On Vibodha's 30th birthday morning, I ordered us breakfast in bed.

I gave him the book I had compiled for him. I wrote to people and asked them to write about him and send it to me.

I bought him some wonderful shirts, he is wearing one of them in this photo...

There were some beautiful things said. See a selection of the book here: Happy Birthday

Later that afternoon, Nirmal and the family took us out for a beautiful Indian Meal, it was absolutely delicious.

Hartiff and the girls then presented him with a cake, which was homemade and yummy!!

We all sang"Happy Birthday" and munched away!

Nirmal and his family are so lovely.

Also Gary and Jessica gave him a wonderful cake and we sat up in the Club Lounge and ate it with a nice cup of tea.

We were so stuffed by the end of that day!

Happy Birthday EJ!

Then we have a life changing moment. Things in the business were not going as we wanted them to. The other partners have differing business philosophies and practices than we do. Vibodha and I talked for many nights about how we felt, and decided that we were not in integrity and it was time for us to leave.

Although we were disappointed at the time that things had not worked out the way we had been working hard towards, we were relieved to be on our own again and able to make our own decisions in our life.

"Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely."
~The Land Before Time

So we decided to take some time out to have a break and to evaluate where we are in our life. Koh Pha Ngan was our destination. My Mum and Dad also happened to be in Thailand at exactly this time, so we also arranged to meet up with them in Phuket, as you will see!

We followed our instincts, the way we have been doing for the last 3 and a half years. We trusted and leapt even though we felt fear...

We knew that Nirav was on Koh Pha Ngan so we headed to him. When we got there we found out that Vistara was there too, she had come back the day before after a trip to Perth.

We had a great reunion night and we settled into the bungalow, up on the hill, right next door to them. Fabulous.

It felt great to be out of the environment of Mastery International and to start to relax, unwind and be ourselves again.

Back on the beach again, swimming 3 or 4 times a day, walking along the beach, reading and relaxing. Pure heaven.

I am so grateful for everything I have in life.

This is the view from our bungalow.

Vistara and Nirav had settled into a regular routine and we just jumped on their bandwagon! We hired a motorbike and went on a provisions trip to Thong Sala.

Vistara and Nirav showed us all their favorite food shops and we stocked up with tons of great fruit; pineapples, apples, custard apples, grapes, mangos...delicious!!

So now on Koh Pha Ngan, I sit overlooking the ocean, tempted to dive into the water before sunset and imminent darkness.

We have being eating, talking, laughing, meditating & mostly sleeping!!

I can't seem to get enough sleep; I must be catching up on a few years!!

This is Vibodha is doing the expenses, sitting in the wooden deck with his laptop and receipts lying everywhere.

This morning we did Dynamic Meditation and then swam in the ocean for an hour or so, the water was so turquoise it was one of my all time favorite swims.

Find out about Dynamic Meditation here.

It really is so relaxing here.

We sit in our bungalow and drink lavender tea using a little electronic water heater.

Later we went out on a sunset walk, and treated ourselves to a nice warm shower! Many of the bungalows here do not have hot water, so we have paid a bit extra to have it.

The only decision we have to make now is whether we are hungry or not?

Maybe we will wander down to the restaurant and eat the most delicious food on the island.

We took a trip to the north side of the Island.

E.J. drove the bike most of the time, although I did have a lesson and learnt to ride it too. (see pic)

I gave up after a few minutes, as I nearly put myself and the bike into a hedge. I was attempting to simultaneously stop the bike using the hand break and give it gas using the throttle!!!! [Not a great idea, I know - I'm just learning!].

I did manage to stop it and was immediately FORCED back on to the bike again by my persuasive husband. I then took us both for a spin until we got to the main road again. Slowly slowly I'm getting it.

NOTE: Since then I have learned and am riding the bike all the time in Chiang Mai.

Had a swim on another bay and got beautifully tanned as we headed back home, I just had my bikini top on as it was so hot. I recommend this life to anyone, just dive in!

Our little tree top bungalow is luxury; pricey for the island. We are spending $15USd per night here you can get one as cheap as $4 per night.

Chris and Shawn, and Dunc and Helen plus many others of you out there would enjoy it here!

