Naked Soul Kitchen

This is the first time I am writing a blog from Cambodia this time around and my motivation for writing is nothing less but morbid and disappointing.  The beautiful island of Koh Rong has become a place that I have called home for two and a half months now. People who live there have become my family. The peaceful community on the island doesn't really come across too many huge events and things happen very slowly there. The major gossip tends to be about drunken husbands being rowdy in the village or someone sleeping with someone else that we know. That used to be the extent of worry on our minds when it came to things happening on the island. I've never felt safer anywhere else ive lived. The island was my playground and I was just a kid exploring it on my days off. Last adventure that I had was hiking through the jungle to Long Beach in the afternoon and then camping in the sand dunes where I made a tent out of bamboo, rope and trash (unfortunately lots of it) that I found o...

There are people all around us. People are one of the few things we cannot escape from in this world. Of course, self-isolation is an option, but it seems like a pretty grim existence. After all, our greatest accomplishments in life really become significant when they are shared with someone who cares enough to stop and notice. I am slowly realizing that no matter how happy I am, all of it slowly fades away without being able to share your joy as well as disappointment with another person. Take my current neighbor for example. Oad is an older Thai man who lives by himself with his cats and dogs to keep him company. They seem to be his life at the moment since his children have grown up and scattered all over the world, leaving him alone. He pours his heart out to his animals and to the lucky strangers, as myself, who get to enjoy his kindness and unconditional warmth. One morning he made me pad thai and another, he brought some proper English tea which he got as a present from his ...

I have never been so sore as I am today. That is only after two yoga classes. Parts of my body are hurting that I didn't even know existed. Although part of it is probably due to food poisoning that I got yesterday. Not sure what caused it but it hit me pretty hard. I feel better today but the yoga and all the classes are really weighing down on me. I will survive though :) It's not the end of the world, but rather a small bump in the road. I tried doing a headstand today for the first time which is quite difficult. I am learning though. My goal before the course ends is to properly do one without the help of the wall. Please hold me to it! I will be practicing everyday :) This girl is tired though and with taking the antibiotics, it definitely isn't the best day for me. But I should be back to normal in a day or two (I hope!!). Still looking forward to the rest of the knowledge I hope I will gain and to pushing my mind and body to do some things it has never done be...

The holy city of Pushkar has cast a spell on me and left me wanting more. That place has a special kind of energy that grabs you and doesn't let go. It's a spell or just some good old place for the soul. So here's a short video I made on my last morning in Pushkar. A Little Taste of Pushkar, the Holy City

 It's Saturday morning. The sun had just peeked out from the mist covered mountains casting a soft orange glow over the pure white temples and the holy lake. The sun rays slowly warming up all the devotees bathing in the waters where part of Mahatma Ghandi's ashes were scattered after his death. The priests are already wandering through the ghats, the steps leading into the holy water, offering health, wealth, happiness, prosperity and good karma to those willing to donate money for his services. The gypsy women with their plethora of face jewelry and colorful saris are washing themselves modestly to the side, separate from the men. The morning prayers are starting to echo from different temples surrounding the lake, creating a distorted yet surprisingly beautiful melody. Just outside of there, the streets are slowly waking up, with only food and drink vendors already hard at work. Young local boys are pedaling down the street in all directions delivering milk and fresh ...

The sun is slowly setting over the warm Arabian Sea waters. The beach vendors are huddling by the weathered long wooden fishing boats, saying "Farewell" to yet another business day. More people are coming out to bid goodnight to the fiery orange sun and avid sun addicts are still trying to catch the last rays of the day. The theme of the party is "Arambol: the beginning of the end" and everyone is invited. Between all the stray dogs and the funky Indian store owners, I will surely miss this place. The people I have met, the adventures that we purposefully seeked and those that just stumbled upon us, will forever be ingrained in my memory. Riding on motorcycles, late nights, fire shows, witnessing incredible sunsets and laughing until my cheeks hurt. All of it has been amazing... For some reason though I haven't been keen to write much while being here in Goa. I guess my social schedule has been keeping me busy and the chilled out atmosphere of Arambol has t...

Wow. I don't know where to start. I have been taking in the world that is India for a little more than two months now; crazy, strange, funny, beautiful, so forgiving yet very strict. India is the place where spirituality thrives, while daily demands take the soul out of a person. And that's how it is here in this wonderful place. Homeless women are clad in the brightest color saris and looking classier than the classiest women on the red carpet. Boys and men of all ages hold hands all the time and embrace each other as if they were lovers. But they're not, well most of them aren't, they're just friends showing effection towards each other. Men stop and stare at a woman just because she's foreign and light skinned. But I'm not talking about just staring. They turn into giggling teenagers, as if they're talking to a girl for the first time. Silly! Silliness, I tell you! Going through the typical questions asked by almost all Indians. "What is your g...

We all more or less have gotten used to our daily schedule. Rising early to start our day with Mr. Praveen for two hours of ashtanga yoga. Then having an hour for breakfast and recovery after which we run back upstairs to learn the theory of the postures we are doing in the morning class. That class is also with Mr. Praveen. We learn the benefits, the limitations and the ways to teach the asanas to our future students. After that follows the last class before lunch and our day time break; the yoga phylosophy class. It was taught by Mallika, a lovely 65 year old woman, at the beginning, but we have been getting a member of the ISCON, Iternational Society for Krishna Consciousness, teaching the history and the phylosophy of a true yogi in the past few days. A lot of the things we are learning is pretty heavy and not necessarily everything I agree with, nonetheless, it is very interesting. The swami has been bringing us some food from the temple everyday, which has been delightful each t...

I had these ideas of where I was in terms of my yoga practice understanding, the spirituality of it, my flexibility and many other elements that are involved in the practice of yoga, but all of that knowledge was shaken up today. There is so much that I need to learn and understand about this practice which has existed for thousands of years. All the knowledge that I thought I had needs to be put aside and I need to be like a child. Learning from zero, taking everything in, understanding, believing, and finally, putting it all to practice. The view facing the mountains.Studio on the left. This morning's two hour Ashtanga Vinyasa practice was the hardest and most difficult session of yoga I have ever done, both physically and mentally. There is so much I still need to learn and practice, practice, practice. My body was shaking and so was my mind. As difficult as it was, after those two hours with Praveen, our instructor, I felt better than I...

After a thorough research on the internet about how to get to the three breweries that are in Chennai, I journeyed out to one of them. It was a hot day, not unlike any other day here in Chennai. I got to the bus stop at around 11:00 and did not get to the brewery until 14:30. Although the place was only 30 minutes away if driving with car, public transport and lots of leg work turned into 3.5 hours. Like any journey in a foreign country, this one was sprinkled with frustration, laughter and the grace of kind strangers. After an hour on a city bus, inhaling dust and automobile fumes, I reached the final stop of Poonamelea. A few inquiries later, I found a tuk tuk driver who knew the location of the Empee Brewery. Or so I thought... The price was negotiated and I was taken on a very short ride to a place which was nowhere near where I had to be. The older, gray haired driver dropped me off on the highway where the actual brewery was located. The little thing he did neglected to menti...