THIGHLAND

Thighs! Everywhere I look! Such a drastic change from conservative India. As soon as I arrived in the big city of Bangkok, I noticed teeny skirts, trains and technology! Everybody with fancy phones, cool clothes and haircuts. I showed my legs for the first time in a while and it felt a bit bizarre. My experiences in Thailand were really varied cause I was bouncing around a lot. The first night was chilled, I rested at the hostel then walked around the neighborhood and had my first doses of Pad Thai. Delicious!

First of many Pad Thais in Thailand

I usually do research before heading to a new destination, but this time I didn't at all. It just didn't cross my mind, I guess I was so eager to see Amanda and I knew she had everything planned out. I didn't even think of finding out the location of my hostel, all I knew was it was in a good location thanks to Booking.com reviews! Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok has a very convenient train that takes you directly into the city. I hopped on, knew I was heading in the right direction and luckily the Hostel had sent me an email telling me the nearest train stop, so I felt fine.On the train I met a Hungarian guy named Hugo, he told me about his love for Bangkok and how he leaves Budapest once a year to visit the Land of Smiles. I asked him for some tips and he graciously let me use his map so I could identify what area of the city I would be staying in! Thank goodness for new friends and maps!

My first look at a map of Bangkok,thanks to Hugo!

Cool, fashionable and technologically advanced people waiting on the metro 

I was really looking forward to seeing Amanda's lovely smile! My first memory of Amanda is at the Delta Zeta Roseball in 2006, tipsily speaking in French about our adoration for the French culture, the world, languages and cultures!  Little did I know that we would be meeting up halfway around the globe almost a decade later! 

The following morning I met Amanda at the Ekkaami Bus station. It was not an easy feat! Neither of us had mobile phones or wifi so we just had to trust in destiny; that we would cross paths at the established meeting point. I arrived at the station first and after about 30 minutes I started doubting what Amanda and I had agreed upon. I thought surely she wouldn't be lost, she's a bigger world traveler than me! I kept re-reading our messages and realized that maybe she wasn't meeting me at the bus station, maybe she meant at the ferry? So the next bus was about to leave in 20 minutes, should I hop on? Was she already at the ferry? The bus ride was going to be about 4 hours, so what if she was already halfway there? I decided to run across the street to the cafe and get wifi just to see if she had messaged me anything else! Turns out her last message said the meeting point was indeed Ekkamai! Relief! I went back to the bus station and she showed up 10 minutes later with a huge smile and tiny backpack! Such a nice feeling to see a familiar face again  An old time friend that I have had so much in common with since the beginning! 

 It makes sense that our friendship would flourish! I've done a bit of world cruising with her in the past. First, THE epic cruise in 2007. Eight sorority sisters crammed on a 7 day Caribbean cruise. We all faced some fears, had our fair share of fun and games, drinks and disagreements. We went zip lining in Belize, drank homemade cashew "wine" (for which we were later grateful didn't actually poison us!)  Caught rays in Honduras. In Cozumel, we shopped then wrapped up the day at the Senor Frogs. We were celebrities of the ship, after choregraphing dances and leading all ship dance parties each day, gracing cruisers with our voice in karaoke and stuffing our faces with pizza every night. Ah college life!! 

Fresh off the ship, before Sr Frogs happened! 

8 sorority sisters in Cozumel..

how many people did we fit into this hot tub?

Then, in 2008 we had the joy of roadtripping down to South Padre Island for another Spring Break adventure. Wahoo! 9 hours in the car was nothin! Our beach house was walking distance from the massive beach party. We tug o' war'd, rode mechanical bulls, got in hot tubs and made more fun memories!

With the host of the Coca Cola Beach party in Padre

S Padre Island 2008

yes, tug-o-war happened

After 6 years of doing some "growing up", this 2014 Spring Break was bound to be a bit different, and that it was! 

We took the 11am bus, which gave us enough time to roam around the streets of Bangkok and find some fresh fruit.. A few of them were mysteries to us but the vendor was generous enough to give us bites of the things we weren't familiar with! They were all delicious and we were ready for our roadtrip now! We realized that we almost missed the 2nd bus too, we were waiting patiently when a lady yelled at us in Thai..guess it was obvious we were going to the Ban Phe ferry. We ran up to her and caught our seats just in time!

