Picture this: lying on a hammock with the sun kissing your skin, waves lapping up the sand in front of you, coconut trees and all sorts of birds around you. Yup, that's exactly where I am now. Can't write too much now, too much tanning to do before the rain comes...
Not bad, we got two hours of sun today! A quick shower later and we were on our way to explore the nearest village which we were told was just 2km away, so we set out on foot. Half a km down the road we had to stop as we were about to die of sunstroke. Being India, a tuktuk was not far away and we got swept up by our very sweet driver from yesterday.
We arrived at the village and started hunting for our
Oooh, forgot to mention the yoga session this morning. Early, but awesome. I am completely useless at yoga and thought I was doing so well by reaching my shins during a move only to look up and see Nancy and the instructor with their heads on their knee's! Just a little practice i guess.
When we got back to the hotel, we opened up our leaves and saw our bangles with knots in them, along with some flowers, powder and some paste that we were instructed to put on our foreheads. What an amazing experience.
Not bad, we got two hours of sun today! A quick shower later and we were on our way to explore the nearest village which we were told was just 2km away, so we set out on foot. Half a km down the road we had to stop as we were about to die of sunstroke. Being India, a tuktuk was not far away and we got swept up by our very sweet driver from yesterday. 
We arrived at the village and started hunting for our
coconut spoons but instead came across a bhindi shop. A photo shoot and bag of bhidi's later we spotted an elephant walking along the road and convinced our driver to follow him. Turns out he was on his way back home at the Shiva Temple and we were allowed to watch them bath him and then take photos, at a cost, of course.
Oooh, forgot to mention the yoga session this morning. Early, but awesome. I am completely useless at yoga and thought I was doing so well by reaching my shins during a move only to look up and see Nancy and the instructor with their heads on their knee's! Just a little practice i guess.
Later that afternoon I went to go try out the meditation session, just like Elisabeth Gilbert. No one else arrived so I got a one on one lesson from the most amazing man. He was a gentle, kind man and giggled after almost every sentence. With the sound of the sea crashing and the wind in the trees we did an hour session that seemed to fly by. I walked out of there feeling lighter and happier. Incredible man.
Straight from the shed I met up with Nancy at the shop for a sari demonstration. The music was turned up for us and Annie and Sanje started the insane process of putting on a sari. Hells bells, what a process. I have a brand new respect for all woman that dare to temp this puzzle piece of a garment. Starting with a 6.5/7 meter long piece of gorgeous fabric and the twisting and turning begins. I would be here for hours if i try and explain it all but I'll tell you what, you feel like a million bucks in them once you are dressed, be it the casual way or the formal way.
With both of us dressed in our sari's we started a little fashion show and I casually remarked that they would be perfect for our temple visit later that night, swishing my sari behind me. Next thing we knew, we were back in our rooms and Annie had organised two sari's, two tops and two skirts for Nancy and I, just like that. So a couple minutes later we were off looking all snazzy in our new outfits.
At the temple we bought some red string which is known as Kalava or Charadu is tied on wrist by Hindus before the beginning of a religious ceremony. The thread is tied to invoke the blessings of the Hindu deities especially of the particular deity to whom the puja is dedicated. In this case it was dedicated to Shiva, the destroyer. A little bit of info, Shiva is responsible for change both in the form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of destroying the ego, the false identification with the form. This includes shedding old habits and attachments.
All that has a beginning by necessity must have an end. The power of destruction associated with Lord Shiva has great purifying power, both on a personal level when problems make us see reality more clearly, as on a more universal level. Okay, lesson over.
At the temple we were asked for our names, which was written on a paper in Hindu and then with the strings, given to the monk. We took our shoes off and went to stand at the entrance of the main temple and then started watching what was to me, the most amazing ceremony. After some time I was handed a little package wrapped in newspaper from one of the other monks, I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do with it. Hand it to the main monk? Take it home? Give it up as an offering? Luckily we found a guy walking around that told us it was some food for us to take home and eat. It was so sweet of them, it was a traditional dessert that we were given and even though it looked super dodgy, it tasted amazing. Anyway, back to the ceremony. I think we must have been there close on half an hour and i watched with admiration as flowers flew around, candles danced and monks beat drums. Then we were called by the monk and handed a big banana leaf folded in half.
When we got back to the hotel, we opened up our leaves and saw our bangles with knots in them, along with some flowers, powder and some paste that we were instructed to put on our foreheads. What an amazing experience.
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