Our class by Vivi

Rest in the Stillness. When we keep the body still the mind is still. Notice what thoughts and ideas come into the mind when it is resting in the stillness.

If your body feels an itch, it is the brain trying to find a reason to move.

When yoga becomes a competition this is illusion or maya. Our mind is our own competitor when we compare ourselves to others and join in the competition.

Remember to breathe in the energy from the earth and the universe and let the sensations become natural.

Physical power is limited. At some point we have to say "I can't".  How often in yoga do we push our body beyond what it can do. When we hold a difficult pose, over the time we hold it, the mind  will realize it has become too much. Mindfulness of our body makes us aware of its limitations.

It is no good to physically force something till it breaks. When we suppress something, eventually it will explode in aggression; if we push something away, we push away the truth; if you try to break through with force it will cause injury and we might hurt ourselves. If we pretend it never happened, it will come again, it is not possible to run away from Life.

How do we deal with reality? Step back and observe what we have facing; let the universe move things in its own way, then challenges and problems become easy. The answer is easy because we already have the answer, we just need to listen to what the universe is saying. Sometimes we don't want to hear that answer because it isn't what we want to hear.

Overcome fear

Many people live in the lower two parts of their brain.  Reactions come out of the lower brain, response comes from the upper brain where we make a conscious choice. Emotions come from the middle brain. This is the cause of the suffering and pain in the world. When something challenging happens, people who use their lower brain give up.

Reactions come from fear. Fear is used by society to control people, it is called the psychology of fear. People can do many good things but it is the one bad thing they do that people notice and remember. For instance, many people drive cars safely but the emphasis is put on car accidents to make drivers fearful.

A fearless person cannot be controlled.

To overcome fear you must face it. You can face it gradually.  If you are scarded of frogs draw a picture of a frog and look at it, look at books about frogs then face a real frog. All the time say to yourself, " I am safe", "The universe is protecting me."

When negative thoughts come, counter them with positive thoughts. Counter fear with courage and doubt with confidence. Always assess danger with the upper brain and recognize your limitations.

Yoga makes the spine flexible to develop the spinal chord which connects with the lower brain. Conditioning is the way we are born. The closer you stay to your conditioning the more miserable you will be. Break away from your condition.

If you always believe you are right you move away from finding the truth. If you only do what you like, you will remain on the same level all your life

Have an open mind and improve yourself every day, emotionally, physically and mentally.

3 brain concept

I learned something really interesting today.

There are three parts to the brain;
1: the Cerebellum. It is the lower level of the brain, also known as the reptilian brain as it is the only brain a reptile has. It is the part of the brain that developed for sirvival. It controls the basic functions, the need for food, the desire to procreate and fear.

2: the Lymbic system, or the animal brain is the mid level of the brain. It controls our emotions, decides what we like and dislike and when we feel pain and pleasure.

3: the Cortex is the upper brain, or the human brain. It is the master of our higher funfctions, our creativity, logic and memory. The most intelligent animals also have this brain, elephants, whales and dolphins.

But we are in a state of evolution and our brains are not fully developed. This is why we have problems in the world. We havent thought of all the solutions yet.

All the wisdom, knowlege & secrets of the universe is there in our brain, but it has to be unlocked. We reach our full potential when we think something that has never been thought before or when we create something new. The human experience is a journey of discovery, to bring what is hidden in the dark out into the light.

The spinal chord is an extension of the 1st part of our brain. It carries the electrical impulses around our body so our body can function. But we are not aware of the process, it carries on without conscious thought ie we don't need to think about moving our arm, that is taken care of automatically.

The chakras lie along the spinal cord, they come from the basic brain so we don't feel them or are not aware of them funtioning, which is why many people are unaware that chakras exist. Oft times, when we don't experience something, we deny it, which explains why many people deny that chakras are real.