Some serious interior design going on in the Ferry to Koh Samet

From Ban Phe, we waited a few more minutes and hopped on the ferry. Amanda's skin was finally seeing sun again and we were both just really in disbelief that we were actually there, and heading to an ISLAND! The dream life! Upon disembarking the ferry, we hopped on a truck taxi with a couple of other people to get to the other side of the island. About 8 of us sat in the bed of the truck, backpacks stacked up high and bodies snuggled up closely, dirt in our eyes and teeth but smiling anyway! 

cruisin, on the search for our resort!

On the back of our truck taxi, only have the road was paved for a portion of the journey. Otherwise, all dirt!

First view of our hotel

We dropped our bags at the resort, quickly changed into our swimmerz and ran to the beach as fast as we could. Caught the last bit of sun rays and look forward to our first dinner together! For dinner we had green curry, and Amanda had her go at the famous Mai Thai.. not as good as advertised! 

Such contrast in skin tones is not usual- Amanda spent last 6 months in Arctic Boston VS me 2 months in Indian beach

had to pose with the mai thai, despite tasting unpleasant, the drink was photogenic

As we ate dinner on the beach we could hear some horrible sounding karaoke coming from afar. We kept waiting to hear english singing, but it never came! Only the sound of drunken Thai people shouting into the mic at the top of their lungs. We knew it was a sight we'd have to see, so we finished dinner up with a honey crepe and crept up on the singing group. As soon as we walked up, the entire crew motioned for us to come dance. So, of course, we did! They were all wearing neon green matching shirts, and the youngest people were about our age. The older Thai woman immediately started demonstrating how we should move our hands. It was the traditional Thai dance and we were getting it all wrong! Even the Thai boys were better at it than us. Forget that both of us have almost a lifetime of dance experience, the Thai hand gesture was just not coming so easily. Everytime we thought we had it down, someone new would come up to us and bend our fingers back even further! Tilt our head from one side to the other or pull our arms up and down. It was such a lovely time though, and they loved that we were actually trying! Later we found out that all these people were teachers at a school a few hours North of Bangkok.

These boys really dance better than us

yes, I sang with them- Ricky Martin & JLO!

Assistant director the baseball cap, all members were wearing these cool neon tshirts

We met the English teacher and the director and got offered jobs right away. The assistant director even expressed how lucky he felt to have met us and was so happy to hear us speak the few broken thai phrases we knew. They kept refilling our drinks all night and were sad to see us go a few hours later!

Amanda + sun salutations

The next day we were up early and walked around the island and found a really perfect secluded beach. (emphasis on perfect) We spent the entire day in the sun, the waves were absolutely perfect. The water was the perfect temperature. The fruit lady came by with the perfect coconut and the perfect strawberries. 

We hopped around boulders and swung in hammocks

Should have been in the shade..

Later ,we walked to the town center, checked out the temple and huge Buddha, burned some insence and possibly gave a scammer donations for the temple! I was a bit surprised to see a monk with such a huge belly. But typical Thai food isn't the healthiest, so anything is possible. He motioned us to approach the Buddha and handed us some incense to offer to the shrine. He then showed us some small key chains of Buddhist figures and asked for a donation, Amanda handed him a 20 and I gave him whatever coins I had. I saw he dropped the coins in the offering box then walked away with something green in his hand (which could have most likely been the 20 Baht bill Amanda donated) Nevertheless, it was nice and peaceful to be at the temple and just what I needed after a long day at the beach. We walked the entire way back down the island with our glowing sun & dust kissed skin & hairs.

Monk + dog leading the way

Amanda and Buddha

Early the next morning, we hopped on the ferry to the Ban Phe Pier, it was time to find our bus back to Bangkok. We had plenty of time to get back to the city, drop bags and get to the airport for our evening flight to Siem Riep, Cambodia! While waiting on the bus, Amanda did some shopping and later met me at the coffee shop accross from the station. We met a man that was actually American! Living in this tiny town in Thailand, married to a Thai woman, they had children together but he was beginning to feel frustrated with his life there. He expressed his desire for his children to be able to have a future, to have a real education and he was looking into moving back to the States. His issue was that he was already retired, and at his age, it's really difficult to get hired by any company. He wished us a safe trip back and noticed Amanda's severe sunburn. He suggested she take a bath with tea bags, since we had no access to a bathtub- It was time to improvise! Amanda gathered some tea bags and a cup with ice. For the 4 hour bus ride to Bangkok, Amanda gently applied tea bag juice on her skin. I was happy for the encounter with a fellow American and for the quick remedy for her painful condition! 

