Senaru

As we arrived on Lombok, we were not yet able to see Mount Rinjani, which is the second biggest active volcano in Indonesia and the one christian and I were attempting to climb, because it was a bit cloudly. We were driven to a small town called Senaru where many of the trekking tours leave from and soon the clouds dispersed leaving us in awe of the wonderful volcano. The town seemed to be a little sleeply and it was only until later, when we were trying to organise a three day, two night trek up to the summit that we were told the volcano path opens on 1st April. That is why there weren't many other tourists! The guide did however try to organise a two day one night trek and we had to go back that evening to see if it was possible. So we had a walk around the beautiful countryside and found a couple from Belgium so sat down and had dinner with them. We then attracted another couple from Australia and had a lovely evening!
The guide found us there and told us that the path was going to be cleaned up by the army over the next week so it really wasn't possible to trek. It was a shame because we were looking forward to it but decided to go on a soft trek with the Australians the next day instead. The most prominant religion in Lombok is Muslim therefore the majority of women do not have jobs but instead they stay at home. However, one group of women in Senaru have decided they also want to earn money and have set up the Women's Association for Guides. We opted for a female guide and she was very thankful that we decided to support the association. Her English was very good and she told us all about the women guides and the trek she took us on was very informative. Within the first 30 minutes we had tried cacao, cucumbers, cashew nuts, smelt random herbs and put oil from a flower in our hair.
Sadly the longer trek wasn't an option so we decided to travel to Kuta which is on the coast.

One thing I am quite looking forward to once I get home is not having to think 'Please meal, don't make me sick again' every time I eat. I am really looking forward to being able to open a fridge and just make something I fancy. I am impressed though that i am only starting to get sick of rice and noodles after 6 months! Time for some German pumpernickel and branston pickle!

Gili Air

Off to the Gili Islands! We were collected from our lovely bungalow on the beach and went to the 'harbour', an area of beach with a few motor boats we had to wade to. It took about an hour to get to Gili T where a few people got off the boat before we went on to Gili Air. The well-known Gilis are three islands, Gili T which is known to be more of a party island, Gili Air, which has a little less party and a little more relaxing and Gili Meno, which is very quiet. There are no cars allowed on the island so people get around using small horse and carts. Each horse and cart has bells on it so everytime one went past I was reminded of Father Christmas on his sleigh. We were again lucky and found some lovely accomodation on the beach. After our first swim we sat in a restaurant to have some lunch and got chatting to two Aussies, a Brit and a German, who we ended up hanging out with for the majority of the time. During lunch on our first day, we noticed some big, dark clouds rolling in and soon enough a big storm was under way and of course, we had to go swimming.
We rented some snorkels and the next day we went with the Brit, Nancy and the German, Lisa, on a snorkelling trip. We were dropped off at reefs around the three islands and saw THREE sea turtles (which I am still super excited about!), a couple of sea snakes and tons of fantastic fish and coral. The sea turtles were amazing! we followed one that was swimming around for ages and they are just so graceful. Unfortunately my lunch did not agree well with me so I ended up being sick for the next few days. Pretty annoying but I managed to get some more snorkelling in before we left. A friend of Christian's was also on the island so we met him for a few evenings and also invited our bungalow neighbour from the Netherlands along and chatted late into the night.
Christian brought his guitar with him so I am getting pretty good at learning how to play. Need to keep practicing though! Gili Air was very relaxing but after a time we felt ready to leave, so our next stop was Senaru on Lombok.

Sorry about the lack of pictures! Indonesian wifi is sadly not up to uploading photos!