See a snapshot view of Koh Pha Ngan here.

It's ten minutes to seven on Saturday night and its pitch back outside, all I can hear are the ocean waves and the crickets making a distinctly tropical sound.

The fishing boats are fishing off the bay and their lights are very bright, they fish all night.

I am happy to be sleeping. I think I shall retire for the evening and relax, good night.

Good morning it's Monday 14th October, and we've just been hunting for the Marmite to put on our toast. We love it now thanks to Helen and Dunc!

I have just made a cup of lavender tea and we are doing some computer work and emails in preparation for our bi-weekly provisions and Internet trip into Thong Sala.

Vistara and Nirav go in on Monday's and Thursday's and we have just adopted their routine. The only difference is that they do the 6 miles by BIKE and we do it by MOTORBIKE!! [They're crazy and really fit!]

At 4pm we went to visit Nirav's Thai friends on Haad Salad, a neighboring beach.

We walked over the hills, were you had to make sure of your footing, as the roads were steep and rocky.

Vibodha started a football match with the 2 Thai kids on the beach. What a wonderful way to bring up kids, the family all hung out with us for a couple of hours and then just waved as we left.

It was fun, especially on the way home in the moonlight!

My Mum and Dad will be in Phuket now - we will join them in 9 days time and then go up to Bangkok with them.

In the meantime it's relaxing, reading, swimming, eating how delightful!!

Our experiences on Koh Pha Ngan have been so far removed from our life in KL.

We saw very little sunlight at all while we were in KL, we ate pasta and pizza and pastries.here it is fresh everything - sunlight and food!!

Good Morning it's now Thursday 17th October and we have been having great fun.

On the way home on Monday E.J. saw a little kitten sitting on the road, it was so frightened and hungry and we were concerned that it was going to get run over, so we packed it up in our fruit basket, which we just bought at the last minute before leaving town, and wrapped her in the sarong and brought her home.

She has been here now for 4 days and is recuperating. She now has a real spring in her step.

We named her Chok Dee or "LUCKY" in Thai.

She is a divine delight and is such fun and she is so cuddly, we all really love her.

Vistara and Nirav, would you believe it, actually had cat food!

We were concerned that as vegetarians she would not have a lot of choice dishes but she likes Durian Chips, Strawberry Yogurt, Omelet, Porridge, and Milk [obviously]. But most of all she likes cuddles.

We took her down to the beach so she could see the ocean!

We all took turns playing with her and looking after her. She moved from sleeping "outside", to sleeping in the "bathroom", to sleeping in with us underneath the mosquito net. She was crying so we wanted her to feel that she was safe, she is so little!

We have fallen in love with her..but now comes the decision... could we keep he and bring her traveling with us? Probably not very practical or good for her...

In Thailand people are not big cat people, they prefer dogs, so the only chance of someone looking after her is by taking her to the monks at the temple.

So today we are doing that - We are VERY SAD.

It Looked like a trial run for a baby ...Chok Dee took all our attention, we worried about her, we LOVED her unbelievably and it altered our relationship with each other.is that about right!!!??

Here are some pictures of her. Chok Dee or Lucky.

We decided to take a tour for a few days to the other side of the Island, another great recommendation from Nirav.

We went to Thong Nai Pan, Thong Sadet, Thong Reng & "The Sanctuary"

We met lots of new people and had many new experiences.not to mention the amazing beaches and views!!!

This is the most amazing beach at Thong Reng, a very friendly little bay with only 15 bungalows.

Thong means "harbor".

The Thai word for beach is "Haad" as in Haad Yao and Haad Rin.

Our most enjoyable time was at Thong Reng, which was the tiniest of smallest of most beautiful beaches!!!

The huts are $6.00 per night and had a heavenly view.

The people were really friendly and we met Mari, a girl from Northern Ireland, and her husband Rich, from California and their two young kids Luan and Kiai. How inspiring they are to us!

They are great, not to mention the other 10 or so people who we ended up hanging out with.

We had a great time, the food and the company were superb!

We spent most of the day in the crystal blue ocean, watching cruise ships pass by.

One late afternoon, the heavens opened up and there was a huge downpour.