Amanda applying tea bag juice all over her body during our bus ride

It's funny how once you meet people abroad, you always run into them everywhere else. We met JJ, an Australian pilot living in Tokyo on the secluded beach the day before. He ended up being the only other Westerner on our bus back to Bangkok the next morning

Then we ran into him again on the metro! We also ran into some French people that didn't know Amanda and I are both fluent in French. Who could blame them? They heard us speaking English like Americans and would have never guessed. As they stood around talking about shoes and fashion, they looked down and noticed my vibram 5 finger toe shoes and made some comments about how funny looking they were. They were actually pretty sweet about the way the made fun of me and it was really satisfying to be able to say,"Pardon!" on the way off the train in the loudest, most French way possible. Amanda did the same thing, too! It was pretty hilarious to all of us!

The metro station is just accross Ekkamai Bus Station, we took the escalator up and took it to the stop nearest to the hostel I stayed in the first night. Before heading to the island, I asked them if it was possible to keep my big backpack in their storage closet during my 2 day trip to Cambodia. I didn't want to make the mistake of getting luggage charges on a flight again! **

** Side story- when I was leaving Trivundrum to meet Amanda in Bangkok. I thought I was going to be able to take my backpack as a carry-on. I was able to bring it on the plane with me all the way from Chicago, to Amsterdam, to Frankfurt, to New Delhi, to Mumbai, to Trivandrum- so why would things be different this time around? I didn't take into account that I would be flying on Tiger Air, a budget airline. Like most budget airlines, the flight itself is really affordable, but you have to pay for any extras, inlcluding luggage! I was excited to get to Thailand, I got to the airport 3 hours early! (this is unheard of for me!) I get through security, but when i go to check into my flight, the check-in agent says, "Can we please weigh your bag?" -my heart sinks! Then I remember reading that we can carry on 20kg, so I was thinking, ok ok this will be under 20! but actually you are only allowed on 10kg total! oops! my bag is 16kg. I feel the tears fill up my eyes, why was I so upset? I have no idea, maybe I was tired, I was sad to leave India, but ready to move on, I felt so many emotions, I didn't want to spend the money, I felt regret for not paying ahead of time and now getting charged double what I would have paid before, I felt frustration towards the agent. "Why would he ask me to weigh it??" "Why does he care?" "Nobody else asked me to weigh it before!" Then I calmed myself down and said, "Ok fine , I will throw everything in my bag away!" (dramatic, I know- but I was having a mini emotional crisis/ breakdown) I put my bag to the side and start throwing items out. All of my clothes were handwashed for the past 2 months, which equals faded, worn-out, not so clean! I thought to myself, "Ok, I don't need any of these clothes- I will just keep the essentials." I threw my yoga mat to the side too, most clothes, I even did a couple of double takes on my saree. I was so sad, I should have weighed my bag before, now the line to check in was getting longer and longer. Everyone stared at me, I decided ok, I can wear all this clothes! They can't ask me to weigh myself. I had a couple friends tell me they had similar experiences before and they wore all the clothes on their body instead. So I layered on the skirts, the shirts and scarves. Then I stopped and asked myself, ok it's only $100- do I feel unabundant,? Why is this such a big deal? Am I being mindful, am I acting recklessly? I've spent money on these items, why am I going to throw them out now? Will I be confortable in all these clothes? So I wiped my tears, packed all my things back in my bag. Then I got annoyed again, cause my bag was packed oh-so-perfectly before this mess! Now I couldn't get things back in the bag, it was bulkier than before, etc, etc. So I go back to the agent, I give him my card and I say, "Ok, I will pay..." He says, "Ok, you have to go the lady at the front and present her your payment, tell her you will be purchasing 10kg weight credit." I'm about to lose it again, why can't I just pay him directly? I go to the lady and all the girls around her see the tears in my eyes, they keep asking me if I'm ok, don't people know you can't ask someone that when they're already on the verge of tears? It ignites something! So, I say that everything is fine, that I didn't want to spend $100 on luggage fees, that I had a long week of traveling, and that I'm just ready to see my friend Amanda's face. I pay, but that's not it, I'm told when I get to my layover stop in Singapore, I will have to find the Tiger Air counters and pay the rest of my luggage fee- the surprises never stop! At this point, I'm ok again, I just want to get on the plane and sleep. It was a red-eye flight, leaving India at midnight, landing in Singapore in the wee hours of the morning. I was so happy to hangout at the Singapore Airport, it's been voted best airport in the world, has a movie theater, a rooftop garden, indoor zen spots, shopping and tons of free entertainment (internet)! I didn't get any sleep on the plane like I planned, I was next to the cutest Indian baby in the world, painted eyebrows, jump-suiit-wearing and all. But poor thing, must have been his first time on a plane, he was so tired but so scared, cried lots, he ate my cookies and that made him smile, but I couldn't blame him or even be mad at him for crying. 

