Georgetown, Malaysia-Little India-feels like home!

Hello there,
How are you? Well I have spent the last 4 days here in Georgetown, it's amazing when you are in a place you are "supposed" to be all the angst of the other places all come clear. I really get I wasn't supposed to be in Thailand, I just couldn't fully relax. I got here on the Chinese New Year, having no idea that everything shuts down for 3 full days and that I wanted to leave on the 22nd for Bali, but because of the holiday everything was full. So luckily I found a flight on the 25th-the number 25 keeps following me around-I was born on that day, I flew on the day and some rooms I've stayed in and a number of other things, love that number.
So I got here and wondered why the Universe wasn't letting me leave and I realized it's because I LOVE this place! I love the Indian culture, going to the little street stalls where only the Indians and Chinese eat and sit down with them to have a lovely Chai, Roti with Dal, eating it with my right hand only-no left hand help in tearing the roti as the left hand is used to wash when you go to the toilet! They are surprised to see me eat like them, I love it and then they start chatting with me and telling me I look like a local. It's fun. The people here are amazingly friendly, authentic, pretty happy people, they hang out with the people they work with before and after work. They love their people. The Chinese, Indian and Muslims get along great together, they don't let it bother them. Though some laws pertain only to some religions, pretty interesting. The Muslims are 70% of the country, Chinese 23% and the Muslims run the govenment here. It's pretty amazing how everyone just gets along here.
I walk down little India and breathe it in with the incense, the ceramony they do when they open their shops of ringing bells, chanting, bowing, incensing the whole shop and saying prayers, it feels like home to me. Today I was walking down the street realizing I was leaving and I tears started to come-it just feels so comfortable here. I hated to leave India when I had to leave there as well. But I will be leaving today for the mountains of Cameron Highlands to cool off, to hike, to be in nature. It's hot here, well, less hot then Thailand but still you drip from every where within no time of being outside. Yet outside there is at least a breeze and so sometimes is cooler. Fans are pretty much every where.
Chinese New Year was full of Chinese being with their family, going to parks, watching the dragons dancing up and down the streets with drumming, incense so huge-about 6 or more inches around burning on the street, candles and altars burning on the side of buildings. Everyone relaxing.
After checking into one place (Olive Spring Guesthouse), which I think Anne and I stayed last time, not sure though, I found The Blue Diamond, which I know we stayed in for a time last time as well. Sitting there at the Blue Diamond I got to know a great English Family, they have two kids of 10 and 14 years of age, they are traveling for a year. They were great fun. We sat there talking and laughing, watching the street rats come and go through out the restaurant, minding their own business. The roosters would come in and hang out, be petted and will fall asleep on your lap if you let them. They'll even stand on your head if you put them there-this is one thing that Sophie, the little girl loved to do-play with the Roosters. They were great to hang out with for a few days and I gave Tobi, the wife a haircut!!! I love that.
The side walks here are funny, they go right through the restaurants sometimes and if not they have concrete slabs that sometimes are broken and you can fall right through. I don't think they believe in sueing thank goodness. The drivers here are much nicer then in Thailand, they aren't nearly as crazy and they acknowledge you are there and sometimes apologize when they almost hit you. It's sweet really! In Thailand they just would cut you off and not look at you. Thailand used to be much more friendly but honestly I only see them as wanting to make money off of us now. We tourists, farong as they call us, are little dollar signs, so sad as they didn't used to be that way.
My breakfast in my little Indian place is 2RM, which here the money is Ringget and it's 3.5 to the dollar, so it's less than a dollar for a lovely meal. Most meals are less than two dollars, depending on where you are. My room for a private room is $4.00 and if I wanted to have a dorm it would be $2.00. But there is something to having your own room. I used to be the MAJOR budget person but honestly I just like my space and prefer it. Yet when I go to the hills I'll get a dorm room as it's more expensive there and more social to do that. I've had a great time here alone and with people.
It was sad the other day to watch this Indian woman follow her husband around, if he stood up, she did too, if he washed his right hand, so did she, I'm not sure if she ate with him, it seems like he must have but when I looked afterward I only saw one plate. She looked so sad, so beaten down, over weight with protection and so small, slumped over and he looked confident and in power. I wanted to take her in and teach her a thing or two, but that would just really screw up their culture-but not all Indian women are like this, only some over here are. In India the women let the men look powerful but the women run everything. I'm not sure about here.
I met these three men that are businessmen that fly to Bangladesh just to find workers for cheap to work for them and it works for them. It sounds like America with the Hispanic population.
I don't have the photos up yet but I took photos of some of the things they spell funny, on actual signs and billboards, like car-kah, I'm not sure if they misspell police or if it's really this way to them but it's polis to them, and a number of other things.
The drivers in Thailand were amazing how they didn't all hit each other and drove within inches of each other, they'd swerve out in the other lane, the on coming traffic would just move over to let them be there, no honking needed or anger, they move to the inside to take the front before a car, all so close to each other, it's shocking how they do it without accidents, well not as much as us anyway. I saw one accident but it was only 1 or 2 cars involved. And there was no traffic watchers for 2 hours watching, they just moved on from it.
Oh, KFC is here and I saw the other day where they were advertising a sign of fresh herbs on the sign, as if it's healthy or something. The locals think the tourist want to eat there, I tell them how unhealthy it is but they don't seem to understand that. Advertising is very drawing and tells much that isn't true.
So I can go on and on really, but this is probably enough. I am loving Malaysia, I'm happy I'm here, I love the people, it's cooler than Thailand, though still very sticky and drippy. I have gotten my travel legs!!!! I'm off to the mountains this afternoon and will be getting in at 9pm, the guesthouses there are nice enough to come pick you up so you aren't wandering around lost. I'm excited to go hiking and be in nature. I'm bummed I haven't got a chance to record any of the sounds of the insects, it's hard in cities as it's so loud with traffic. The roosters are amazing to wake to and the birds squawk so loud in places, it's beautiful. Really amazing. I'm hoping to do some sound recording soon.
I send you all love, I hope you are well. Please email me at gypsysundancer@yahoo.com.
Big hugs and kisses, Heather
Let your heart shine from the inside out and everything you want will follow and attract to you!