The chakras can be felt and realized but it takes effort, courage and will power. Old issues and stories that need to be faced will come up. Moving out of the comfort zone is an uncomfortabe experience that has to be endured to activate the chakras. People who doubt the chakras wont put in an effort to discover them.

Yoga is a practice to transcend the human mind by developing the human brain.

It develops focus. It is important to focus on one thing at a time to bring optimum efficiency to the task.

Movement in asana comes from the  lower brain, the seat of ego. Ego becomes stronger if only asana is practiced. When there is a boundary or rules there is ego, learning needs to come from within, not from rules. Animals have territory. That is the ego in the animal brain.

When a posture is held then emotions arise, and the thought process moves from the reptilian brain to the animal brain where we can work with the emotion or issue to release it. Attention is inside the senses.

The law of 3 exiats in many forms, eg the father, son and the holy ghost; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; creation, sustenance and destruction; positive, negative and neutral; proton, neutron & electron; active, passive and neutral.

When you are practicing yoga, retreat into the neutral gap, with awareness drawn inwards awards away from the senses for two breaths and see what arises.

For a healthy body

Yoga brings us joy. It is a special, gentle joy, beyond mind and body. A glow of happiness on the inside. It does not remove suffering, but it balances suffering with happiness.

Every breath we take is a parcel of pranic energy. Yogis believe that our life span is counted in the number of breaths we take. To extend our life span we can take care of our bodies by eating a balanced diet of pranic food and by taking time to measure every step and breath.

The needs of the body are food, water, sleep and human interaction.

Pranic food is fresh fruit and vegetables, lentils & grains, a little protein and a little carbohydrate.

A loving attitude is the secret ingredient a cook can put into a recipe and and gratitude as you eat will make food taste great.

The body also needs good sleep. Yoga postures for good sleep are yoga nidra, viparita karani, fountain of youth, balasana, or rabbit pose, savasana, half shoulder stand, makarasana, and bharami, humming bee breath.

The brain works on 4 frequencies: beta, alpha, theta, & delta. When the mind is in beta it is chaotic and consumes a lot of energy. A busy lifestyle will lead to stress when the body is constantly set for flight and fight mode.

Living in the other 3 frequencies will give a harmonious life without sickness. Theta is the frequency of healing and meditation.

The other thing that is needed for a healthy body is a good balance of work and recreation or exercise. The difference between yoga and exercising is the breath. Exercise has no rhythm in the breath while yoga syncronizes with the breath.

When a yoga pose is held for a long time it gives time to observe changes in the body, emotions and thoughts and issues can be resolved. When you practice in a good way, then life will be lived without struggle.

Thai Herb Ball and Steam Bath

I had another fun and interesting day, away from the resort today.

After breakfast my taxi driver collected me and took me to the Sunshine Massage School in Chaing Mai where I did my Thai Yoga Massage last Xmas.

           Me with my smiling teachers again.

My beautiful friend Aom had arranged for me to come and take the class in Thai herb ball massage and steam bath that she was running that day.

Many ingredients were layed out. We looked through our manuals at the names and properties of the different ingedients. They all smelled amazing.

Zingiber and tumeric root are rhyzomes similar to ginger; Kaffir lime leaf and the rind of the fruit; lemon grass; tamarind leaf; sea salt; Camphor; Menthol; Acacia leaf; & Padanus leaf (which smells like freshly mown grass).

They each have different properties: healing, cleansing, aromomatic and vaporizing.

We each had a different job to do. My job was stripping the leaves from the kaffir lime. I got a thorn in my finger, though I was very careful. (It is still hurting a bit actually.) The others were chopping up the roots and pounding them with a mortar and pestal peeling the limes and chopping grasses.

While we were chopping, grinding and tearing, Aom was preparing the steam bath. I could describe it as a tent made from a shower curtain. She had a boiler which she put the herbs to cook in.

After showering we took turns to enter the steam room in ones or pairs. We wore a sarong with elastic to hold it up. Someone said it looked like a hospital gown. A very colourful and shapeless hospital gown.