My adorable flight companion, eating biscuits I gave him to distract him from crying

The flight was so uncomfortable for me, I can't imagine for him, or worse, for his tiny momma, forced to carry him for 5 hours in her skinny arms. I tried helping her as much as possible, but there was nothing I could do but give her passport and pass her things from her purse when she needed. 

A rose, a gift from up above! (Women's day presents from Singapore Airport)

Singapore was a relief, I ran into a German girl I met in Varkala, she was actually on my flight. It was nice to pour my heart out, speak English and have a friend around for a bit. I eventually lost her in the huge airport, but I was ready to be on my own again. I got the perfect 3 hour nap on some chairs, had my first starbucks in months and learned a great lesson about luggage charges on budget airlines! *

*end side story

Sunflowers are my favorite ( @ Singapore Airport)

The hostel in Bangkok agreed to letting me keep my big bag there for free- yay! I was really happy with the hostel, it was new and they were doing such a good job! The location is good, close to Silom and the fancy shopping mall, the price was affordable. Plenty of toilets, showers and sinks. Free tea, coffee, water and internet! I found them through Booking.com - This is my favorite website to book a room! It's nice because most all hotels and hostels are on this site and you can see tons of reviews, and another major plus is that you don't have to pay until you get there. Some sites ask you to pay online with a card, but most places on booking are refundable and you only put your card info down to reserve your spot, then you pay when you get there. 

After a quick metro ride, long-ish walk, we made it to the hostel, to my delight- I found my flip flops! My lucky trusty flip flops, that aren't actually mine! I think they belong to my sister, but they really are the best flip flops in the world. I have walked in them practically everyday (minus the 2 days on the island, cause I forgot them, so I was forced to walk barefoot to most places / wear my toe shoes #notcool)

Updates on our Cambodia adventures and more on Bangkok to come soon!

We found love on Koh Samet Island

-GIA

A very special 26th birthday {TaMiL sTyLe}

What's the female version of being knighted? Gracie veiling me :)

My 26th birthday celebration began at around 12:14 am. I could see figures going past my tent in the front room. There was a light in the distance and some whispering voices. I heard, "Greci...Gracie..come out, come out for one second, come.." (there are currently two Gracies - me and another one) A few thoughts ran through my mind. But I really just thought I needed to hop out cause they heard a rat or some type of pest running around and wanted to kill it! I had been asleep for probably less than an hour, the power went out about 10pm and usually stays out .for at least 1 or 2 hours after being turned off. Since there was no fan working, I stayed up a bit later sharing the music and videos from my iPad with Lata. After being tortured by some mosquitoes I hopped into bed, and shortly after falling asleep was when I heard them calling my name.

I rubbed my eyes and followed the voices. I knew it had to be something special when I saw them sitting outside in the front with Iman asleep in Isaac's arms and these huge, sleepy smiles painted on their faces. Without contacts I really couldn't see much but white teeth and white cake! I ran back inside in a hurry and put my contact lenses on (kind of ruined the special moment) but I had spied the cake too, so I was totally going to take off my retainers for that!

I sprinted back out in the brown nightie (a fancy nightgown every Indian woman wears) Lata let me borrow. Got some hugs, a few blessings from the folks, lit the candle, got sung happy birthday, blew out the candle with a grand finale of a huge and loud glitter cracker!

