My Week in The Jungle

May 4th, 2008

The all night bus ride was not exactly relaxing. Nor was the three hour bumpy boat ride where the shipmates were walking around handing out plastic bags and paper towels to those passengers looking a bit green…myself included. (Never needed it though, luckily.) The boat dropped me off at a busy pier on this little tropical island called Koh Phangan. I jump on a motorbike taxi and for the next 20 minutes, get a fantastic tour of the island. The sights are right out of a movie shot on a quintessential tropical island…The lushness of the jungle, the rock formations along the beach, the crystal blue water…and man is it hilly. I didn’t think this little motor bike was going to make it up some of the hills. They made the hills of downtown Seattle look flat. But I made it.

I arrive at the next town called Had Rien, home of the world famous Full Moon Party. For some reason, the beach here is one of the best places in the world to see the full moon. For years now, Had Rien has been the home to this monthly “Full Moon Party.” The entire beach becomes packed with partiers…musicians, fire dancers, tourists, locals…dancing all night long….From what I can grasp, it becomes like a mini-Burning Man festival. This party has become so popular and famous that they had to start a ‘Half-Moon Party’…and then a ‘Quarter-Moon Party’…thus now there is a party every weekend. And with as many tourists as there are in Thailand, its packed week after week, all year round.

But I’m not here for the Full Moon Party, nor the ‘Half’ or ‘Quarter’ for that matter. I jump onto one of the taxi boats, similar in shape and size to the gondolas of Venice, and head to my destination over on the next bay which is only accessible by boat, The Sanctuary….and that is exactly what it is.

The private little beach curves inward with huge rock formations at both ends creating a feeling of being cradled into its presence. The lush jungle reaches all the way to the beach. The resort is literally built into the hillside amongst the flora of the jungle. I am taken to my little stand alone bungalow on its four stilts, with my own deck. The hammock is perfectly situated for admiring the huge hibiscus plant with its gorgeous red blossoms right in front of my bungalow. I’m in heaven…kind of.

This place is a detox center…detox not in the terms of coming off drugs or alcohol…but ‘detox’ in terms of taking a break from all the chemicals, dirty air, busyness, less than ideal foods…that have become the norm in life for most of the world today. Some of you may be thinking, “Jody, you are the picture of health. You exercise all the time. You eat healthfully. You’re the last person in the world to need a ‘detox’ vacation.” Well, truth be told, I haven’t felt really vibrant for years. Med school exhausted me….day after day I had to keep telling myself, “Keep going Jody, you will graduate eventually…just keep going.” I used to love to go out but going to bed has felt like the more attractive option for years. Additionally, I have been constipated since I have been here. I have up-ed the veggies, up-ed the water, I exercise regularly…but no regular BMs, truth be told. Its really been worrisome for me. So here I am, ‘detoxing’ in the jungle.

Today is day 4 and this is what I’ve been doing: I drink 4 betonite clay + psyllium husk shakes a day. Take a veggie juice everyday at 3. Herbal nutrition and intestinal cleaner 5 times a day. Yoga everyday at 10 (missed it this morning though because getting out of bed felt like a feat in itself). Veggie broth for dinner every night at 7. And of course the best part, a massage or body scrub or lymph brush or facial everyday…which I’m off to go do right now! So, I’ll be back in a bit!