Emerging, Krabi, Dance & Chinese New Year!

Hello there,

I am so happy to be writing you, I seem to have a lot to say. I hope you are well and happy and your heart is singing to it's contentment.

I wrote this yesterday and would love to share it with you!

I woke up this morning to the sounds of birds and hollaring monkeys, the waves splashing against the shore and boats roaring against the water. I opened my window of my bamboo hut to a gorgeous day, fresh air, before all the pollution of the longtail boats and their noise. I pulled back my mosquito net to take in the view of the trees, the sky and the huts around me.

Getting up and walking to the beach 1 minute away the smell of steamed rice filled the air and my took it in, loving the scent. Knowing this is an every day staple in Thailand. I walked out to the beach, breathed in the clean morning air, hearing the calls of "Ao Nang", which is where the boats go to, to get to Krabi. I stretched there on the beach. Still in the shade at 7am, with the cliffs over hanging, the trees surrounding them and the beach and the water accenting everything. It was a stunning morning for a run. I ran the beach 2 times, I felt great! I got my camera for the cool down walk, took some shots and asked myself "why am I leaving today"? Well sometimes it's just time. Here there are really great people-mostly tourists, no culture as there were no locals here before the tourists came really, it's expensive because of that and if yu don't rock climb there is little to do except hike and I did most of the hikes the past 4 1/2 days and don't rock climb. I'm sad to go as I know March 1st they ar tearing down half of all the quaint bungalows, restaurants and cafes to put up a resort and this place will never be the same again. I will never come back as that doesn't appeal to me. Krabi area is the biggest place in SE Asia, at least Thailand, for rock climbing and it's gorgeous here. Stunning! Photos would never capture this place, but I'm trying.

So there are people going on the longtail boats going every where around, kayaking, which I wish I did but I need a partner for that, maybe in Bali. Most everyone here is traveling with someone but they are very friendly. I really get that as beautiful as this place is I miss the culture, the small food stalls and scents that non tourist places have. This place is only 5-8 years old. I have read here, wrote, worked out, played games with some girls that chased me down on the beach from the retreat-they were great! I went for a fabulous Thai massage from a woman named Tu. She was lovely, gentle natured and caring, yet very strong. Get this, the price even here where it's a little more then the mainland is only 200bt-35bt to the dollar! Tu cracked me real good and put me back in place and relaxed me so I could go for a swim afterward and melt in. She was sweet, she'd sing "lay down" "turn over", "sit up", it would start high and then go down in notes. I walked over the hill for my swim-this is the place that gets real muggy as the air doesn't quite get in but the head does so you feel like you are in a sauna, sweat dripping down your nose, in between your breasts and well every where-even off your elbows. My swim was lovely in the luke warm water. I came back via the rocks on the ocean, these things are trecherous (sp?), I mean so sharp they could stab you dead in a moment. What this water has done to them who knows. But being careful is a must.