 

Each family member fed me a bite(minus the sleeping babies.) We took plenty of photographs and they eagerly watched me opened my gift. An awesome outfit Isaac picked out for me at the store. There isn't much communication between Isaac and Lata and apparently she was as shocked as I was at everything that was happening!! Despite the sleepiness and late hour, they were all such good sports. Even my tent mate, Grace shared her hugs and kisses with me. It was the most special way possible to bring in my 26th year of life in this body, on this planet! I appreciate how much effort they have put into making me feel like family, I definitel feel loved for and taken care of.

Isaac feeding me cake, Iman asleep in his arms

Got icing on one cheek and Lata on the other!

Before deciding to come back to India, the thought of having my bday here did cross my mind. The thought of me possibly not liking it here much, the thought of being lonely crossed my mind, but it didn't linger long. And so what if I hadn't celebrated my birthday? I decided that I wasn't going to work any plans or make a decision around a simple birthday. And now after being so showered with love, attention and affection I'm so glad I trusted my instinct. Sometimes we are so caught up in our minds, and over thinking everything. We ignore what we feel, in our hearts. If we listen just a little bit more, we will realize that we have all the answers already. At times we ask ourselves, or God, or the stars or friends what we should do- but all it takes is turning some of that attention and energy inward and the answers will reveal themselves. 

I'm not giving a pep talk about staying positive or being a hippie or what have you. I'm only giving a simple reminder to not be fearful. A reminder to trust and to not have attachments to certain outcomes, to not let our mood be affected by things we think we need or want to happen in our lives. It's just accepting things as they roll in, it's about riding the wave. The wave may be a little rough, you may lose your balance a bit, you may get some water in your eyes- but you survive , you live and you get to smile and laugh along the way! Wanting certain things out of life is OK, wanting a result or an outcome of a situation is totally fine. It's good to manifest and make things happen, to see and be aware of the power of your mind. But the best way to prevent yourself from feeling disappointed or let down is by not attaching yourself or your happiness to a certain result. Yes, know what you want, how you want to feel, but we must not let anything dictate our state of mind, our peace, our joy. That must be untouchable.

For example, I feel pretty good in this town, made some friends and had a few expectations on how my birthday was going to go..

EXPECTATION:

On my bday I wanted to get to bed early the night before, wake up at 5, have a sweaty asana yoga session, practice some deep breathing techniques, go to the Ashram, meditate, listen to pujas, climb the mountain a bit and explore the cave. Grab a tea, head to the house and have breakfast with the fam. Take a bath, tie my sari, have Tom come over for lunch ,share my birthday cake with all the children and neighbors, eat delicious food, find some wifi, go to school, share some chocolate with the students, listen to music at the Dreaming Tree with my friends, come home, have dinner, eat more cake and go to bed. That was what I had tentatively planned in my mind as the perfect way to spend my bday in Tiru. 

eating birthday cake and drinking hot chocolate with my brothers and neighbors

REALITY:

I got called out of bed at midnight, came back to bed excited and happy, had trouble falling back asleep, had a mosquito in my tent, woke up at 7 instead of 5. Went to do yoga for 45 min instead of an hour, got to the ashram past 830, thought it was too late to find the cave. Sat in the main hall, listened to some music, got a fancy dot on my forehead, meditated for 10 minutes instead of 30. Got a text from my only bday invitee, Tom, telling me about his stomach bug. Left the ashram, got overcharged for some fresh flowers to put in my hair. Ran into the local wheelchair bicycle guy as I was finishing my 8 rupee chai, he asked me to push him down the main road cause he was in pain, pushed him for 15 minutes uphill, dropped him off, didn't give him the money he begged for, came back to my side of town.

Wheel-chair bicycle beggar man 

 Then I ran into my Israeli friend on the street, he gave me a ride home on the back of his bike, told him to stop by later for lunch or cake. Had a late breakfast, took a bath and was forced to wear my new outfit that was gifted to me instead of the beautiful sari I was dreaming of. Got dressed quickly, went to the main road to find Tom some coconuts for the electrolytes (he had diarrhea) and re-hydration, dropped off his goodies, went to use the internet but the power was out, stopped by Tom's place above the internet shop upstairs, got another really awesome bday present, came home, had lunch with my family (no friends showed up) and ate a bit of cake. Went to the shop to buy chocolates for the neighbors and friends, came back home, gave some chocolates away to the kids (Indian tradition) Lata tied the sari she wanted me to wear. Went to school on the back of Isaac's motorcycle, got a lot of dust and dirt in my eyes, mouth and hair. Gave a short lesson, sang songs and had a dance competition.