Amed

We had a lovely time in Ubud and enjoyed spending time with a Danish couple we met on the way there. Our next stop was Amed. A 2 and a half hour drive through the wonderful countryside and along the coast led us to a quaint fisherman village with a couple of beach bungalows and black volcanic beaches. We chatted (like always) to the driver and he told us all about the last volcano eruption, what he thought about tourism and the Hindu festival Nyepi that was a very big deal in Bali. The Hindu religion practiced in Bali seems to be rather different to that practiced in India. For example, they do not celebrate Holi or Dawali on Bali and they also eat meat, whereas in India they do not celebrate Nyepi and they definitely to not eat meat.
The festival, Nyepi, indicates the New Year and on the 20th there are huge parades with home-made monsters carried through the streets to ward off the evil spirits and on the 21st it is a day of silence and meditation. The whole island shuts down and only hotel rooms are allowed electricity. You are not even allowed out on the streets and the airport totally shuts down for 24 hours. So before this all happened we enjoyed three days in Amed.
Within the first ten minutes we met a young Spanish couple (18 and 20) who were travelling around Asia and had even been to India. They were sleeping in a tent on the beach to save money and were very keen divers so gave us some good tips. We rented snorkels and went to a Japanese fishing boat wreck where there were tons of colourful fish and coral. This was a good snorkelling introduction. The next day Christian and I went diving. I am pretty much a total beginner and Christian has his open water license but the instructor was happy to take us out on two dives for a very good price. the equipment looked good so off we went to what is considered 'one of the world's best diving sites' (I'm sure this is always used for marketing but I was still excited!) the dive was called 'Liberty wreck', which is an American cargo ship that sunk during the Second World War. The instrutor taught me everything I needed to know and off we went. It was pretty nerve racking at the beginning but once I got the hang of everything I relaxed and could really enjoy diving. We saw soooooo many wonderful colourful fish and coral! we even swam through the wreck, something I heard afterwards not many beginners do. We also dove down to 20 metres...something else not many beginners usually do, but it was a fantastic experience. On our way back we got stuck behind a massive ceremony which was a precursor to Nyepi so instead of sitting in a car for two hours we walked with the locals all dressed in white to Amed and the instructor picked us up on the road once he got through the crowd. The locals were so friendly and seemed glad that we had decided to join in!
The next days were spent chilling in the bungalow with the Spaniards, snorkelling and trying some delicious local fish. Something you have to do when you see the fishermen coming in with there morning catch every day.
Next stop on our trip is Gili Air...  

bali

So we have arrived on bali and it is beautiful! First impressions is that the locals are so friendly and smiley. We have already been surfing for a few days which was fun but both had to endure bruises and painful stomach and arm muscles for a few days afterwards. Christian and I both got up on the board quite a few times and it's a great feeling until you fall in and have to swim back again!
We are now in Ubud to have a break from the sun and the sea. It is a quaint town and a lot bigger than I expected. Lots of shops and restaurants and a big yoga vibe. We met a danish couple on the bus and have hung out with them a few times. We went to a salsa class yesterday evening and christian did very well learning the steps. I have never seen such concentration on his face before! He even got up to dance with me and we were the only couple, very brave!

officially a yoga teacher! yippee!

What an incredible month! I have learnt an awesome amount about yoga and I have still only scratched the surface. I met some fantastic, inspiring people and really enjoyed completing the course with them all. Eating delicious organic home grown food everyday made me really appreciate the time and effort the gardeners and cooks put into our three daily meals. I have never felt so healthy and look forward to maintaining this healthy, happy and positive outlook on life.
During the last few weeks we learnt about how yoga could be taught to senior citizens, children and working people to help them all in wonderful ways. we got into groups to plan different workshops for each target group. I was in the children's group and we put together a workshop about being kind to ourselves and each other. The rest of the group had to act like 6-8 years olds and the workshop went really well! We made the kids draw and they made positive self affirmations and then we told a fable about forgiveness using different poses throughout the story which had animal names. For example, one character was a lion so when we introduced the lion everyone did the lion's pose. we got super feedback and I really enjoyed the progress. We all passed the exams and with record results!
So after the ceremony yesterday where we got our certificates we all headed off on our separate ways and I am now in jakarta waiting for Christian so we can fly to bali together! I can't believe it is my last month travelling but I am excited to see indonesia! Surfing, snorkelling, trekking, yoga on thr beach and trying the local delicacies!

week one!

What an amazing week this has been! The group is getting on really well together and we have been concentrating hard on out lessons. There are so many things I'd like to write about.
Firstly I'll write about our daily routine.  We are up at 5.45am everyday and have mediation for 30 minutes. We then have asana (yoga posture) class for an hour and a half. After that we have breakfast and our first lesson starts at 10.15am. We usually start with philosophy and go on to breathing exercises or cleansing techniques. After lunch we have two more lessons during which we learn about the Sanskrit texts yoga originated from and we finish the day learning about the asanas and how to teach them. Dinner is at 6.30pm and we have self study in the evenings.
The food we eat here is all organic and local and we follow a strict sattvic/ragasic vegan diet. This basically means no processed foods or stimulants and very healthy. I have not yet craved anything because the food is so delicious I don't feel like I am missing or being deprived of anything!
We have a group of 25 students from all over the world and we all get on really well. We are also very motivated and enjoying the course so far. The couple who run the course are from brazil and india and are so knowledgable and inspiring. They employ thai people from the local town and they themselves have even started to be vegetarian because they appreciate the health benefits and feel better in themselves.
The first few days were quite difficult because it was quite a lot to adapt to but after the headaches and tiredness passed I had unlimited energy throughout the day and felt really good.
Yoga itself is a fascinating subject and so much deeper and powerful than I ever imagined. I have learnt so much about the yogic lifestyle and its principles which I would really like to try and incorporate into my life once I leave. For example this has been a great motivational boost to totally cut out sugar and processed foods from my diet so I would really like to maintain that. Not even a treat in the weekend!
So here are some pictures of the ashram!

today's the day!