Vibodha went running into the sea. A few others came running in to join him. It looked like so much fun I couldn't just be a "watcher", so i got into my bikini and ran down too.

It was an awesome feeling... The ocean is so warm that you are cold out in the rain and hide under the waves for warmth. It was a spiritual experience floating on your back face up towards the rain and lying in the warm sea water. One not to be missed!!

We hiked up the waterfall nearby, where many Kings of Thailand have visited.

They leave their mark on the stones in the form of a drawing.

The current King has also been there.

They have good taste!

The next morning we got up and caught the boat to another beach on the South East of the Island, and visited "The Sanctuary".

The Sanctuary is a retreat, filled with delicious vegetarian gourmet cuisine, massage, yoga, meditation and relaxation - and of course on the beautiful beach in the hot hot sun!!

We had brunch with Mari, Rich and Family, Vistara and Nirav, of course, and then had a massage up in the SPA.

We both got hour long massages for $20.00 for both of us!! It is so inexpensive to live here in Thailand.

Mari is a "Doula", which means she is a spiritual birthing partner for a woman in labor. She is so wonderful I can imagine it would be amazing to have her with you during that special time. She had both of her children naturally.

We came back then to Haad Yao after 3 days away on the East Coast, and had an early night.

We are sleeping 10 - 12 hours per day - when the sun goes down our body say it's tired!! We are so used to controlled bedtime and here the dark controls that. It is an interesting experience.

Today we did this work on the web site and took many swims in the water and walks along the beach whilst doing it.

After 2 wonderful weeks on this relaxing Island, we were set to leave for Phuket. My Mum and Dad had been in their resort already for over a week and we were going to join them.

They paid for us to stay in their luxury resort - hurrah!! I think I may get to have a hot bath!

In a hurry? See more beautiful pictures of the trip here: Laguna Beach Resort

The flight from Koh Pha Ngan to Phuket is only $50 and it takes 1 hour.

We got to the Laguna Beach Resort around 9.30am. We wandered around looking for Mum and Dad.
It was a great chance to check the place out...they really do have great taste in accommodation!

Then in the distance saw them...I went running....It is great to see them, huge hugs all round. They are looking brown and relaxed.

Phuket is much more expensive than the East side of the Island where we came from.

The Resort is sculpted in Balinese style, with lots of beautiful stone work, a hot outdoor jacuzzi, cold plunge pool, lots of swimming pools, all very artistically done.

Learn some Facts about Phuket.

We relaxed there with Mum and Dad for 2 days.

We sunbathed out on the lawns, ate beautiful evening meals.
The first night the restaurant owners came to pick us up at the hotel, free, and they treated us so well. We got free dessert and we treated like royalty. And the meal was about £10 for all of us!

The other meal was just at the side of the ocean. Hearing the sound of the water lapping as you eat in candlelight is magical.
It was two days of luxury and relaxation.

We jet skied around the magnificent lakes.

This huge complex has 5, *****star hotels...Laguna Beach won the 2002 Thailand Tourist award - it is simply divine.

It is priced around $100USd per night which is very upmarket for Thailand but very cheap for all those westerners with plenty of money!

We had a great stay. To see more beautiful pictures of the trip click here: Phuket

We arrived in Bangkok...

In a hurry? See the photos now: BANGKOK 2002

See also:
Bangkok Temples
Bangkok Barge Trip
Bangkok River Taxi

On the first night we were there we visited Pat Pong, which is the notorious red light district of Bangkok.

There photo is of the street market in the center of the small lane.

On the sides of the small lane you are asked to go inside to see all manner of "sexual displays" I won't elaborate by "gifted" Thai women.

You look inside the clubs from the street and see scantily clad girls dancing around poles, sometimes 10 to one stage.

I did have to say that they did not look like they were having a good time in ANY of the many bars we saw from the market. They looked depressed and you couldn't really say they were "dancing".
I think these are the women they put closest to the door to bring you in and then you would see the other "shows" further inside.

There were many shopping bargains to be had in Pat Pong you have to barter, bargain for your price.

TRAVEL TIP: BARTERING
A general guide it to go in at 70% LESS than the price they quote you and when you start to walk away you will get the nest price you can. Example we had a watch that started off at 1850Baht and ended up at 225Baht!! So you can always get a great price when you bargain, and the Thai's enjoy the game of bartering!!

