Yogataveller, Koh Ngai, Thailand - 1st November 2008 - By: Aubrey Lampkin

I'm reminded how much I love Koh Ngai every time I come back, as do I always recall the magical moment I first set foot on the island (wading through the bath-warm transluscent water from the longtail boat to meet my future colleagues for the first time). There must be some magnetic force on that island where the moment you step foot on it everything just... slows ... down ... and ... doesn't ... matter ... as ... much. Yup, everyting is irie.

Approaching high season in Thailand, Koh Ngai island was almost back to full swing from the past few months of down-time. New resorts had opened, resorts were filling up and different people swept the beaches everyday. New energy rising. Which also meant ... new restaurants and new spas for us to frequent (very important for small island)!

We passed the first few days reading on the beach and soaking in the delicious sun, interrupted by the occasional Thai massage as a brief break and, of course, lots and lots of yoga. Come Wednesday, we decided not to take the perfect weather for granted and scheduled a boat/snorkelling trip to Emerald Cave (Tham Morakot) and Koh Muk to take full advantage of the clear skies and silky seas. I'm fairly certain the creators of the film, 'The Beach' were inspired by Emerald Cave because I can't imagine any natural wonder more similar to what was depicted in that film... and I was thrilled to finally get to experience it with my students for the first time. Emerald Cave is a white-sand beach lagoon hidden at the very center of the island but exposed to the sky. The cave entrance is a narrow passage on one side of the island, accessible by boat only during low tide. We got dropped off at the cave entrance and then (very bravely) swam for about 80 meters in the pitch black (our guide had one flash light to lead us) to access the lagoon, which spilled open onto a pristine white beach with an emerald colored open pool surrounded by high cliffs and jungle vegetation. So absolutely stunning we were all rendered speachless (can't wait to post the photo from Nicky's water-proof camera!). After that, we all went for lunch at a fancy new resort on Koh Muk island with a panoramic view of the ocean, then back home to our island.

 

 

No matter how many exciting activities we do, yoga is always the highlight for me. Teaching is such a joy, especially to a mixed level group. Beginners are always especially fun to teach since they're always so open and eager (as opposed to all us old, jaded yogis - only kidding!). The more you practice yoga (or anything else, I imagine) the more you discover there is to learn. So it's impossible to be a jaded yogi if you are a true yogi. Check out some of our yoga photos:

Other highlights from the week include group seafood dinners at Koh Hai Seafood (my favorite restaurant on the island), a casual little beach BBQ shack serving up fresh catches of the day, Thai massages with the illustrious Miss Mon (who calls herself my 'Thai mama') at Mayalay Sp, to-die-for reflexology and facial treatments at our Thapwarin Spa, 'Warin', a final Thapwarin group dinner on our last night and a boat/mini-bus trip back to Krabi where we all had to say our good-byes... I was off to gorgeous Melbourne for my week off, but excited to come back to my little paradise the following Saturday for my last group there.