No curve was too sharp for them and their bicycle. No puddle was deep enough to stop them. -- Friends by Helme Hein

14 July, 2009

More from Thailand

Turns out, going to Thailand to study wasn't such a bad idea. As the trip approached I honestly wasn't all that excited about the travel involved and the 10 days on my own, but it turned out to be fantastic. A teaching friend from Switzerland happened to be staying a 5 minutes walk down the beach from me for the entire week I was there. It was great to catch up, have dinner together and have someone to chat with when I had had enough of my thoughts or the ones in the textbooks. Taking 3 courses is a heavy writing load and I was glad to have the ocean to distract me from time to time.
The view from the restaurant where I spent many hours working.

The view from Danielle's porch. A rustic little bungalow right on the beach for only $30 a night.

The restaurant and pool from my bungalow.

My home for 10 days.



Spa Samui is a health resort that has been around for 20 years. They offer yoga classes here (so nice to do yoga outside) and all sorts of other "alternative" health classes at the spa. Best of all, it's affordable, real and healing. I had 4 90 minute massages during my stay to work on my stressed shoulder and it really made a difference. I was about ready to buy a plane ticket for that masseuse and bring her back to Tokyo, she was that incredible. The Thai people work magic with those hands.

The other "alternative" course is to do a 3 1/2 or 7 day cleansing fast. James and I wanted to do it last time, but didn't want to give up the wonderful food in the restaurant. So I vowed to do the 3 1/2 day cleanse this time. It was a great experience--no food for the whole time, but plenty of fresh juices (like this Liver Flush drink with OJ, cayenne pepper, olive oil, and ginger) and supplements to help you feel full and replace healthy nutrients in your body. It also involves a once daily colonic, but I'll spare you the details on that. I truly felt great, never hungry and absolutely refreshed. I flushed out a lot of toxins, kicked my caffeine habit (though I'm not sure I want to give up coffee), and lost 5 pounds. And the best part was that when I finished the fast I had a world class restaurant out my doorstep full of healthy Thai foods.

One of the drinks I could have while fasting--young coconut juice. Delicious! I learned a little more about the raw food movement and the benefits of eating a mostly raw diet. No, it's not eating raw meat and tons of sushi, but the idea that our food is supposed to be eaten in it's most natural form because it is easier to digest and we gain the most nutrients from it. I've been experimenting a bit since I got home with raw zucchini pasta with fresh pesto and raw apple pie. You have to try it to believe how good it is.

Beach from the resort looking north towards Chaweng Beach. This end is rockier and shallower. Nice for walking, but not for swimming.

And the view looking south toward Lamai Beach. This end of the island is more popular with the gads of tourists because it's nice for swimming and full of big gaudy resorts and restaurants.

Not a bad classroom.

I feel like a travel agent in this post, selling a trip to Spa Samui, but it really is a nice place. I feel so much more relaxed and zen-like coming back to Tokyo.

2 comments:

Wendy Temple said...

Looks and sounds absolutely fabulous.

Jesse and James said...

Glad I sold you! Probably comparable to your bahamas trip, no?