Fun things about Nepal so far...

You know you're in for a treat when you're in a time zone that is ___hours and 15 minutes off from the rest of the world. I mean really. What's up with that?  

Most street vendors sell face masks. In all sorts of pretty colors, even.  Hmmm. I don't even know what to say about that. 

Monsoon means everything it sounds like it does. Mud. oh, and wet shoes....Often. 

What is a sidewalk? Nothing, when motorcycles drive on them. It's like their own personal HOV lane. Watch. Your. Ass. 

Even the bicyclists will run you over. Funny, I always thought of cyclists more on the "pedestrian-friendly" side of things.  Here, their horns are louder than the vehicles. 

Lots of cool hippie clothes for sale. None of the locals wear them. Only tourists are hippies? 

Nepalese don't like veggies as much as the Thai. Damn. However, the veggie momo's are awesome, although I'm not 100% convinced they don't have meat in them....? 

I mean come on...who doesn't love a good mystery dumpling?

Oh yeah...they have gigantic mountains here.  Unfortunately as it turns out, I am completely ill-prepared to climb them on this journey. I'm just gonna stare at them and do some yoga. 

Smile even bigger! The Nepalese are even nicer!!! Seriously. 

And how can you resist when everyone is constantly saying "Namaste" to you??? I love it! 

-Namaste

Mantra of the day: I am so happy and grateful I am always surrounded by beauty. 

Fun things about Thailand...

No matter what quality of accommodations you find...don't eat your snickerdoodles in bed. There are ants. Everywhere. A lot of them. And all their friends. Apparently they come with the room. 

Amazing food grows wild. Bananas, papayas, and coconuts oh my...they grow like veritable weeds around here! Yay!

Your shower is your entire bathroom. Don't forget to remove your tp and bath towel. Yep..learned that one the hard way. And yes, the bathroom floor and your toilet seat are permanently wet. 

Oh yeah..."the bum gun".... It seems like a weird idea but you get used to it. There is hardly ever toilet paper, but almost always a bum gun (you know, it looks like the sprayer thingy next to your kitchen faucet but conveniently appears next to toilets or toilet-like holes in the ground). I found them annoying at first but I know one day I'll miss them. 

Flip flops are suitable footwear for ANY and ALL occasions  in the country and everyone here knows it. Why bother bringing anything else? I've worn my sneakers a total of...never. 

(I know that will change because I'm going Trekking!)

In Thailand you have bills with 1,000's on them. So what if it means you have about 30 dollars. You feel like a zillionaire. 

Smile. Everyone here is nice. That's right. Everyone. 

The best part? Thai people love veggies! Thank gawwd! The food is AMAZING! Curries, coconut soup, fresh herbs, chilies...don't even get me started about Tom Kha...yum yum and yum! 

Oh Thailand, I love you so.  Thank you for all your magic, warm waters, stunning sunsets, laid back-totally chill vibe, and your super kind-friendly faces. I will be back some day for sure!

Now, I prepare to transition to the next adventure...  (Dramatic music...) Kathmandu, Nepal!

Mantra of the day: I am so happy and grateful I trust in the universe!

White girl. No really. W.h.i.t.e. girl

One interesting observation about the Thai culture is the ever present desire to make the skin lighter. You can witness this  by the vast number of skin bleaching products for sale in any small market including the pervasive 7-11's.  I found this astounding. Especially the variety of these type of products on one shelf alone.  One woman told me she carried an umbrella at all times, not in case of rain, but to keep the sun from darkening her skin. This is smart really, but not for the reason she gave! This same woman told me how beautiful she thought my skin was. 

Although I cover my skin with clothing and sometimes sunscreen to keep UV rays  from damaging my skin, I no longer do anything to make my skin darker like I once did as a teenager. I would have told you (a month ago) my skin was so white I glowed in the dark....And used words like pasty, pink, or pale.  I never really saw its' pale color as beautiful. I would have easily traded it for any one of the hues of these gorgeous Thai women. However, in this quest in the mastery of self-love I have decided to change that perspective. I love my skin! It's exactly....well, perfect. And goes with everything...Thank you wonderful Thai woman for showing me how green the grass can be right here, where I am. I think I will stick around and see what other gifts are waiting to be discovered on this side of the fence...

