How did I end up in Koh Phangan? Alone, no less, in the middle of my life.
How did I end up at a jungle retreat, doing sound healing and rubbing on oils that were supposed to balance my heart and soul?
How do you get your heart to open again? How do you stop listening to the voices of fear and old beliefs, and just say: thanks for coming to protect me. I've got it from here.
All this and more, right here, in my Instagram highlights and of course in the one and only group, Why Enjoy Alone?
Here are my recommendations: clip them, save them and share them, because why enjoy alone?
The links are clickable only in the PDF, right after the photo :)
The island of healing, fun and calm. That's my summary.
I flew to a jungle retreat because I needed it for myself. I'd been through something. Honestly, a few things, and they put my fire out. Not only did they put it out, they broke a lot of what I believed was good in this world. And I'm fire. It's hard to be a fire person who suddenly has no fire... and feels cold...
I guess one ember hadn't completely given up yet, so I started taking care of myself in every way I could. One day I'll write a post about getting through a crisis :)
Anyway, a crucial part of taking care of yourself is marrying right: someone who handles a crisis as well as I do. Roni said to me: we have an El Al voucher that's about to expire. Why don't you fly to Thailand on your own?
Three minutes later I had a flight for, more or less, right now.
Just Koh Phangan.
Alone.
No plan.
With an intention: to breathe, to calm down, to understand what had happened, to understand that I understand nothing, to give my body some love again and to take care of nobody but me.
People say I'm brave, but honestly, this is the most welcoming island there is for traveling alone. I went for nine days in total. And here's the funny part: the world kept spinning without me until I got back. The kids, Roni, the house. Crazy, right?
So what does that teach us? That the fears and beliefs in our heads came to protect us, and it's important that they're there. But sometimes we need to tell them: thanks for coming to protect me, I've got this.
For a soft landing I started at Wonderland
Wonderland is a magical place in the middle of the jungle, with workshops from morning to night, vegan food, a pool and a calm vibe that let me put all the pieces together, and mostly, reconnect with myself.
In the women's workshops we defined what femininity is, what our strengths are as women, and where our limits and challenges lie. A lot of depth. And sometimes pain...
There were loads of theory workshops on hormonal balance, trauma yoga, aromatherapy yoga, sound healing, and on and on and on.
Not a day went by without yoga, and for the first time I understood how amazing it is and how much good it can do me, in every way.
All in.
I decided to surrender and connect, and I didn't leave the compound at all. It opened up worlds I never knew, very far from my everyday life in Givatayim :)
Coming alone also made me very present, in the moment, without rolling my eyes or missing the beautiful, meaningful moments, and I met lots of people there.
By the way, plenty of people came alone, but also couples, siblings, friends...
I slept in a room of my own with AC and a hammock, and the whole treat cost 400 shekels a day, all included.
About what one evening out costs back home. Easy.
A sample schedule at Wonderland:
But surrendering and all that jazz, how much can you take when you're a city girl???
I need the sea! So I moved to the Sri Thanu area, on the west side of the island.
What can I say, Koh Phangan has changed over the last 20 years, and Haad Rin isn't IN anymore.
And good thing too! It's much more grown up, deeper and freer.
Before the details, a few words about the Phanganers. I mean the Israelis who live there! It's basically Israel 2.0.
One big piece of magic that could only work there. People who decided that maybe there's no tomorrow, that the pressure back home is too much for them, or just unnecessary, and simply changed every idea they grew up with.
I spotted a few communities:
The real estate community. That's 90%. Everyone there is building something, or a few somethings.
The therapist community. The ones Israel is too fast for became therapists. They might be real, qualified therapists, and they might have taken one class in eighth grade and now they run workshops.
The handstand community. Not literally, fine, but the ones who are really into all kinds of circus arts, and it's wonderful to meet that passion and see it has a place there.
The "I took a break from life" community: the ones who came for a few months or a year and are just living there, on vacation.
I hardly saw any tech people, but there's a community like that too.
But in the end, people are people are people, and they face their challenges here or there. Sure, there it comes surrounded by sea and jungle and a banana coconut shake with no added sugar, but in the end, freedom is a choice.
First the freedom of our own thoughts, and then of our bodies.
What we do with them, what we give them, and in the end, freedom is how we choose to live our lives.
What to work at, who to spend time with and who to build a family with. I feel that as the years go by, I guard every one of those freedoms fiercely, and I'm proud of my choices.
Even so, I install an update every time there's a bug or an outside attack :)
But what broke my heart the most? Remember Chicken Corner? May it rest in peace.
There's a weed shop there instead. No more Cactus. Just my memories of dancing in the rain.
Exhibit A:
Enough chit-chat. Koh Phangan.
First, getting around:
You really want a scooter. If you're from Haifa like me and never learned to ride a bike, you can rent a granny scooter: three wheels.
If that scares you, you can rent a car, just remember they drive on the other side, like in England.
And if you're a real scaredy-cat like me :) take Baku's number!! The king. The man, the legend.
+66950459946
What is there to do?
(There's a downloadable PDF with the links up top for your convenience, but there's more detail here.)
✨ Alcove bar, on the sea near Indigo. Perfect! I was there all the time!
✨ A dreamy party every Tuesday on the private beach of Haad Why Nam, from noon. Boats leave from Haad Rin beach. Don't miss it!
