More of what Thailand has to offer...Mindfulness Project, Mountains, and DIVING!

My last post ended with a brief intro to my stay at the Mindfulness Project in the rural outskirts of Khon Kaen. Enjoy some more photos of our laid back, yet ever-mindful, community living and life learning experience. We jokingly called ourselves a "bunch of hippies," but to really describe this dynamic group of people I would use descriptors like genuine, curious, intellectual, open, and kind. It was an amazing experience to be surrounded by people passionate about travel and the natural environment, and words truly cannot articulate the humble and loving energy that emanated from each worldly individual. Thank you everyone for your contagious positivity and willingness to converse on a metaphysical level. The Earth could really benefit from more people dedicated to self reflectance and awareness of the interconnected nature of the world we live in. To bring in one of my long-time favorite quotes, "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." - John Muir. 

Love these two! <3

Our natural building project (we hand made all these bricks from clay, sand, and rice husks). Then we mixed and laid the cement and are now in the process of building!

Half of the team is making more bricks while the others stay busy building the home.

Guess how many different countries are represented by the people in this photo... At the whole Project we had 18 at one point!

A better photo of the powerline madness throughout Thailand

After the most heartfelt goodbye to those of the Project, I moved on to visit a friend of a friend that lived nearby. The local Thai girls were so accommodating and I can never thank them enough for introducing me to the sugary wonders of Thai tea (cha yen). Red Thai tea is served over ice and sweetened with palm sugar and condensed milk, a typical accompaniment to various spicy meals. I, however, manage to fit in this delightful treat as often as I can, regardless of the number of chilies in my breakfast or dinner. Once you try it, I promise all judgments to my addictive indulgences will instantly disintegrate.

Speaking of food, Thai people know how to eat. My love for burning lips and a tongue that constantly reminds you what you're eating, as well as your level of insanity, is exceedingly appreciated by locals. The girls that I stayed with were grateful that they didn't have to order 'special' dishes when we went out at night. The range of food here is also incredible. Even a Costco-sized supermarket had an astoundingly diverse array of locally caught seafood. Though I'm not big on eating seafood because most of it can be traced back to overharvesting of vulnerable species, I liked trying the random species of clams and snails. If I have a place to cook in the next couple weeks I want to try snakehead, or any of the other 40-50 different kinds of obscure fish readily available. Americans need to expand their tastebuds a bit, there is more to seafood than salmon, cod, and tuna! Perhaps eating out of our comfort zone will lessen pressures on the more popular species and lead to a more balanced relationship between humans and the ocean.