Mantra of the day: I am so happy and grateful I have a fresh, new perspective exactly when I need it. All I have to do is choose it. 

See? This amazing coconut doesn't have a problem with white skin either. I ADORE coconuts and their silky white flesh! I think I might just be addicted to this tropical treat! 

Look at what I found on the beach today!

Beautiful stunning coral everywhere! I am quite sure I look like a complete lunatic trying (unsuccessfully) to talk myself out of filling my bag (my once-was-very *light* bag) with rocks, sticks (oh the magic wands I have found!), seashells, and coral! Yes, out loud.  Yeah, yeah, yeah travel light. Alright. I'll put them back...At least this time. I guess I will just take pictures of them all. (Sigh...)

Pictures, eh? 

So here are some photos of my little piece of paradise I have stumbled upon....

My adorable little beach bungalow

The view 5 meters away from my adorable little beach bungalow in both directions (above

And below) and all for the price of a fairly cheap meal in the states.  I love Thailand! 

Mantra of the day: I am so happy and grateful I am always surrounded by great beauty!

Things I see from inside a train (or two) in 21 hours.

It is interesting to experience the continuous newness of each moment yet blissful monotony that occurs while staring for hours outside a dirty train car window.....

Oh the lotuses! Literally thousands. Many thousands. They grow along the train tracks like weeds. Huge white and pink flowers that you can almost smell from inside the speeding metal tube.  Imagine! a self sustaining "ditch" along the side of the tracks nearly across the length of a country filled with lotuses! Oh my, what a gift. 

Rice paddies.  In neat rectangles.  Squares.  Snaking along in river like formation. The freshly planted stalks in endless rows, patiently standing at attention.  And green! Green that only exists in real life. It is almost neon. Contrasting with the brown water they are standing in. 

And the Corn. I have recently come from the land of giant corn ("choklo" is grown all over Peru) to the states where corn has always been to me, "normal" sized, which I now  realize was only my perception of "normal", because now I am in the land of tiny corn. Anyone who eats Asian food will understand tiny corn, which of course here, is ....uh...normal. I can only imagine what native tiny corn eaters must think of Peruvian choklo. However, I digress...

...Bananas. And coconuts. Yummmm. Surely a blissful meal or two in the making. My mouth waters thinking of all the delicious Thai dishes made with all this rice, corn, bananas, and coconut I see!  Mmmm. Yellow food. Mmmm.

But that is not what's on the menu today... Train food: not for the persnickety. 

 Interesting weirdness served in pre-packaged shelf stable containers: "Spice egg stew" anyone? "Mackerels in chili sauce"? "Clams of curry"? Not a vegetarians dream lunch. Did I eat these tasty tidbits? Lets just say I did my fair share of open-minded sampling.  Thankfully there is no shortage of yummy green veggies around these here parts. The food has been scrumptious.

Elephants, monkeys, egrets.. and the trees. Beautiful, amazing trees like I have only seen in photographs! It's a jungle out there. I love it. 

Oh and the temples, my goodness...they are everywhere. Like, in every neighborhood. You will think you are in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden a thirty foot golden Buddha appears in front of you. And the sparkly, ornate temples are the fanciest thing going on around here... They are truly a site to see. And most of them have a huge gong. Wow...Talk about powerful vibrations. Those gongs will send you someplace else for sure. 

And somewhere else I finally arrived indeed. 

Of course this was after another bus ride, a 3 1/2 hour ferry ride (with two stops at other islands), and an interesting taxi ride... another case of the taxi driver acts like they know where you want to go,  but after driving back and forth a few times, they admit they don't know and either A. Want to dump you somewhere you really don't want to be or  B. Good ones will stop and ask someone or will make a call.  Thankfully today I got the latter because the last time a taxi driver tried to dump me in the middle nowhere it wasn't pretty. 

Alas, I am here!  I am on a beautiful island off the coast of Thailand and this is the magical view I have... at least for an evening or two.  Aaaahhhhh...thank you Universe... I love my life!

Mantra of the day: I am so happy and grateful I am completely held and supported by Divine Love and Light.