The best way to spend a birthday

Wearing a sari makes me a really good teacher!

REALITY (continued)
Laughed and sang some more, gave more chocolates away, came home, had more chai with Indian mother and roomie, went to buy more chocolates for al my other friends (feeling popular) Went to the internet, stopped by poor poopy Tom's again, gave him a chocolate, gave the internet buddies chocolate, my fav restaurant waiters chocolate, went to the famous Dreaming Tree and gave every employee and person eating there choco, got wished a happy birthday by everybody, had a DJ named god there in my honor, listened to some jams, gave away more chocolates, got compliments from the Indian ladies about my sari, got a free chocolate cake. A real chocolate cake! With chocolate sauce! Even had a sip of good (actually good) red wine, got more hugs, came home, swept up the kitchen and washed the dishes. Watched Lata cook (I only watch cause she doesn't accept help), came out to the front sat on the floor and joined the fam for dinner (It wasn't the fried rice I was promised) ((not a big deal, I didn't actually care)) We had Idly, dosa with sambar and vada on the side. The power went out, used the torches on our phone to have romantic dinner and to be able to see where I was dipping my dosa. Had more of the cake, sat around with no power while Grace and Lata had an intense conversation in Tamil, felt really comfortable, content and at peace. Played music so Isaac wouldn't hear what they were gossiping about from his room, wrote in my journal and waited for the electricity to come back before crawling into my tent for another good night's sleep.

Vada are the brown balls: garbanzo, coriander and spices mashed and deep fried! 

Bday dinner, the white round thing is Idli and the big round one is Dosa

Josh and Lata- huge smiles!

Happy birthday to me ! So, despite the fact that a few things I had planned for on my special day didn't happen, that never got in the way of my joy. I never attached myself, my peace of mind or happiness on any certain thing happening. I never once felt sad or disappointed. I just kept laughing and smiling at how eventful my day was, I was glad I was able to bring a smile onto so many peoples' faces. It's amazing what one piece of chocolate will do! Even some of the neighbors I never spoke to got chocolate and they reciprocated with so much love. They wished me such sincere happy birthdays, and all I had to do was show up in the fanciest sari ever, with pink flowers in my hair and chocolates in my hand

The Sari-Look complete with Lata's white sandals she forced me to wear!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. and to my twin Laura, with whom I share such a special connection and love for. I can't wait to bring the giving chocoolate tradition back home with me. I much more prefered buying and gifting people something as simple as a piece of chocolate. I was showered with gratitude, blessings and smiles. All of this really touched me and I feel privileged to experience all of this.

26 sounds so mature doesn't it?? Feeling good!!

-GIA

Cliff Tops of Varkala

Varkala is a cute tourist town perched atop a cliff in the Indian State of Kerala. This beach was a 2 hour bus ride North of Kovalam, our home for the months of January and February. I can't say much about the swimming in Varkala... I dove in once and to my surprise, my bikini bottoms weren't up for that challenge! I caught a few sunrays on the beach, stayed at a hostel the first 2 nights and met lovely people, but the homestay I switched to after 2 nights was so perfect! I was content spending all day lounging at the Maitrii House! 

view from the balcony at Maitri House

A bit of background on how I ended up at Megumi and Sunil's front porch. In Kovalam, we quickly got to know all the shop owners and locals. They would see us walking around all day back and forth from asana practice, eating and swimming! Kovalam has a million taylor shops, and we became especially fond of one of the younger guys that we saw on the way home everyday. When he found out a group of us were planning on moving on the Varkala, the younger and hipper beach town of Kerala, he gave us his friend Sunil's info and recommended we stay at his guest house! I didn't any previous experience in guest houses. I imagined it would be perhaps a really small house and that there would be a lot of people cramped in a small space and feared I would be intruding on someone's home. Our yoga-mate Ron arrived first and right away expressed how awesome Maitrii House was. I was hesitant but when he said they had a tree-house and hammocks, my mind quickly changed !

Tree house, with lamps and chairs inside!

