Kambucha Tea

This I am also growing! The "Chinese immortality Tea" look it up it is GREAT stuff and there is lots of documented research about the health benefits. A really nice Russian guy who owns a health spa called The Good Life up in the mountain town Pai gave us some pieces of his culture to spawn our own. His was hands down the best I have ever tried, a perfect flavor and lots of fizz! We have named the mother culture Trinity and the first batch is almost done and I am so excited to start drinking and sharing it! pics to come soon.....

WheatGrass

I am growing wheatgrass! So in case you didn't know it is an amazing superfood that is juiced and drank by the shot. It is pretty easy to grow here is because it is the perfect climate; warm and humid....I am excited to try my first shot of home grown....more updates to come as my garden grows....

Christmas Yoga

So the Agama community had a gathering for Christmas (on the 23rd because a retreat was beginning the next day but Same Same) It was an interesting set of activities. We sang Christmas carols along side Jewish Bajans and then did a Hindu round dance that reminded me of square-dancing ;P We had a gift exchange and that was fun, it was cute to see what people could find for 50 baht (which is like $1.50 US). It was kinda slow but really nice to see all my new friends..... My favorite was a reciting of the classic poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' I was suprised to notice I still remember all the words myself, haha!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY YULE, LOVE AND LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!

Pai

Loving the health and wellness of my mountain retreat getaway.......I am at a sleepy little mountain town tucked away in Northern Thailand. It has only got a population of about 4000 people but they are mostly artisan and crafters. It makes a really nice vibe, the town is really just a bunch of leather, jewelry, and craft shops with a lot of little boutiques and yoga schools too. Tons of beautiful handmade items. I have been helping my friend Mike who lives in Thailand now select décor for his new home here in Asia. Everything is amazingly inexpensive, even shipping stuff south to the island he lives on. There aren’t many western visitors either it is mostly locals and Thai vacationers, it was actually crazy busy with Thai tourists last weekend for the Kings birthday…..the streets were so crowded you couldn’t even ride a bicycle but it has been such a nice change to be away from all the “farang” (western tourists) HAHA!

White Water Rafting !

OMG! Amazing :) I went white water rafting with Mike (New Yorker). It was so incredibly beautiful; we rafted down the Pai river through the mountains of North Thailand. We had a really fun group, about 13 people total in 3 rafts plus 3 guides/captains. We hit about 15 rapids the first day, a nice easy slow intro with stop at swimming holes and hot springs. The water was REALLY cold but rowing and adrenaline kept me plenty warm. There was absolutely no one else on the river, it was pure unadulterated jungle canyons to look at…..I had more than a couple moments of being lost in the view and needing reminding to awareness of my rowing duties :P We stopped at a riverbank camp for the night, with a campfire going to warm us and dry our clothes and then a delicious dinner cooked on the open fire and washing in the river. it was great eco-tourism; everything was made of natural materials. Bamboo and peg platforms to sleep on and bamboo “plumbing” for running water from the river. We head out again the next day for 45 more rapids giving us a total of 65 kilometers of river travel! We only flipped our raft once, we lost control at the “washing machine” ……what a great name for a whirlpool, haha. We had a packed lunch of rice and cooked veggies wrapped in banana leaves (truly leave no trace). Ah, an adventure I’ll not forget!

Bodhi Villa

The spot I am staying is divine! Bodhi Villa Chill Out is the name :) I am in a floating bungalow on the river, there is a little wooden walkway that goes out to room and the water facing side is just long wide curtains that blow in the wind. It is so beautiful and the sun rises over the opposite side of the river with the breeze waving the curtains so you catch glimpses of the sunrise but are not blinded by the light. We hung a hammock on the open side too so we can pull up the curtains and just lay in the hammock for a book or nap….absolutely fabulous spot. A great guy named Hugh (Aussie) owns the place and the bar is rockin every night and has a full stock of western favs (including the Captain :P). The food has been one of the best parts too, everything on the menu is delicious! We actually had to stay someplace else the first night in Kampot cause this place was full but it was worth the wait, my friend Tanya (from the Yoga school in Koh Phangan) recommended this spot and I will be giving her a big thank you for that! If you are in the area it’s a must! I am actually sorta sad to be moving on but I have been in Cambodia a while now and my visa is up soon so time to move on……

Kampot

Kampot is a wonderfully central location for South Cambodia, there is Kep to the East and Sihanoukville to the West, the river, caves and Bokor mountains/National Park.

I have taken day trips to all, it is so much nicer to just settle somewhere and go out from there than be constantly on the move. The National Park is actually closed for construction (or the part I wanted to visit)…..there is a “ghost town” in the mountains, it was built a century ago by the French and has a hotel, casino, and even small palace but was abandoned TWICE because of fighting in the region and it is undergoing revitalization again so I hear. Next time I am here the casino will probably be open for business, I would have liked to see it empty and with all the original architecture…….but oh well. The rapids upriver have been fun as well as a day trip to Kep and great oceanside seafood at a shack in the crab market. The town of Kampot is small and quiet and pretty much shuts down after dark but this has been one of my favorite places and I think I may just come back here again someday.

South Coast Cambodia

I am staying in a little slice of heaven on the south coast of Cambodia. A little town about 30,000 people where the river and ocean meet. It was about a hundred years ago a tourist hotspot for the French when Cambodia was a protectorate and part of French Indochina but has been derelict since the turmoil beginning a half a century ago and only just ending in this area a decade ago. There was actually still fighting between the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge guerrillas in the 90’s. you can see the scars of war and most especially land mine victims all around but you also see the very rapid development and urgency with which the culture is hurdling itself toward new technology and modern life. Kids ride around on pimped out new scooters with flashy cell phones but live without running water or sometimes even electricity. There is development everywhere though, construction is booming and they say in 10 years it will be another Thailand….aka #1 tourist spot in SE Asia (fact is if it weren’t for the civil war and fighting it might already be). Thailand really has it down to a science, you can get anything and go anywhere all designed with travelers in mind ;P Cambodia is on its way there, many of the roads are still barely travel worthy but tourism is fast becoming a main base of the economy. The people are SO incredibly nice and just sincere it is truly refreshing.

Phnom Penh

Okay well it is a Capital City but I just don’t get why the cities in Asia are always so damn dirty. I mean rubbish has been created by people as long as people have been around, have they always just tossed their trash on the ground? Where are the trash cans? The respect for the earth (which you would imagine a culture still consisting of many agricultural oriented people would have) It is such a huge turn off to walk down streets with litter everywhere. Bangkok was of course the worst I have ever seen but ug. I did go to the National museum and the S21 prison museum. The later was incredibly creepy and depressing. Such carnage and violence and it was so very recent, or seems so, the 70’s were not that long ago and MANY people from that era are still alive. I was surprised to learn that people who were a part of Pol Pots regime are actually still free and alive, not to mention that there was still fighting in outlying areas till the 90’s! Whoa. Also interesting was the unique blending of Hindu and Buddhist theology in the Angkorian history. There is an interesting mix of Buddhist and Hindu statuses and temples, and all very beautiful. I don’t think I will be here long, between the dirty, rainy, crowded city and the coast, the coast is winning….on a bus again tomorrow :)