We stayed in for 15 - 20 minutes. The feel of the steam on my skin and the smell was intense.

The heady smell in the room was amazing

After my chakra dance ceremony last night, I was definately getting high, (in a natural way.)

We had 2 times each in the steam bath.

We made the herb balls, wrapping the mixed spices in linen and putting them into a steamer for later.

At lunch we had such a great time, though we were very serious we couldn't stop laughing. They were a delightful group of people, I was so happy I could spend the day with them. They were all studying massage at the school.

There was a power outage so we even got to have a nap after lunch. It was so relaxing.

So was watching Aom give the lucky model the massage. I took a picture in between naps.

Then I got to experience the massage.

I felt so clean and my skin felt so nice. It was a great experience and now I'm qualified to do them to you! (If you are very lucky 😉)

Chakra Dance

The funniest thing just happened.

By a mix-up, my bag with my yoga mat got left up in the top yoga shala. The shala is right up the top of the hill. It wouldn't have mattered so much, even if it rained all night except that it had my black belt for karate in it. My most prized possession. No one else except me and my sensei have ever even touched it.

We had a chakra dance meditation in the lower yoga shala with glass walls to protect us from the mosquitos in the night. Tulip took us up there in the buggy. Tulip is the beautiful manager of this resort.

We thought we I could get a ride up to the top shala in the buggy to get my bag but we had to go a different way. A private meditation retreat had started and wouldn't finish till 2am. We couldn't disturb them with the lights or sound of the buggy or walking on the gravel road.

So we decided to go on an adventure through the organic garden. It's fabulous. Rows of chives, carrots, the dragon fruit cactus and pineapples.

But then we had to come up the hill. The road was mud from the rain that afternoon. There were frogs hopping all over the place and the two pet dogs had come for the run. It was a bumpy ride and we started to slip and skid. We came to a halt with the wheels spinning.

We were bogged.

Before we got in too much of a bog I said "Don't worry."

I jumped out. We counted 1;2;3; Push.... didn't quite get out of the bog before I started slipping. But I didn't fall in my beautiful dress I had on for the chakra dance (the one my sister gave me)

We counted again 1;2;3; push. Grrrrrriiiiindd.
And we were away. I bounded on to the back of the buggy and the frogs hopped out of our way for dear life.

Then we got near the lower shala where the meditation was taking place. We had to turn off the buggy lights and be really quiet. Shhhhhh.
We used the torch on my phone to see where we going...

And then... We were back on the gravel road and up at the Shala.

I grabbed my precious yoga bag from India with my pink Nike mat and coiled black belt.

Tulip didn't want us to go back the same way, it was too dangerous. I told her we could go on the other side of the trees, we had come that way in the morning.

"Oh yeah," she said. "I forgot there was a road here. The gardeners and work men use it."

So off we went cross country again through the trees and back to the bottom shala where the girls were waiting to start the amazingly happy chakra dance.

But that is secret women's business. Shhhhh.

Feeling Proud

I had one o f the proudest moments of my life last night and I wasn't even present. I was sent a photo of a class at my studio being run by one of my students. I felt so amazed and happy. So much work and planning went into thast moment and it worked!
What a wonder and a joy to have created an opportunity when others could step up to show their full potential.

I believe Mandy, the teacher for the night did a wonderful job and the class was fabulous. Congratulations to her. It was a big call, I know and in doing it I bet she has released inhibitions and grown in confidence.

Thank you to the students for coming to the class. 8 students is a great turn out. Without them to teach there would not have been a class.

Thank you to Sarah, she is my moral support and she sent me the photo. Sarah is a private student and she is taking the class next week for the first time too.

Well done girls. And thank you for making it possible for me to continue my yogic jouney of discovery of the self. Here in these beautiful surroundings I am learning so much I will be able to bring back to share with you.

