Have you ever lived the same day twice? I got as close as you could making the 2 day trip from Koh Samui to Tahiti. As I closed out my detox in Koh Samui, on my exit consultation, I found out that there is a special and proper way to come off of a detox. It was something that didn’t cross my mind until that moment. The naturopath told me that I needed to stick to raw foods, with no dairy or meat for the next 4 days post my detox. How was I suppose to pull that off while on a plane for 2 days with long flights and layovers? I didn’t want my hard work and this wonderful clean feeling to go to waste so I somehow managed to comply although it took some finesse on my part. Luckily, we had a 9 hour lay over in Singapore which let me stock up on nuts and fruit for my next few flights.
After living in New Zealand for 3 years and having long layovers in LA and San Francisco, I have learned the art of maximizing your time outside the airport during layovers. I had some help planning out my 9 hour plan by randomly running into the same person twice on my travels. Her name is Jeanne and she is the owner of the yoga studio in Singapore that I did Earth Yoga with at the beginning of my trip. I ran into her again as she is a silent owner of the Yoga/Detox retreat center, Absolute Sanctuary, in Koh Samui, and happened to be there helping out with a teacher training while I was there detoxing. Once more on my travels I am shown just how small a world this can be. I am also learning how when you run into someone twice while traveling abroad, in 2 different countries, it may happen for a reason. In Jeanne’s case it was for great conversation about yoga and owning a studio and retreat center. She was also a wealth of knowledge in getting us to a yoga class, grocery store, and to a salad place during our layover in Singapore. I also must say that as I have these long lay overs the best cure for the time and my body/sanity is some form of exercise be it yoga or a run. Yoga, preferably, as it does wonders for relaxation, breathe, and stretching the body after sitting for so long. With Jeanne’s help, I was a happy girl with my yoga practice complete and healthy, raw food setting me up for a great flight to Auckland.
But before I leave Southeast Asia I realized I have some apologies to make. I must apologize to the sewer companies in Cambodia and Thailand. As their systems are not that sophisticated even for the simple act of peeing. I did not adopt the habit of tossing the toilet paper in the waste basket instead of flushing it and I just could not get myself to pick up the water hose next to the toilet to use post bathroom, either. I am sorry for any troubles this may have caused your sewer system but my bathroom habits come from 32 years of experience and I just could not adapt. And the times I remembered, it was too late and I ended up just wasting paper by balling it up and putting in the trashcan just so I could say “I did it.” That habit I could seem to pick up but the other…..sorry about that. For this, my honest apologies, but to the bathroom gods….thank you for sparing me the embarrassment of blocking one of these “gentle” toilets while I was in there. I was scared a time or 2 but you came through for me as you knew I honestly tried but could not seem to pick up these new bathroom habits. I know I will face these “gentle” toilets again and I promise to make a better effort in the future.
Now on to Thursday, I am once again in Auckland for a layover that was rather quick. I took time on this stop to take in my last few moments on NZ soil. I couldn’t believe that it had been almost a month since I left. Where did the time go? I realized that it hasn’t fully hit me yet that I will not be returning to New Zealand when this trip is over. All the logistics point towards my move but for some reason out of habit of always returning after a trip over the last 3 years I can’t grasp it. I guess this habit will die hard as well with my Western bathroom
while in Third World Countries.
Yet I can say almost a month later back in the Auckland something feels different. Something even felt different when I was in Singapore since that was were this trip began. I am reading the book Blink by Malcom Gladwell and he speaks about the concept of “thin slicing.” The thought of this is the fact that we can grasp a lot about someone or something by only a few moments of time although we may not be able to explain why or how something is. In the those few moments something inside of us tells us exactly what we need to know. For me, I had 2 of those moments, once in Singapore and another on my flight to Tahiti when crossed the international date line officially drawing the momentum of the trip towards the northern hemisphere and US. As with “thin slicing,” I can’t fully explain how I am feeling but something in me tells me that I am one step closer to the full realization of my move back to the US and that something is in fact different.
I am not yet there though! I have another bucket list item ahead….Bora Bora! My second to last flight got me into Papeete late into the evening, on Wednesday, again, reaching the 36 hours of traveling mark. After 3 days of detox, approaching 2 days post detox with nutrition intact, and 2 days of travel, my body was ready to sleep while actually laying down to get a full nights rest. I got to bed exhausted but still am reminded of how blessed I am to be one step closer to my dream of visiting Bora Bora and how wonderful this journey has been….apologies and all. As I lay in bed, I hear the clear water outside crashing on white sands and it is calling my name. I can’t answer yet. One more flight in the morning to paradise. Papeete to Bora Bora here I come!!!