Today I am off to start my Yoga teacher training course and I am very excited. A little nervous but mostly excited. I have been talking about doing this for a long time and I am so glad to have had the support that made me be proactive and find a course. It will be a four week intensive training and i have prepared myself as much as I could. I am looking forward to the mental as well as physical challenge.
 Last night I had an evening with friends I have met in chiang mai over the past few weeks and am sad to leave their great company and this lovely city. we went to the flower festival, watched the beauty pageant and had a celebratory ice cream (there is no processed foods allowed at the course and it's all veggie food so I needed a last unhealthy fix!)
Onwards to the next part of my adventure! !

This is luciano, an Italian guy who rides around with his hilarious thai wife and gives out free hugs!

People doing acroyoga in the park, also circus tricks!

The tourist beauty pageant,  it was pretty cringe worthy.

The local girls were a lot better! All that hairspray!

4 months today!

I have officially been travelling for four months! It seems like I have been away for ages. I am currently spending the last week before my yoga course in chiang mai. It is nice to be settled in one place and to get to know it really well. I am going running and going to yoga classes to prepare. I think the course will be quite mentally and physically demanding so I am also doing some reading too. 

I have met some really nice people doing a massage course and I have very willingly agreed to go to the school to get a few free massages so they can practice. 

At this point in my trip, I have realised I have learnt quite a lot about myself. Things I like and don't like, what I want to achieve and what is important to me. I was hoping for some kind of epiphany telling me what I want to do in the future but I have figured out it doesn't work like that. Meeting new people and spending time in different countries and cultures encourages you to think about life and all of it's wonderful opportunities, almost making it harder to know what you want to do after travelling. 

When you meet other travellers, you generally ask each other questions to try and find out some information about them. I have realised I enjoy asking the questions but don't enjoy answering them and talking about myself. However, it makes you learn more about yourself and appreciate your talents a lot more. A good example of this happened in Pai. The hostel in which I stayed was full of musicians and artists and most evenings a guy called john played live music at a bar in town. We were chatting as a group a few days into my stay and I was asked what I studied, 'German and Music' I replied and he clocked on immediately. 'What instrument?', 'Piano'. He was impressed and the next day he found a keyboard and set it up outside. He wanted me to play but I was too shy, not confident enough in my ability and I was worried I wouldn't live up to whatever expectation the group had. Another day passed and I kept eyeing up the keyboard. I ended up waiting until nobody was around and then I started playing. It felt great, partly because I had really missed playing and partly because no one was there. Or so I thought. 'So you can play!' I heard from the room next door. John came out and I instantly went red but felt pretty good. This gave me a confidence boost and the next night we had a jam session. Everyone played or sang and I was asked to play the piano. I messed up a few times but when I looked up everyone was smiling and I got lots of hugs and people actually thanking me for playing, they had all really enjoyed it and i felt on cloud nine. I may not be the worlds best pianist but that experience has given me such a confidence boast. Many people say to me they wish they played an instrument so I shouldn't be so shy about it. 

Similiarly, when I say I speak German or that I do yoga or that I did a triathlon once or that I love singing or even that I have a degree, it makes you recount these achievements and hardwork that went into them and really appreciate what you can do. 

mae hong son

Once I started to feel better I took the bus to a small city about three hours from Pai. The people here are super friendly and it didn't take me long to find a quaint guesthouse by the lake. There is not too much to do here so I used the time wisely by relaxing, reading, playing my uke and exploring the markets. One evening there was a dance show and girls looked great all dressed up in traditional costume.

pai

I am really enjoying being in Pai. I have met some lovely people and have been having a lot of fun chilling out and going out with them. Last night was one of the american guys birthdays and we played beer olympics, which consists of drinking games played in teams. Considering I had never played the majority of the games I wasn't too bad! We went out dancing afterwards and today has been a chilled day before a big music festival tonight.
The music festival was a lot of fun. We had quite a big group but somehow managed to stay together. I really didn't know what to expect from a thai music festival but I think they did a great job. The next day was spent chilling out at waterfalls, which were very cold and we stopped off at a fruit farm which gives you bowls full of banana chips,  jam, peanuts, fruit and roselle juice and you just have to pay a donation.
Annoyingly I picked up a cold that had been going around so I have had a few bed days. Luckily the people I've met here are super nice and have been looking after me.
Going to take it easy for a few days to make sure I am fit for my yoga course.

so many markets!