Some of what I am learning is about manifesting and that has happened at the studio. What a wonderful endeavour I embarked on when I opened it. I am so proud to feel I have succeeded beyond what I ever imagined.

Chryse is another of my students who has taken on a senior student teaching roll and she is keen for me to train her to professional  teaching standard.  

In the now

People choose what is easy, not what is right.

To grow as a person do what you don't like and like that you dislike.

Own everything you do. Take responsibility for yourself. Take responsibility for your actions. Take responsibility for your reactions.

Do not blame others for what you do, or what goes wrong in your life. Take the blame onto yourself. When you accept the responsibility of your life then you are in charge, you are the driver of your destiny and you can transform your life.

Everything is right just at this moment. If you let the Universe move things in the way they are meant to move then everything will be perfect.

Whatever happens it is for a reason. Trust that the universal guidance system knows what it is doing. Everything will turn out the way it is meant to be, it may not be the way you wanted it to go but it will be the best way for one and all.

If you flow with the universe you will never fail because you are always exactly where you are supposed to be.

Thoughts come from Impressions and how you perceive the impression.

If you complain, you have a wrong perception. You will be happier if you compliment life rather than complain about life.

Cultivate A Beautiful Mind. A beautiful mind is a beautiful master. When the mind is governed by the ego then the mind is a tyrant.

Who rules your life? Do you listen to the voice of the Mind? Are you ruled by the dominating voice of ego? Or do you listen to the voice of your true master? Your inner self, intuition, the little voice?

Back to Thailand

I have woken up in my newly decorated room in pink with my coffee percolator brewing, the gentle sound of rain  and squawking birds outside. The smell of frangipani wafts all around me from the tree blossoming outside my balcony.

My journey went smoothly. My son, William drove me to Newcastle to catch the train down to Sydney. Then the plane from there with three seats to stretch out to sleep. I slept well, all the way to Malaysia where I had a three-hour lay over. I drank 2 cups of coffee in the comfy seats of a lounge there. 

Then I boarded the next plane that took about two and a half hours to reach Chiang Mai where my beautiful friend, Aom was waiting to greet me.

I was grateful to see my battered grey suitcase come out on the conveyer belt. No 'Lost Luggage' this trip.

We decided to go to the best spa in Chiang Mai, Fa Lanna Spa, where Aom used to work. I had breakfast at their tropical cafe with a giant, turning water- wheel. I had eggs benedict with runny yolks and ham and bacon with a little side salad and a special green tea. Aom had a jar of iced chocolate with white chocolate on top. It looked amazing!

I really needed a massage. My hip has been so sore. I felt it click back in so I think it might be a bit out of joint which would explain why it felt like it has been about to break when I've been walking to the shop. My back cracked in about 5 places and my thigh bone 3 times. I really was all out of whack.

I had a tiger balm massage I felt hot & cool at the same time.

After my massage we enjoyed ginger tea with puffed rice and sesame seed biscuits.

I had given my son Wayland a post card of gold dragons flanking a staircase for his birthday card and he asked me if I had been there. As I hadn't I thought I should go this time. Aom knew where they were. The spa has a car service so we asked them to take us to the Silver Temple.

The temple was very impressive, totally handcrafted all from Silver. Ladies were not allowed inside 😑. Never mind. There was also the Temple with the golden dragons flanking the each side of the staircase with giant Buddhas inside so we in there.

After that we hopped in the Red Bus and went over to the Chinatown markets to have lunch. I saved a woman from falling out of the back of the bus when it took off before she had alighted. She would have landed face down on the road if I hadn't grabbed her backpack and stopped her from falling. It's lucky I'm a black belt with quick reflexes.

I had fish ball soup with noodles. At Aom's favorite cafe. It was so delicious I really wanted another bowl. I wish I'd asked for a large instead of medium serving.

Then I bought some perfect, slip on brown thongs to wear at a shop with a nice cat in the doorway.

Now we were complete.