So my last day there was beautiful, very relaxing and made me not want to leave after a wonderful dinner with friends. In fact the next day I didn't leave until 1:30pm as I wasn't ready. But I'm in Krabi now, yes that is a city not a mood. Krabi is a small town that tourist tend to just go through but it has lots of shopping for the tourist that does stop.

I have to tell you about a lovely dish here, it's called mango sticky rice. Yes, it's so divine. It is sticky rice with mango on top with delicious coconut with sweet milk and salt dripped over it. It melts in your mouth with each bite and you never tire of it.

So I was checked in to my hotel by a woman named Pa-she is a doll, so lovely. She alone makes me want to stay here but I'll leave tomorrow. I woke up this morning to birds singing and buses going by. But the best thing is that I have a big room and I put on my music and danced for a full hour to Zero, Lisa Gerard, Brian Eno, some country and a few others-my Ipod was on random. It was great to dance full out for an hour-first time in 3 weeks. I went to the night market last night to full bodied chickens cooked and being sold, parts of pigs being sold, fish of all kinds with the heads still on. All kinds of things were there along with veggies and fruit. It's the first time I saw raw veggies in Thailand. I got a great Pad Thai with lots of veggies and chicken for 25bt last night-it was the best Pad Thai yet and less than a dollar! It felt healthy!!! This morning the over breakfast of raw fruits, veggies, musli, nuts and milk and eggs and juice the fire crackers were going crazy. They are starting to celebrate the Chinese New Year, though it's not their New Year for 2 more months, but Thai's will take any reason to party, have fun and laugh. Some can be serious and ignore the tourist and only be about money but underneath it, they are lovely people.

So I'm going to look into a photo album thing online so I can upload my photos there, but it will have to wait probably until I'm in Bali-if you know of anything that is easy let me know.

I'm doing good. Everything seems loud since the retreat though. My heart is good, I feel the Universe taking care of me. Everytime I start to get lonely or low it brings some lovely person in my life or a great lesson. I get lots of time to watch myself, my mind and have been meditating more now and of course flossing!!!! ; ) I read my calender for the month every day and it says "Where ever you should go, go with all your heart" by Confusious. I think this calender was made specifically for me. I really want to get to Bali but I'm enjoying the journey down. I am getting really great info from the people around. I may take a 4 day boat down to Bali from Malaysia or just go by boat to Medan and fly from there-either way it will be good. I'm excited to be taking everything one day at a time, still unwinding and getting out of the "doing mode".

I think of you all so much and hope that you are doing well. I miss you and look forward to seeing you, when ever that maybe. I dream of dancing every day, teaching, playing with friends and about what this trip is to bring me.

I'm sure there is a million things I can still say. But I'll stop at this. I am off to Malaysia tomorrow, excited about Georgetown as it has great Indian food. Today I'm off to wander the town and just be. Have some more great food and see what the Chinese New Year brings. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! So good bye to the year of the dog and tomorrow (for me) is hello to the year of the pig. Go to www.proastro.com and put your date of birth in, it's great. Mine is 11/25/1969, see what it has to say. It's great fun! If you are a rooster I hope to see you over here.

I send you all love, I miss you and send you hugs. Love and blessings, Heather

ps. I've been making friends with the local bugs too-a praying mantice (sp?) wouldn't get off me, he stayed on me for about an hour until I finally had to remove him. He was just a baby and really cute.

Out of Silence & Excited, Thrilled, Exhilerated, Partially Unwound....

