Yogataveller, Koh Samui, Thailand - 4th October 2008 - By: Aubrey Lampkin

With Caroline Early, Lizzie De Bono, Natalie Brown and Monica Ross.

My fifth official Yogatraveller retreat in Thailand and dare I say it keeps getting better? I had so much fun with this group. One British woman, Caroline, one Australian woman, Lizzie, and – announcement! – my first-ever Yogatraveller American students, Natalie and Monica. Where have they been hiding? Ok, don’t answer that one…



I had so much fun with this group. With them it was always, ‘anything goes’. So open minded – like sponges. They made such immediate progress with the yoga and mediation I decided to step it up a level early on, and by the end of the week I realized we’d already done every intermediate yoga pose. They were amazing (pics to prove it)!







The week was also loaded with activities, as usual. We went to Choengmon Beach, got Thai massages, the ladies did a day trip to Eranda Spa for massages, scrubs and body wraps and – the highlight for me! – we did an all-day boat trip with snorkeling off of Koh Samui in my friend’s souped-up Thai fisherman’s boat. Just when I thought the day couldn’t get much better, our captain decided to stop off on a tiny remote island called, Koh Sum, for lunch. After walking across precarious floating walkways to get onto the pier to the island, we were immediately stunned by its natural beauty. Many islands around Koh Samui have been built up for the tourist industry, but this one was still relatively unadulterated. After eating, we were escorted by the island’s friendly host through a forest of coconut and orange trees to a look-out point atop of a rock boasting a an unobstructed panoramic view of the Gulf of Thailand. It was breath-taking and I fantasized about teaching a yoga or mediation class on that very spot. (It’s hard for me ever to really enjoy a picturesque location without conceptualizing it as a yoga spot.)









As the week came to a close, Natalie and Monica left to meet up with friends and family in Bangkok and Caroline and Lizzie decided to stay on in Koh Samui for a few more days (lucky me!). Fortunately, Lizzie was an avid scuba diver and was keen to do a dive with my dive company and I after the yoga week ended. So, early Monday morning we took off to Chumpon Pinnacle with the gang. We weren’t in the water for more than 30 minutes when I felt a sharp tug on my fin – Lizzie had spotted it first! A four meter (about 15 ft) gorgeous whale shark gliding by enveloped by a procession of pilot fish. Most divers patiently wait their entire diving lives to see a whale shark… and here it was for Lizzie and I on our last day together. I can’t really think of a better close to a yoga week. Nope. Blank.