We hopped back on a red bus to take us to Fa Lanna Spa where I picked up my luggage and caught a taxi to the Pavana Resort where I am staying for the next 5 weeks.

Infinity Symbol

Who invented the symbol for infinity? They must have been a genius. I always saw infinity as a continuous loop, never ending. It isn't just that, it is an illustration of everything.

I have seen the symbol of infinity carved into a stone brick on the outside of a Byzantine church in Athens. In one side of the loop there's a vine leaf and in the other, a bunch of grapes. Perhaps one could conjecture that drinking wine makes one philosophical. 

The stone had been taken from an ancient Greek temple along with many other stones with symbols incuding the symbol of the illuminati. I thought it was very interesting. I see the Christian church as a usurper of other religions, while my guide suggested they were integrating the symbols out of respect for the ancient world.

Wikipedia says the infinity symbol was introduced in 1655 made from the Roman symbol for 1000 - CƆ, which was sometimes used to mean many. May be John Wallis saw the same stone as me whilst drinking wine and came up with the mathmatical idea of infinity.

For the past few years I have been working on the idea of keeping a balanced mind, like a set of scales. Good & bad things can happen, we feel positive & negative emotions. I see the good/bad, positive/negative like a wave moving up and down along the line, the balanced mind doesn't waver, the true self isn't affected by the positive/negative, though we feel the emotions.

Being a line, it stretches into the past and continues into the future, I guess it could go on infinitely, I haven't looked that far. I usually see it with a starting point and an ending point.

Think of the infinity symbol. It moves like a wave, it rises up then down, crosses at the center point, rises up and down and crosses at the center point again, just like the waves of positive & negative, good & bad except infinity doesnt move along a line, it moves around a point.

That point is the present. It is the only moment we ever have. Whatever good that happens has to be balanced by bad, whatever negative emotions we feel will be balanced by positive and always we are the pivotal center and in our present moment. 

In meditation our thoughts may rise and fall but we need to constantly return them to the center focus point.

That center focus point of infinity is the center of emptiness.  It is the nothingness. It is the point from which everything expands and forms.

There is a whole universe, full of infinite things. Our world is infinitely full of things. It is so full of things you could never have them all. Wanting things will only make you want more things. Following the loops of the symbol you will get more and then you will get less.

But if you stay in the center, in the point around which everything revolves then you will give up wanting anything, you will give up desire. You will be in harmony with infinity and the universe will revolve peacefully around you. 

Infinity is forever, it is all our lives past and future with your true self living now. 

Infinity is the vastness of space and time. From before there was nothing till after there is everything, infinity will still go on.

Afternoon in Phnom Penh

 In the afternoon what I should have done was go and visit the palace and the silver pagoda with its solid gold Buddha encrusted with diamonds and gone to the traditional dance performance. But as I thought I would be able to go the next day and I wanted to avoid my tuktuk driver, I decided to rest for the afternoon at the hotel. I drank tea and had a foot massage.

In the late afternoon I was rested enough to go out for a walk. Though I had told the tuktuk driver I wouldn't need him, the moment I stepped outside he was waiting for me but I told him I was walking. I said he could pick me up at 7pm at the Palace but I wouldn't have wifi to let him know.

I did actually contact him using the wifi of the place I ate the night before. I had a full body massage booked at the hotel at 8 O'clock. He hadn't come to meet me, he had stayed at the hotel. by the time he would have driven to where I was and back I would have walked there, so I just walked.

Walking was much nicer than I imagined. The roads are very noisy and crowded when you are in a tuktuk. the roads I walked along were quiet. I had to cross one very busy highway but there were traffic lights, though they will still run you over if you aren't confident and walk with right-of-way.

Sometimes during my walks the locals would help me cross, that was handy, and once a policeman at the very busy intersection. And if I told anyone I was walking they warned me to be careful and to to guard my bag. I had bought a plastic recycled back-pack with an elephant on it. Fortuitously, I had tied a piece of pink ribbon onto my cabin luggage to secure my favorite pillow. I used this to tie the straps of the back-pack around my chest so it wouldn't fall off on the motor bike when I went Kulen Mountain. Now it was doubly useful as a security measure. No one tried to take my bag though.

