The Land of Smiles Awaits Me

These next 36 hours I am in the final stages of preparation for my journey to Thailand. It is my first time traveling to the “Land of Smiles”. Funny things happen to a person during the final stages of preparation for a long journey. Have I remembered everything? Like the last bit of toothpaste in the tube, you are pressing and squeezing into the nooks and crannies of your mind, trying to get it all out. If I have forgotten something, I trust will pick it up along the way, or not. Surely they sell toothpaste in Thailand?

Ok…let’s run a quick check.

Laptop – Check.
A mobile office, workstation, social network and at times, music.

Power cable for laptop – Check.
Scarcely a worse feeling than scrambling at the bottom of your laptop bag in vain.

Contact list and calendar – Check.
Electronic copy as well as hard copy, backed up in three locations!

Bathing suit – Check.
I am told that two is not enough….so three it is.

Yoga mat – Check.
As ordered by my Thai yoga massage guru.

Tank tops – Check.
My standard garb when the temperature rises above the need for sleeves.

Isagenix Shakes – Check.
Breakfast of champions. Since stumbling on these nutrient dense lovelies, I don’t leave home without one, or in this case, a suitcase of them.

Comfortable clothes and shoes – Check.
For touring, meditating, yoga, lounging and working with clients.

Pens and paper – Check.
I don’t know about you, but for me airplane flights are synonymous with a massive brain dump. How could I let all those amazing epiphanies lose their golden opportunity to be made manifest when ink meets the page.

Sun hat – Check .
The international sign for tourism. A must have.

Imodium – Check!!!
A flashback to a dark spot during my 2005 trip to China which is sadly, still fresh in my mind. Why oh why did I not listen to my intuition which was screaming to me….”Do not eat the Szechwan hot pot!”. What can I say, I was tired from a full day of hanging out with pandas and I was really hungry! So…the measurable cost of not listening to that bit of clarity…. 2 days indoors, need I say more?

Visa – Check
Direct from the Royal Thai Consulate in Toronto, which when you call the office, it rather sounds like you are calling a guy named “Ben” at home. Ah well…Never mind.

Well, I think that just about does it.

Why Thailand? I figure that you can’t go too far wrong when visiting a place called the Land of Smiles. I have courses booked, along with yoga training with a master teacher and meditation training with Buddhist monks. All this to expand my awareness and experience. As always with me, it is about exploring energy. I am delighted to allow this voyage to reveal itself to me moment by moment. My aim is to stay present, participate and see what happens next.

I will be posting updates as I go, so stay tuned by joining the mailing list and/or join my journey on Facebook. www.facebook.com\judibechard