Chiang Mai is full of markets. The huge night bazaar is constructed every night and every Saturday and Sunday the walking markets offer their goods to tourists and locals alike. I managed to get there just as the stall owners had finished setting up but it soon got busy! There was really so much on offer I could have bought suitcases full of trinkets and eaten tons of delicious thai food. I tried the local dish, kow soi, for dinner and that was delicious. A noodle dish in a thai curry sauce with chicken. Yum!
I found a fruit stall that sells muesli and yoghurt at another small market so went there for breakfast this morning before going to the visa office. I got chatting to the only other foreigner there who was an 81 year old grandpa escaping the cold in Canada.  We had a lovely chat about travelling as we enjoyed our muesli. He told me a funny story about a Thai man he met with the name pum pui. Apparently his name means 'fat belly', which was what he had when he was born so they called him that! I think Thai people have a wicked sense of humour!
Getting my visa extension for my yoga course was also an experience. As I arrived 30 minutes early thinking I'd beat the crowd,  it was full and there were also two white monks. I sat behind them and eavesdropped, finding out that one was German and the other Russian. I have never seen European Buddhist monks before and it was quite strange.  Totally shaved eyebrows and heads.
I have met a lot of french people in Chiang mai and I am looking forward to meeting more at my next destination, Pai.

Pyin oo lwin

Edward and I were up early to catch a share taxi to a town two hours drive outside of Mandalay. The winding drive took us up through mountains with beautiful autumnal views. We were dropped off at a village 9km from town and noticed a village festival was being set up. We asked what was happening and was told it was Independence Day. We went through the village and started on an hour long trek to a waterfall. The trek was very steep and we were already dreading the walk back up. We met lots of Burmese tourists and locals on the way down. The fall was stunning and we enjoyed sitting, drinking tea and observing the shameless Burmese taking hundreds of selfies. We wanted to start the trek back up before it got too hot and witnessed two rich Burmese kids being carried up the path lying in hammocks attached to a large bamboo. Pretty lazy if you ask me! 

Edward and I managed the steep climb up and was even taken the rest of the way by a pick up can full of very friendly Burmese girls. In between the giggling we found out they were all friends in Mandalay and studied at the university. Once we arrived at the village we found the festival in full swing. Kids were eating ice cream and the men were participating in local games. One was a tall piece of bamboo that had lots of oil on it and the guys had to try and climb it. The locals found it very funny when the guys slid down. Another game was two men sitting on a piece of bamboo with a pillow in one hand that they had to use to try and hit the other guy off the bamboo. There was a great atmosphere and we got lots of smiles and 'hello's like always.

We ventured into town once our stomachs began to grumble and found a very busy Indian restaurant. We were given a lot of food and it was very tasty. Next stop was the national botanical gardens. We had a walk through an aviary and saw some lovely looking birds and a cheeky monkey being fed by a monk. There was also a music festival. We didn't have tickets like the locals but were told we could go in for free just because we were tourists. This shocked us both because we are usually always charged at least 5 times more than the locals! 

After a long day we got a shared taxi home and had a very yummy dinner! 

Chiang Mai

Arriving in Chiang Mai was a refreshing change from Myanmar. As much as I enjoyed it, it was nice to come to a clean city with more backpackers and plenty of places to sit, drink tea, do yoga and enjoy a good meal. As soon as I arrived at the airport I befriended a nice Swedish couple and we shared a taxi. Luckily they also had a cheap hostel in mind so I didn't have to search for ages to find one! After a relax and unpack we headed to the night market for some dinner. It was packed and full of touristy souvenirs but is was nice to be out and about.
I spent the next day relaxing and researching fun things to do in Chiang Mai. Also had a necessary shop for electronics and managed to do some good bargaining. I went along to a great yoga class in the evening. I was quite sad I didn't manage to do yoga in Myanmar.  It wasn't because I was lazy and didn't go to a class but I couldn't find one anywhere once we had left Yangon. So I will have to make up for it in thailand.
Today I went along to a fantastic cooking class and ate my weight in thai food. I made pad thai, spicy prawn soup, curry paste and green curry and a papaya salad. I even got a cooking book so I will be cooking you all something when I get back. :-) lucky you!!

At the market learning about the different ingredients and realising it's going to be pretty hard finding it all in Germany.