I always walk down dark streets in rough cities. No one has approached me yet. If I couldn't handle myself, I wouldn't be walking there.

I walked along side of a park with a golden dragon flying in the centre and when I came to the corner I discovered a wide six lane road blocked off to traffic. A few people were walking along. It ran along in front of the Royal Palace which was all lit up with sparkling orange lights and looked out across another big park with people playing and selling food and monks walking. 

It was so pleasant with no noisy traffic and wide open space and no one trying to make me ride in a tuktuk.

I walked around to where I had seen restaurants the night before and found a street food restaurant that looked fine. I prefer to sit with locals and get the authentic flavor of a place rather than sit with a bunch of tourists.

I walked back in time for my massage. It was only ok, but I was starting to feel better from so many.

9 Hour bus trip to PhnomPenh

The food at Sonalong village was really exceptional. For dinner I had fish amok. Fish amok is a fish mousse with fresh coconut milk and a khmer curry paste made from lemongrass, tumeric root, garlic, shallots and ginger and served in a bowl made from palm leaves. It was super delicious.

I talked with the girl who works there. Her husband works there too and they have 2 children. Her mother in law looks after the children and they all live together in a small house with her sister also. They have a stall at the market.

They work very hard but she said it makes her sad that the mother-in-law has to work so hard looking after everyone. I told her that the mother-in-law works so hard because she wants to help them all because she wants them to be happy. So the best way to repay her is to be happy. If she feels sad then the mother-in-law is failing at what she is trying to do.

I told her that the best thing she can do is to show her gratitude so she knows she is appreciated. I suggested buying a washing machine, but that would take them a long time to save up for.  So little things, like taking her flowers or a plant or giving her a hug.

I wish I had realized that I had worked out my dates wrong. I could have stayed another night and spent the day relaxing by the pool. I really regretted it.

Anyway. I couldn't sleep so I got up early and packed and was ready to go bright and early the next morning.


The trip was very interesting, except when we got caught up in the election traffic. And even that was exciting, though we were stuck on the bus for nearly two hours watching the people drive around the round-about on their motor-bikes.

Not many people in Cambodia have cars, but they all have motor-bikes. And they mostly live in simple wooden houses up on stilts either in the jungle or agricultural land. I suspect the stilts are to help keep the houses cool as much as keep them out of floods.

The bus trip was very enjoyable. I nearly botched the lunch stop. I thought it was just a toilet break and stayed on the bus. When I realized I just had time to get a take-away pad thai, which was great, because I couldn't eat it all and had some left for when we were stuck in the parade of people.

The election was obviously extremely important to the people. They have had a terrible past with civil war and genocide.

It was difficult to speak to the people, partly because only some speak English but also because if I made any movement towards them they wanted to sell me something. Usually a tuk-tuk ride. I felt like saying that I have legs and can walk. They wouldn't have understood why I would walk I think. No one walks. They ride their motor-bikes, same as in Thailand.

The hotel was a tea house.

It had a pool and spa but as they couldn't give me an appointment for a massage that night, the reception recommended a place called Bodiea and I got a tuk-tuk there.

Travelling in the tuktuk in the traffic made the city seem squalid, dirty, frantic, and unpleasant.

The spa was serene and gorgeous; curved wooden walls and delicious fragrance with a warm greeting. My masseuse washed my feet with sea salt and limes. I stepped into my massage room across stepping stones over a pond. It was a good massage.

The tuktuk driver was my ill-fortune. I had told him I was going to dinner after the massage but he spotted me when I came out and took me to a place to eat. It was a bar. It had a view of the river but I felt really out of place. I didn't want a drink, the food wasn't nice and I paid too much. I would have been happier walking in the opposite direction and finding a cheap Kymer place that suited me rather than one he thought tourists would like. I did exactly that another night and paid $2 instead of $7.

