Hi all!
Finally, I am back with an update, but first of all best wishes for 2020. Have you set up a whole list of resolutions? Or maybe you already forgot about them? I have definitely resolutions, but I keep them simple and small, so I make sure I will keep them and make it happen 😊. One of my resolutions (or maybe I better call them goals) is to set up retreats. I have never done that, so I don’t know where to start yet. The first retreat I will teach is at Polwaththa Eco-lodges in Sri Lanka and I saw that one of my yoga-teachers friends wants to set up retreats as well! So, that is good news. By the end of this year, I might have reached my goal! But that’s enough about serious business, let’s update you about my travels 😊.
Luang Prabang – Laos
After my 2 months teaching in Vang Vieng (VV) I went to Luang Prabang (LP) for 2 days. I got there on December 30, got a free pick up to my hotel, checked in and went for a walk. Luang Prabang is a cute little village, protected by Unesco. It feels like you are in a movie, it doesn’t feel like a real city. It is quite touristic, but despite of that it doesn’t feel like that. The food is amazing! And when I walked around, I met a couple which practiced yoga with us in VV 😊. It’s a small world after all!
In the evening I met Shara, another yoga student. We met in VV and there we found out we were both going to LP on the same day. So, that’s why we met each other there. We booked a tour on the 31st: Waterfall, Bear Sanctuary and The Butterfly Garden (this is run by Dutch people). The waterfall (Kuang Si) was beautiful and cold! I swam in it, the water was pretty chilly (like the pool in Silver Naga 😉), but after a few moments it was really nice. In the Butterfly Garden they had a pool with the Dr. Fish fishes, the ones that eat dead skin of your feet. It’s a funny feeling, especially when a big one becomes really greedy and tries to eat a big piece 😉. I have so much dead skin on my feet, that if I had to wait until all was done, I probably would have been there still 😉. And we just had 2,5 hours altogether to do these activities, then we headed back to LP. We walked through the city, went to a temple to chant with the monks. The chanting felt like a mental cleaning on the last day of 2019, releasing all my sins 😉. The swim in the waterfall was the physical cleaning for me. After the chant we had a nice vegan meal on the night market. Ready for a party, you all think. Well… we were sooo tired that we got back to the hotel. I packed my bag and went to bed at 10.30pm, because I had to wake up early the next day to go to the airport (7.30am take off to Vientiane, to continue to Colombo – Sri Lanka). So, no New Year Party for me. In Laos they don’t celebrate it, so I didn’t miss a thing. I had a good sleep and was ready for the next adventure: Sri Lanka.
Trip to Colombo – Welcome to Sri Lanka
5.45 am – the taxi picked me up to go to the airport. After my check in I called to Holland (oh, officially The Netherlands😉) cause is was New Year there. The flight from LP to Vientiane went well. But then… I booked my ticket from Vientiane (VTE) to Colombo via Kunming (China), baggage should go straight to Colombo, lay-over 1 hour 50 minutes, perfect! Well… at the airport of VTE I was being told that I had to check out and check in, get a China Visa (temporary one). Uhm… 1 hour and 50 minutes to have baggage, Immigration, check in, Immigration, security… Long story short, I made it. Together with another passenger we could get through the priority lane 😊. That was a big relieve! After landing in Colombo, I took a taxi to bring me to my hostel. Then I went with Yogya, she stayed in the same hostel, to have some dinner at the beach. Hard to find something vegan at the beach… all with fish, meat or eggs. After the dinner (something Sri Lankan vegetarian food, really good though, I was also really hungry)… straight to bed, tired of the whole trip.
Colombo – Another big city
The next day, I was awake early, getting ready for my visa extension at the Immigration department. Too lazy to get a bus, I took a tuktuk to get me there, handed in some papers, went from one room to the other, waited a little and within 2,5 hours it was done! Way faster than some websites mentioned 😊. While waiting I saw another person of the hostel, Thomas from Swiss; we went back to the center of Colombo by the public bus, walked around, acting as tourists 😊. It was good to spend that day together; we both agreed that Colombo was just another big, polluted and too crowded city. 2 Nights in this city was more than enough. We saw some beautiful spots though, like the Red Mosque, small allies, a big parc and a smaller parc, some temples and we went to the beach to get some snacks as dinner (we had a big Indian lunch). The next day we walked together to the Fort train station (little girl, too big backpack, I really need to ditch stuff). I bought a ticket to Kandy (250 RP is like $1,50 or so), he went to another place in Sri Lanka. 2nd class, not reserved, which means that you can get packed in the train. I was lucky, got a seat 😊. That’s the way it goes with traveling, you meet people, spend some time together and then you are going your own way again.
I was ready to teach, then I got a message from Polwaththa, the other teacher would stay here until January 10, so I should start teaching on the 10th instead of 5ht, as we had agreed. I already prepared everything for the trip to Digana (the name of the village where Polwaththa is), I didn’t want to stay in another city just for killing time. I told that I couldn’t change my program; the owner agreed on it, I could come this way and share the room with the other teacher. She didn’t know that I was coming… all was a big mess and miscommunication. Now I will start teaching on the 11th, until that day I am just doing nothing… like self-practice, joining the classes (if we have people), walking around in the jungle (we are almost in the middle of the jungle!), do some trekkings, writing a blog, reading a book, annoying the staff 😉 and enjoying the good food they cook here! Really amazing! Sorry for LP and Laos, but Sri Lankan (vegan) curries, vegetables and the breakfast are amazing!
We have 3 bookings for yoga retreats and regular bookings for the upcoming days, hopefully these regular people will join my yoga classes too😊.
Well, that’s is for now, it’s a bit longer than I had in mind. Next one will be shorter 😉.
💜💚 With love 💜💚
littlemissyoga
P.s: I uploaded some new pictures, check the gallery :).
