Such a fun/exhausting/relaxing 24 hours :)
Yesterday started as every day here has - wake up, 1 hour meditation, 2 hour yoga practice, break/lunch, methodology class, and then our teachers were like... ok... we have a surprise for all of you... IT'S FRIDAY FUNDAY AND WE'RE GOING TO THE BEAAACHHH! Honestly, I can't tell you how happy those words made me. We were all SO tired and SO sore... it was perfect.
We actually practiced headstands and handstands on the beach, which was perfect because it made falling less painful :) After handstand practice we had some beers on the beach, followed by dinner. After dinner is when things got a touch crazy.
I'd heard from friends that Koh Phangan is a party island, but from our sleepy little corner here, I didn't believe them. Honestly, we are in the middle of the jungle, there is a water buffalo that hangs out by our yoga shala and a sweet Thai family who lives behind our bungalow... frogs and crickets sing all night - it's paradise. Until Friday night.
Friday night, starting at 10pm there is a techno rave at a random bar which is hidden in the jungle like 1/10th of a mile from where we live. I had no idea it was there and I have no idea where all of these people came from who showed up for this party, but it was CRAZY. It was so loud that it sounded like we were in the club while we were in bed. Oh... also, the party goes until 10AM.... kill me. Sooooo, we decided, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. It was actually fun to dance for a bit and drink some beers... but, then we came home at 1am or 2am and it was like the music was louder than ever. Ugh. 3 advil pm pills and some great earplugs later and I finally did fall asleep... but I never want to hear techno again.
After waking up and taking more advil for my headache/hangover, we did have a pretty dreamy day. A bunch of us walked to a little beach in the next bay over and laid around in the sun all day. It was magic. There is a little beach bar where you can get food and they also provide rafts and fun water floats to bob around the water on... there was a pizza slice, a unicorn, lips, a weird shark/nemo hybrid, etc. So fun. There is also a huge hippie community who lives around the beach and were dancing in drum circles, playing music and definitely still feeling whatever everyone was on from the night before.
Oh, also, I payed my bill for the week today. Everything including food & accommodations equaled up to around 1700 Baht, which is around $59. I've been eating 3 meals a day, waters, a few beers, and a shocking amount of coconuts.... :) I could definitely stay here for a while, or forever :)