He was only young but he kind of ruined my time in Phnom Penh.  He told me I would be able to go to see the traditional dancing and the palace on Sunday but they were closed because of the election. I could have gone on Saturday but he wanted to make money by taking me on a tour.

We went to silk island.

It was so poor.

I didn't really have a nice time but the photos make it look awesome!

The tuk tuk came on the ferry to drive me around. A woman accosted me on the ferry.  She is exactly why I couldn't trust these people, but a review on TripAdvisor had warned me. I knew she as just pretending to be interested in making conversation. She said she would tell my driver to follow her to her house where they do silk weaving.

I knew there is a community silk place. I told my driver I did not want to follow her. I asked did he understand I did not want to go to her house. He said yes but he followed her and made me get out at her house to see a girl working at a silk loom. They tried to make me to buy a scarf, they pulled them out of a black plastic bag. They had not been made there.

I said "thank you for showing me that" and got back in the tuk tuk.
I said "I don't want to buy one. I don't have to buy the first thing I see."
I was not going to let them shaft me.

Then we went for a ride around the hot and steamy island. Lots of greenery and some agriculture, a few cattle.

He took me to a few temples, they weren't kept very clean and they weren't open. But I liked them. One was in a brightly painted complex with statues of hindu gods around                                                                   the courtyards and a replica of a long long canoe.

Another one was very old and being repaired. It was open and no one was there so I sneakily took some photos of me being a Buddha again. I left a small offering. The ceiling was painted with a mural, I hadn't seen that before. It was really cool with a giant gold Buddha statue behind a big chair with some mats on the stone floor. The floor felt clean. I'm sure I was very naughty to sit in the big chair, but I am a Buddha after all.





The community silk farm was a great experience. It was in a lovely setting under cool palm trees with the people working on shaded platforms. There wasn't a guide to show me around but I knew a lot from when I had silk worms when I was growing up.

The silk before it has been spun feels like rough old woman's hair. after it has been spun it feels like fine princess's hair.

Then it is dyed and spun from the spools onto a bobbin which is put inside a bob-kin to be used at the loom.

It was facinating to see the process. I bought a skarf as fine as silk

Working at the loom must be mind numbingly boring. to keep track of the pattern must be so hard.

There is a park with shady huts where you can rest and have a picnic



On the way back across on the ferry I was pounced on again by women wanting to sell me scarves. They wanted $8. I said $5 and wouldn't budge, especially when the pushiest punched one of them in the chest. I said I didn't want it and sat back in the tuktuk. Then the one who got punched said ok, $5 so I bought it so they would go away. It is pink and blue with elephants.

My room at the hotel was quite dull so I hung all by scarves and and sarongs around the room to brighten it up.

Temples and travelling

What did I do yesterday? I don't remember. It involved a lot of Jungle and walking around temples. I got hot.

I slept only a few hours last night. I got up about 2am and packed and went for a night time swim.

I was all ready by 6:30am to go down for breakfast.

The hotel organized the bus for me to travel down to the capital, Phnom Penh. It's going to take about 7 hours. I can watch the country side go by through the window. It's exciting. 

(It's actually going to take longer than 7 hours because the roads are blocked due to a political campaign. It's quite exciting. I'm in Phnom Penh but stuck stationary on the bus watching a flood of people in white caps on motor bikes across the bridge. In the center is a carving like the giant heads in the jungle.)

The direction we came was very different to the direction we went in to the waterfall. It is less ramshakle with sturdy houses, the shops along the road side are solid. The cattle are well fed from hay stacks, the fields neatly turned and I haven't seen any escapee chickens or roosters yet.

There seems to be a political celebration for the Cambodian People's Party. Truck loads of people are gathering, they are wearing white shirts and caps with matching emblems. There is music, the people are dancing and waving flags.

