a clue how freaking long it was!  Or how elaborate the floats.  Mostly I took video, but here are a few photos.

The sad thing is, it started raining near the end (or what I hope was near the end!) and then it started pouring.  I eventually left my sheltering shop awning and ran for home, but last I saw those brave kids in their elaborate costumes were soldiering on.  

There were some serious fireworks happening.  Now there's serious thunder and lightening.  An awkward finish to Loy Krathong I guess.

This girl looked so grown up and ethereal, but when she smiled her front teeth were missing.  So cute!