I could not be happier with the place! Not just the house itself, the garden, the tree house, the hammocks, the WIFI! I had been living for 2 months without it! The huge kitchen, that we were actually allowed to use! I even had my own bathroom in my room! No sharing? My bed was huge and so beautiful, even the mosquito net made me feel like a princess! The room stayed cool, the fan worked perfectly, the toilet, everything! Upstairs there was a yoga shala, a back porch that was covered and had plenty of shade. Plenty of room for group yoga! Of course, there were the daily power outages, but that's completely 100% expected in India. If all those wonderful things I listed weren't enough- well there were the beautiful owners! Megumi, a sweet Japanese woman that fell in love with Sunil, a local from Kovalam! They are so absolutely adorable, friendly and helpful!

So, yeah the house was awesome! But the town was also lovely! Maybe because it was new, and I had eaten at the same restaurants and seen the same shops in Kovalam for a while. But here everything was so fresh, they had so many food options and even a juice bar! Juices and smoothies were available in Kovalam- but a place specifically for juices? And they were bigger and cheaper! More flavors and more options! And there was WIFI everywhere! I know, I may be a WIFI addict- but when you don't have a local mobile phone or internet for 2 months, it feels really good to be connected! Plus there is a 12 hour time difference from here and home, my only chance to catch up with buddies and family is either early in the AM or late at night!

Juice with a view? yes please!

Varkala was also exciting because there was a tiny bit of nightlife! What, staying out past 10pm? I did that maybe a total of 4 times in Kovalam, there were a few late night dance parties that happened at one of our favorite restaurants (Alan's) but never live music! On my first night in Varkala, we discovered the Rock n Roll cafe! I went along with a few new friends from the hostel and we fell in love with the man playing the guitar! Imagine an older, overweight Kerala man singing and playing an out of tune acoustic guitar. His favorite songs to jam to were anything Eagles, ACDC and Led Zeppelin! He also had his buddy playing a tiny, rickety drum-set next to him. He asked us to call him Jason and mostly wanted to take requests. He was so lovely and just really wanted to make us happy. We were actually the only people in the entire bar, and was always so happy to actually have an audience. We came back every night after that just to hear him play his guitar and sing his awesome tunes.

With my hair twin, Emma from London

The guy to my right is the drum player!

After a few days of being in Varkala, some of the February Hatha Samyak Yogis made the move there too! It was so refreshing to see new faces and actually get to know these people. I didn't get to chat with them much during their training course, they were always busy and running around. Seeing familiar faces and sharing our teacher training experiences was so good. We all established that we couldn't be happier with  Samyak Yoga, we felt the love and passion from the teachers. Their honestly and loyalty to their company, but most importantly, to the meaning of Yoga.

 

Oh- I also had a bit of a job for a total of one day! I stopped for a juice at an amazing spot, called the Coffee Temple! If you sit at the very front , you have an amazing view of the cliff and can catch some great shots of paragliders swaying in the wind! 

As I went to pay, I noticed a sign saying they needed volunteers. I waited tables for 6 years and constantly miss it!! The interaction, the fast-paced environment and interacting with the cooks! I love it! So I told them I wouldn't mind working for free- they said they would give me free food and coffee all day, and accommodation in their guest house if I needed! I worked from 8am-1pm and it was crazy! Not much organization, just randomly picking up tables. I didn't know the menu and there was no computer system. I had to hand write every single order and explain each one to the cooks after the tables ordered. Despite the few bumps, it was actually really fun! and all my friends showed up to sit in my section! First the yogis, came and had their juices and coffees! A bit later, my hostel friends came. The Germans and the Brits, ate their traditional English breakfast, omelettes and fruit salads! After a fun day of working, Yogi Bravo rolled up in a red scooter beep beep beeping! It was perfect timing, yes- I was a bit weary, but I figured it was a tough day at work and riding around town in scooters with the entire group and searching for a hidden beach sounded like an amazing plan! 

It was so much scarier than I expected! Being a back-seat driver comes rather easily to me! How can I not be in control of everything, right?? haha- so, of course, we survived and it was worth every drop of sweat and and grey hair ! We found The Black sand beach, did some headstands and built a sand castle. Finished the day off with veg pakoras and smoothies before heading back to our beach! 

So Varkala, the perfect balance of minimal nightlife, yoga , hidden beaches and new + old friends! All in one place!

 

-GIA