So this is the last blog entry for a while…. After a good 18 months gallivanting around Asia (with a 4 month stint at home in the middle) I am back in New Zealand theoretically for good! I say theoretically because we all know its highly likely I will have the urge to go on another big adventure… life is too short, the globe is too big and there are plenty more adventures to be had!

No, seriously – I am home for good. I even signed a permanent contract (I can say the ‘P’ word now),I signed up for an 18 month gym membership, have a contract with vodaphone. Gosh, I even bought a new bed.

Its good being back in Wellington, I feel a lot more settled than when I moved back home after my other OEs (2yrs in Bangkok, 2yrs in Belgium). I think I may actually settle this time. It’s funny though, I’ve come a full circle… I got the exact same job I left in Aug 07 back (I am even sitting at the same desk) and I have moved back into one of my old flats… it’s almost like I never went away.

So my friends… this is it. For now…. home sweet home

So, as you know after I finished up being a wannabe yogi in India I headed back to Thailand to stay with my dad. I was pretty broke and needed to sort myself out – so Dad’s seemed to be a very good place to go! Thanks dad.

After India I couldn’t get over how nice, clean and quiet Bangkok is! I found the infrastructure to be overwhelming; it was like being back in the modern world – fast cars, motorways, mega shopping malls – consumerism everywhere – talk about a direct entry back into the rat race. I noticed an absence of rubbish, an absence of men urinating in the street, and of course… a serious absence of city cows! I guess it is kind of lucky I didn’t go straight back to NZ from India or I would have really had a sensory overload – all things are relative huh?!

While at dads I helped him out with a few projects, soaked up the warmth and enjoyed eating good Thai food and hanging out with family. I washed my clothes using a washing machine for the first time in months (instead of a bucket) and I had the longest nicest longest hot shower (much to the detriment of my Indian tan!) It was good to be back in into civilisation.

So I ended up spending about 8 weeks at Dads all up… during this time I managed to get my old job back in NZ, found a flat (ironically it’s the same flat I lived at before going overseas), had a side trip to Malaysia, went to the beach, had a day trip to Ayutthaya, ate plenty of good food and booked tickets to New Zealand!

Here is a random selection of photos, mostly of family and food!

After India I flew to Thailand to stay with my dad and sort my life out. I had made the decision to move back to New Zealand (for good) and so was in the process of applying for my old job and finding some where to live. No better place to do that from than Dads nice house in Samaturprakarn!

My Thai working holiday visa expired while I was in Indi so I this time around I was on a standard 30 day tourist visa – unfortunately this meant I could only stay in Thailand for 30 days…. the silver lining to this grey cloud was a side trip to Malaysia.

My little brother Mike was in the same boat as me (visa wise) so we caught the overnight train down from Bangkok to Hat Yai. The train ride itself was pretty uneventful; we hung out in Hat Yai for a few hours (also uneventful) had some atrociously bad eggs (which Mike seemed to enjoy) and then got a minivan to Penang in Malaysia. Most of the forang (foreigners) on the mini-van were also doing the visa run, spending a day or so in Malaysia and then heading back to Thailand.

About 20 hours after we left Bangkok we arrived in Penang…. I was a bit tired and grumpy. We found a fairly cheap place to stay and then went to explore before catching up with a friend of mine Rob and his family. Rob, Sefong and William were staying at a posh hotel so we hung there and went for a swim (bliss). The next day Mike and I did some more exploring. We checked out chinatown and little india, then Mike took me on a random ‘special tour’ (the grand finale was a smelly fish market – thanks mike!). That evening we flew back to Bangkok…. 30 day visa extension granted!!!

Here are some pics from Malaysia:

My brother Mike and his girlfriend Becca are in Thailand. So we all went for a day trip to Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is the ancient capital of Thailand, itis a neat river town with plenty of things to do…. this time we did a river cruise and visited a random temple that has lots of terracotta buddhas.

Ok, better later than never… its time to finish the story of Mysore. This will be short and sweet because I am writing several months after the event! In fact, all I really want to do is post the last of the photos.

The last blog entry, was on the 10th Jan – so really it was only 5 days in Mysore that I didn’t get around to blogging about. From memory, the last 5 days were a bit hectic – picking up contact lenses, last minute shopping and missions to the post office to send stuff directly to New Zealand.

I remember being very unsettled and finding the pranyama difficult, this was mostly because the travel was about to end and I was preparing myself to get back to ‘reality’, I was sorting out getting work and planning the eventual move back to New Zealand. My mind was revving up, filling up with plans and ideas and I guess I was a little anxious about returning home ‘for good’. I remember in the last week my yoga practice improved a lot (after pushing through that really difficult period) – I do remember thinking that it would have been good to stay longer. … even an extra 2 weeks! But, alas – all good things must come to an end.

I am so glad that I finished my Nepal/India adventure in Mysore doing yoga, it was the best thing for me… it was great to stay put for 6 weeks, slow down and focus on my mind, body and spirit (wow, that sounds so hippy). I loved learning about the yoga lifestyle, I arrived in Mysore thinking that yoga was just a form of exercise – I learnt that it is much much more than that.

I am so grateful for my teacher Vinay Kumar… he has shown me that it is actually possible to take control of my mind (very very difficult, but it is actually possible), he taught me the importance of ‘the breath’ and of course – he taught me so much about what my body is capable of in the form of the yoga asanas. I remember the first few days thinking ‘I’ll just be happy if I can touch my toes at the end of this’ and towards the end I was doing all sorts of amazing things… often I would be doubtful of my capabilities but Vinay always knew what I was ready for. He is an amazing teacher, I am so grateful for having the opportunity to be in his class.

So – that is the end of my Mysore story. Something tells me I will be back – Mysore has a certain charm and of course some great yoga schools. : )