Calmer, More ready to travel now.... Should I go on? This going to be a long one so get ready!!! How are you? I am excited to hear from you and check my emails.
Let me see, where to start really. This was by far the easiest and hardest silent retreat I have been on yet. Easy as I knew what to expect and knew how my mind was going to go a little stir crazy, etc. But the most difficult as of all that happened within the retreat. Let me start by saying we get up at 4am, start meditating at 4:15am, have 2 meals in the day time and tea in the evening and ending the day at 9pm on a concrete bed, a wicker mat and a wooden pillow (which by the way I did not use-I used Rob's Sweater he gave me for the plane ride which was perfect for a pillow-thanks!). Amazingly enough I slept great. When you only meditate you really don't need that much sleep and I was used to getting up at 5:30am and going to bed at 10:30pm or 12am at home as for getting ready for this trip.
So the first day was great, I was relieved, things had changed a lot there-a new Sala (a structure with no walls only a ceiling and poles to hold it up, sitting in sand with 150 people around you, about a dozen new western toilets and a whole lot of newness-so worked on detachment of the old with the grounds. So my experience, the second day I was edgy and not so good. Third day I started that lovely time of the month that is a time for looking inward and being slow and caring for the body. Well this month it decided to make me sick-I won't go into detail, but it was good for trying to keep on mind on the breath-Breathe in breath out, focus on the breath. I had a break through that day and got calm and really saw my mind and really erased it. It gave me hope that it might stay there-So I wish! Well that didn't last long. Then day 5 was here and since I'd calmed some and started to unwind and really my mind and all it was up to and slowing down it decided to test me. Yes the mind is a silly place-as someone told me once -The mind is a scary place, don't go in there alone! Well I did alright. That day I had this absolutely gorgeous, of course, RED bug with black dots on it with about 20-40 legs on each side and pinches on, about 1 1/2 inches long bite me. Well you can't kill anything, not that I would anyway. But I chased it off my let in silence, over off my mat trying not to disturb anyone meditating. Well the poison it injected made a rash on my leg and I could feel the poison going up my leg and into my inner thigh area-well I didn't like this. I got up and went to the Buddhist nun and she said "I'll get balm" funny enough it is Tiger balm and the Thai people this cures anything. Well it did, withing 10-20 minutes the rash was gone and I felt better. It works on mosquito bites too!
Day 6 another test. After breakfast of rice soup I put my tongue behind my front left tooth to find a crack or a hole. Well this is disturbing-all kinds of things go through you mind-"I'm in a foreign country, they may pull out my tooth or put mercury in it or chip out half of it or I may need a........and it goes on. Well I decided to try to meditate on it and not go to the dentist. This is challenging but it worked after a few hours. I let it be though.
Have you ever seen someone and instantly felt a connection. As if you needed or already new this person before. With never speaking, only a few glances this woman felt like my sister, someone I wanted to know and connected with on some soulful level. We would pass each other, she'd come sit next to me during tea and then meals and then during the hot springs. Well I grew quite attached to her being there. So since Buddhism is about non attachment it decided to take her away from the retreat. I thought on day 6 to give her my information but thought-I'll see her on day 11, don't break any rules, silence or anything or disrupt anything. Well on day 7 she was gone. I knew it, I could feel she was gone. I went to see the chore sign up list where her name was and it was scratched off. My lesson on this didn't come until later. I was sad, I misseed someone I didn't even know. But it was good. As day 8 I struggled againsted the tooth, the wanting this woman I didn't know to come back, I wanted to leave, but I wanted to focus. I went to talk to the head woman, Ben, to see about a dentist. I decided I'd go on day 10 as she could go with me to the hospital-yes that is where they do dentistry. I thought about going on day 9 as there was only one meal at 8:30am and only tea twice after that, no instruction, just breathe in and out, all on our own. Well I realized I needed a day of freedom of words. As all the structure and words were too much for me. You see, the other 2 retreats I did here I never stayed with the group for more than half a day. I meditated a lot by myself. The good thing was I got to know myself more that way, but the time creeped by. At least being with everyone else the day went by faster. So day 9 was GREAT! I needed the solitude of my own practice. I was in heaven. My mind cleared, my heart calmed, I knew I'd made the right choice to go to the dentest the next day AND I was glad that woman had left for the reason of distraction. Everytime she was around I would be distracted and not inward. We'd end up watching the other ones feet or making eye contact or what ever-who knows what was going through her mind. Maybe it was all a story for all I know. I just know my side of it. So I could calm knowing I was there alone and only me to be with. I was grateful to be in silence with me, walk around the pond in meditation. Sit in my favorite Sala, drink tea and not get hungry.