Yesterday Bunna took me on the big circuit around the jungle temples.

The first one was very tall with high stepping  stairs going straight up. I'm glad I'm fit and have strong quads, I made it in one go.

That is, after I fought my way through the hawkers selling guide books, paintings and scarves. 

"Lady, you want to buy my scarf? Beautiful silk. From Cambodia." 

"No thank you," I said

"You sure lady? Beautiful scarf," she said.

"Yes I'm sure thank you," I said.

"May be you buy on the way back," she said.

"No, I don't think so," I said.

"I will remember you lady," she said.

"I still won't buy the scarf," I said.

"May be you will change your mind," she said

"And may be I won't," I said. 

And with good humour she stopped following me.

She did actually remember me on the way back and didn't ask if I would like to buy her scarf.

The temple was built for changing life. It was the funeral temple where they did cremations. It would be quite easy to slip off the top and continue the tradition. The jungle looked wild from the top. It was taller than the tops of the trees. Once there would have been magnificent lions gurding the staircases but they had been reduced to half-lions.

The next temple was probably my second favorite after the Tomb raider temple and it was very quiet. Not many people and nestled into the jungle with it's giant faces and overgrown trees.

As I stepped through the door way I came across two asian girls sitting amongst the ruins fixing their make-up, as you do in the middle of jungle.

I found a hidden alcove to meditate in. First I tried one side of the transcept, but it was a bit cold and damp and the rock was too small. Besides there was an enoooorrrrmous centerpede crawling under my bag. So I moved to the other side where rays of sun shone down through holes in the roof and I could look up to see green leaves above

It was only a tiny temple. I walked around the rubble of fallen walls and massive trees with buttress roots, like the buttresses that have been constructed to stop the walls from falling.

I did some yoga. I'm glowing so much I became translucent. If I'd had no clothes on I would have been invisible.

I walked underneath the stone guardian of the temples back entrance with his giant stone face with sprouting hair of leaves growing from the crown of his head. Down his back were the massive trailing roots that engulfed the gateway, like giant dreadlocks. The blue plastic that protected the poor villagers stalls looked incongruous, peeping through the dark entrance way

I walked through, by now holding in my annoyance of the constant barrage of these people trying to make me buy their wares.

I've bought magnets and postcards. "You buy? Only one dollar," in winey little voices that all sound the same. They follow, me constantly harassing and won't take no for an answer. From these little girls I bought 2 pretty fans. But I can't buy something from every child in the jungle. I feel like someone is exploiting them in any case.

The only time I liked buying from a little girl was when I could see her with her family at a retaurant and she was sucking on a chup'o'cup. Pity she couldn't understand that I wanted to buy a lolly pop. The worst was a tiny boy who pounced on me after I'd bought postcards from another little boy. He followed me singing unmusically "you buy my post cards? Only one dollar," till I escaped into the toilet. 

It's giving me the feeling that these people are greedy. Greedy is wanting more than what you have. Greed does not align with being virtuous which is waht you need to be if the universe is going to provide for you. If you are grasping and wanting you will never have enough and will never be content. 

The whole of Siem Reap is geared to fleece the tourists. Food is expensive compared to Chaing Mai. But it is very delicious.

I also bought a beutiful temple rubbing from a young man with bare feet. We agreed that travelling alone and being free is the best way to be.

We went to a couple more temples. To get to one I had to walk a long long way across a wooden bridge. There wasn't much there. May be once it was a beautiful fountain. It's just worn out now, sitting in a swamp. With ants and birds and insects.

We had a leisurely lunch. I had a nap in a hammock and bought 2 more pairs of the pants I like. They were hard to find in Siem Reap.

Then after lunch Bunna took me to Ankor Wat.

And on the way home I had a Chai Japanese oil massage at the best massage place Bunnah knew of in Siem Reap. It was pretty good.

When i came out Bunna's little family met me. It was so nice to meet them.