✨ A party at Seaboard on Wednesdays, with a small market. Techno with no lyrics, for those who like it :)
✨ A café-bar, day and night: Vagga Bar cafe
✨ The Half Moon party at Harmony Beach Club
✨ Pyramid Yoga: Pyramid/ Chakra Yoga. An ecstatic dance party on Sundays. Very special! There's yoga the rest of the week too
✨ Chaloklum market on Sunday evenings. Get there at seven. There's a gorgeous second-hand shop, live music and good food. A magical vibe. Gorgeous in the daytime too
✨ Interesting: AUM Sound Healing, Fridays at six
✨ Workshops like sound healing, inner walk, family constellation, human design, dance lessons, improv, meditation
✨ THE party on Tuesdays! A must, a must. A perfect beach, Haad Why Nam. Take a longtail boat from Haad Rin
✨ Alcove bar
Sunset viewpoints:
✨ Bluerama viewpoint
✨ The famous viewpoint: Amstardam Bar
✨ A viewpoint above Ko Ma beach, called 420 Club Phangan
✨ A viewpoint above Ko Ma beach: Ko Ma viewpoint
Fun places to work remotely:
✨ In Sri Thanu: Inner Space Coworking
✨ Indigo café: Indigo Specialty Coffee & Bakery, upstairs
Yoga and sports:
✨ Wonderland, of course
✨ Pyramid Yoga: Pyramid/ Chakra Yoga
✨ Orion Healing center
✨ Ananda Yoga and Detox Center
Restaurants:
✨ A local Thai restaurant in Sri Thanu: K.C. Kitchen Vegan and Thai Food
✨ The best juice in Sri Thanu: Tee's Fresh Juice Shop
✨ Italian: Romanzo Tropicale
✨ A local Thai restaurant, Ann Restaurant, near Zen Beach
✨ A perfect Indian restaurant: Chana Masala indian restaurant
✨ An excellent local Thai restaurant, Kikekla, near Indigo café and Alcove
✨ Tomorrow X restaurant
✨ A special restaurant in the northwest of the island: Koh Raham
Cafés:
✨ Coffee and breakfast in Sri Thanu: Cookies Cafe
✨ Indigo café: Indigo Specialty Coffee & Bakery
✨ A café-bar, day and night: Vagga Bar cafe
✨ A great café in Haad Yao: Bubba's Roastery
Sunset viewpoints:
✨ Bluerama viewpoint
✨ The famous viewpoint: Amstardam Bar
✨ A viewpoint above Ko Ma beach, called 420 Club Phangan
Fun places to work remotely:
✨ In Sri Thanu: Inner Space Coworking
✨ Indigo café: Indigo Specialty Coffee & Bakery, upstairs
Yoga and sports:
✨ Wonderland, of course
✨ Pyramid Yoga: Pyramid/ Chakra Yoga
✨ Orion Healing center
✨ Ananda Yoga and Detox Center
✨ Orion Healing center
✨ Pyramid Yoga: Pyramid/ Chakra Yoga
Shops worth a visit:
✨ In Sri Thanu, Hibiki boutique. Perfect! I bought a bag and jewelry there by a designer from Ibiza
Massages:
✨ In Sri Thanu: Papaya Massage. I warmly recommend Lanta and Lisa. They're the only ones I went back to, again and again :)
✨ Around Haad Yao there's an amazing woman called P-OH. Her place has no name, but it's right next to the restaurant at Silver Beach, on the sea, and this is her number: 0833771807
Beaches:
✨ Haad Yao
✨ Ko Ma
Where did I sleep?
✨ Wonderland: a jungle retreat
✨ Joy Beach Villas resort, near Indigo café, the Indian restaurant and the great bar, Alcove (there are pools, and I didn't go in them even once)
✨ Nice Sea Resort in Sri Thanu: much simpler, but perfect! The location, the service and the energy too
There are lots of gorgeous places, fancier and less so. I came alone, wanted to mingle, and preferred not to stay in an isolated resort, with everything within walking distance.
A few cute things before I wrap up:
I noticed I wore crop tops the whole time! And I have a tummy! Back home I wouldn't even dare think about it. That's how free I was there, at peace with myself and my body.
Coming from a place of distrust, I decided to give people more trust in Koh Phangan. Long story short, I was waiting for a taxi that never came. Suddenly a car stopped next to me, a woman got out, and they asked me where I needed to go. I told them. I asked: how much?
The driver: no money.
Me: it's okay, how much?
The driver: I'm not a taxi.
Me:
Long story short, I decided to trust him, in the dark, in Koh Phangan. Alone. I started talking to him: who is he? What does he love... and he's a perfect Russian rapper! So, so, so sweet. He told me what his songs are about and what his dreams are, and we found ourselves bopping along in the car until he dropped me off safely where I was going (he drove there just to give me a ride!)
So there are good people out there along the way, and sometimes it's worth trusting. And I have a new friend :)
That's it. It was amazing. Don't wait for the perfect time, the right partner, or for all kinds of fears to disappear. Fly toward your life and do what you need to do. It'll all work out.
Come visit my blog's new Instagram, where all the trip highlights are saved, because why enjoy alone? And join my Facebook group, where you can share your own good moments too, because why should you enjoy alone?
And.... the walk of shame