The search for the perfect headstand

When you think Thailand, what do you think? Trying to find my perfect place to do a headstand was a task in and of itself...

Friday night, I get to meet some of my members of my volunteer group! We go to a group welcome dinner. 😊 

We've got people from all over the world. Australia, new Zeland...a surprisingly 3 different people from Massachusetts who never met. A handful of Canadaians, eh! 

 

I notice that it was mostly all women and then there was Scott! He's a cop from Australia. Dad of 2 daughters, so he'll be just fine handling all of us women. He has enough expressions to create a compilation of. He makes all of our group laugh very consistently. And he has our wonderful guide, P to talk manly things with. Good sport this guy. Lucky him huh? 

We spend all of Saturday exploring Bangkok. Hop on a River Boat, head to the market, try questionable things...get lots of fruits!

 

 

 

Then it was time to try the best Thai tea, naturally...being in Thailand and all ya know? Ha. 

This is Jay, she's from New Zeland but lives in Sydney. They call us Shay and Jay.

 

We then take a boat ride the the Temple of Dawn. This is where it would have been INCREDIBLE to do a headstand in front of because of how remarkable it was...but apparently that's disrespectful...so here I am, sitting like a well behaved woman. A picture doesn't lie.

 

Also, I was THAT tourist who didn't have her shoulders covered for the Temple, big no no. I had to buy a scarf...hence why I started looking all hippie. I was walking around and realized that I should have been at a damn yoga retreat with my sandals and floral pants and elephant scarf. 

 

The last stop of the day was to the reclining Buddha  across the river. Holy Buddha, the statue is ginormous. 

You must take your feet off when you enter the Temple, it was a hot 90 degree day in Bangkok...let's just say it might have been holier if people left their shoes ON...(internally gagging at the thought) 

 

I so much wanted to do my headstand here...I mean after all Buddha is laying down, why can't I lay upright? But fine...I'll remain angelic 

 

When we exited, we got blessed by a monk who told us to do three laps around the Temple and make a wish. Being aware of our breathes. 

 

So we walk, and walk, finding it so hard to not be distracted...so many people and so hard to focus on my breathe and not that paper someone dropped at the backside of the Temple that I've walked by 3 times now. I hear some of the other chatter, I think to myself i dont know about you but if a monk tells me to do something I'm gunna do it! My good deeds are giving me one extra combination number for the code to heaven, breathe on! 

Bangkok tour is done and In the morning we head to Surin City Center....a 7 hour bus ride is underway. 

 

We dance and laugh and swap stories, fall asleep and ask "how much longer" at least every ten minutes. 

We arrive! Get told a little bit about the city, the history, the culture so we have a better understanding of what we are here for. 

We go out for the night have a drink and just take in some of the city. 

 

We are officially headed to the elephant village in the morning! We were suppose to be at breakfast by 9. So I get down there about 9:05...thinking where's the food? I sit down and Jay goes, are you just not waking up shay? I'm like...yes, is this a problem? Ask what's for breakfast? She says we already ate about an hour ago. Oh hell. Here ya go again Shayna! 

We were leaving at 9 lol not eating...eating, leaving sounds the same right? 

We load up the truck to head out...

 

 

We are in Thailand Countryside and oh my goodness is it beautiful but eye opening...houses that aren't anything more than some wood and tarp. 

I am taking in all of the beauty of this and just soaking up the moment... my photographer I brought along Snapped a nice photo to show you guys (didn't even know it was happening) jk her name is Jen and she's a nurse from Boston haha. 

 

 We have arrived to Elephant Village! Our new home for the next few days! And there's a mama and her 2 month old baby in the backyard about 20 feet from the porch. 

 

The baby elephant, he's a handful. So incredibly playful. Like runnning back and forth along the fence and trying to eat my hair 

 

I figured that I would have a perfect spot for a headstand op! Finallllllllly! So I try, in the uneven dirt to catch my stability....every time I went up and fell, the baby decided he was going to copy me and was throwing himself backward. 

I started laughing so hard that I couldn't even get a good one!

 

We spent the afternoon, cutting down bamboo with a machete to feed our elephant. 

Talk about a stress relief, who's the one trusting me with this thing? You sure you wanna do that...

We chopped down 3 truck loads of bamboo. Rode on the top of it, in a back of a truck. And had our Ah Ha moment...we are sitting on top of bamboo, that we just cut, for our elephants that are chilling in our backyard...IN THAILAND!!! 

Holy hell life is good.