Day 10 was hard. I got up, did my own yoga (others did it with the teacher, I liked doing my own on this retreat-too many words again) I met up with Ben and she and I walked to the road and wen to the Hospital in Surat Thani-an hour away. It was clean and peaceful, no shoes. I went in to the doctor at 9:40am, I told him I was nervous and he said "yes, that's normal". He looked and sure enough I had not only one cavity on that front tooth, but 2. YIKES. Well he did a magnificent (sp?) job filling both of them, very smooth, no pain, even pain killer, all in 35 minutes for, get this, $21.00. Yes that is right, for one or two fillings it was the same price. And a crown-if you ever need on is 6000 bt which is about $180.00, yes that is right, you can fly here, get your crown and a vacation for about the same price as getting one in the US. Something to think about next time you need dentistry. But make sure it's in a private hospital in a small town. I was relieved and back at the monastary within a few hours and very ready for a meal, since I hadn't eaten since the day before at 8:30am. So I ate at 12:30am and I was happy. Well, my mind wasn't calm but man I was happy to know it was almost over. I couldn't really meditate after that. I was thrilled to know my tooth was ok, I was almost out and ready to just travel.
The retreat really showed me how I changed-5 1/2 years ago I didn't have that much of an opinion. Well I do now, I realized that I went from wanting to be a nun 5 years ago in Dharmasala, India to realized that if Tibetan Buddhism believed the same way that there is no way I would be able to be a nun now. They believe that sex is only for having children-no pleasure, to not have any desire or do anything that caused desire, you can't look at the sunset and get pleasure from it, you need to be void of all feelings of it-well if that is what it is but become a nun, I'm done with that for who I am now. Being that I teach sacred sexuality and believe in have fabulous sex, loving sunsets, Dancing until my hearts desire, listening to music and singing to my hearts content-I could never be a nun.
If you want to know who you are? How you believe? What you think about? What you want in life? This is the place to be. There is no escaping yourself. I really get who I am-first I am a DANCER, I want to perform, I want to teach, it's what I fantsize most about. I am a teacher next for couples-better communication and sacred relationships. I get there are so many things I want to make, to share, to give to this world and to everyone. I still want to travel, but I want to do my work as I travel. I'd love to teach movement workshops with a yoga teacher (like you Mal!!!)! I'd love to teach more relationship workshops. It's very exciting to me! There are so many designs of clothes, of meditations I want to create on CD, DVD. Well the list goes on. The one thing that really hit me is having really great female friends-I miss having just one or two really close female friends, I have kept women at bay until the past year as my last best friend had a painful ending and I started healing this in the past year. And now it's time to let women in, to let women be close to me again. Who knows if you want to hear all of this. But I am setting my intention and voicing it seems like the right way to do it. I just love having someone to do girl things with-shop, have tea, giggle, play, watch movies, do creative things with, so there you go.
There was a lot of healing around relationships, it was really profound. And unwinding from the past 4-6 weeks is still happening but it's better now.
It was a great experience and I may write more about it. But I feel this is a long enough book as it is. If you ever want to do anything like this I'd say yes, do it. It's the most healing thing. Even if Buddhism isn't your thing, their ways, their customs, the way they are is just beautiful. The meditation heals and you know more of who you are. Get ready world as I am ready to boogie, as soon as I am on a beach I am going to turn up my music from my ipod and baby speakers and dance around as much as I can. I'd do it now but I'm still staying in the monastary and it's not allowed.
It is so beautiful here, trees, green, hills, ponds, lots of places to sit and meditate, many places to do walking meditation and I found joy in standing meditation-that was a first. I liked it and sitting the best this time. We'll see if I come back. It's hard to say as I'm so full right now.
I miss you all, I would love to hear from you all. I know this is a bulk email to everyone but it doesn't mean it's impersonal, it just means to write this a million times would be difficult. I miss hearing from each one of you and love you all so much. I thank you for holding a safe place for my heart to open. I know this is long, but I hope you enjoyed it. I so look forward to hearing from you. Ok, I'm off to check my emails and hope to hear from you. I send you love my sweets. Love, Heather