They went up by train. When they got there they took a trip on the "Death Train" over the bridge. They visited the cemetery were thousands of the allied soldiers lost their lives constructing this bridge. Apparently it was supposed to take 5 years to build the bridge, according to architects, but the Japanese drove the Prisoners of War so hard that they had built it in 18 months with many many lives lost.

They were gone from 7am until 7pm and were sleepy when they got home. You can take the trip independently or with a group.

We, on the other hand, went walking locally, took a tuk tuk around to some of the temples, had 2 suits made for $200USd each.

Nirav and Vistara arrived that night 12 hours LATE. They missed the train and ended up getting a taxi, boat, taxi, boat and bus to Bangkok and they had to stay overnight in Surathani, not that nice a place really.

On Sunday Mum and Dad came over to see How the "Other half live" in our guest house.

This is a picture or Khao San Road at night.

We went for breakfast at Khao San Road. The food here is so cheap with a breakfast for 2 of a huge bowl of muesli, fresh fruit and yogurt costing £1.00.

Next we went for a massage, to a small typical Thai place were there are lots of mattresses on the floor and you all lie next to each other and get massaged at the same time.

Dad was a bit dubious to start with; it is not the luxury surroundings he is used to.

Mum and I had a foot massage, which was the first time she had ever had one, reflexology for 1 hour for $4USd!
The others all got 1 and a half hour long Thai Massages for the same price!!

Thai massage can be sore; they really work at you. Some of the contortions the others were being put in made Mum and I laugh [and we were relieved that we were at the pineapple and tea stage!!]

Next we took a tuk tuk, and hurtled our way to the taxi boat.

We all leapt on, it moves away very quickly, there is no real margin for error.

It is a scenic ride, although a little smelly, and the water is very polluted.

You see how some of the Thai's live on the edge of this river, it brings feelings of compassion and gratitude. See photos of the River Taxi ride here.

Even with the squalor, the Thai's who live by the river, seem to be very happy and contented.

It really puts the West to shame sometimes at the way we complain about silly little things when others live in such dirty and poor conditions.

I don't know how the shops survive along the river hanging out their wares for the people who walk between the houses and the rivers along the small narrow paths.

On Monday we went to over to the Landmark Hotel to visit Mum and Dad, it was a very nice hotel.

We had a great snack of croissants and cinnamon rolls in a nearby cafe and discovered that Mum and Dad had been for another massage that morning which was great!!

We got picked up at their hotel to make out way to River City and the take off place for the LONG BOAT and RICE BARGE tour up the river.

It as GREAT and well worth the 400Baht!

E.J. and I got in at the very front and the long boat went really fast up the river, the views of the houses and other buildings on the ways one was spectacular.

On the way back we changed over unto a Rice Barge and had fresh fruit and juice on a more leisurely ride back. The view of the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Dawn were magnificent.
There was so much traffic on the river.

We saw another side of Bangkok that I had not seen before, the 5 star hotels along the river were stunning. The river view shows Bangkok much cleaner than it is on land.

I highly recommend this trip.

This, unfortunately, was time to say "bye" to Mum and Dad, for this trip.

We hugged. We headed North on a river taxi and they headed back to their hotel. I was very sad to see them go, we had such a wonderful time holidaying with them.

Thanks M & D!!

We met up with Vistara and Nirav at the pier near our Hotel and made our way for the long journey to the very North of the city to visit the IMAX to see SPACE STATION 3D.

We took a taxi, then the sky train.

When we arrived at our destination station it was already 6pm. We needed to get to IMAX by 6.30pm, the traffic was horrible, grid locked.how will we do it?

Then Nirav, our hero, spotted the "motorbike taxis". We had not heard of them before!

Each of us jumped on the back of a motorbike taxi and weaved our way in between the cars and buses, it was fun and something I think I would only want to experience once!!

The drivers are very good and they are professionals, moving you fast in and out of the traffic..I think I was only breathing for half the trip!!

BUT they got us there in time for the show...

IMAX "SPACE STATION" - well what can I say!!! YOU MUST GO AND SEE IT AT AN IMAX NEAR YOU.