After wonderful days in Koh Tao I was a little sad to leave the island. I took an early catamaran to the neighboring island of Koh Phangan. When I arrived there in Thongsala the harbor was full of young, tired and still a little overhung people ..... the remains of the famous "Full Moon" party in Had Rin on Koh Phanang. I had timed my arrival for two days after the party. Typically thousands of absolutely intoxicated young people party on the beach until sunrise and more ..... Since I had to go through Had Rin I planned to avoid the huge crowds. Upon arrival I took a shared taxi bus to Had Rin. The roads were so steep at times that the bus driver shifted into 1st gear and still we just barely made it. We got dropped close to the harbor and I "schlepped" my heavy backpack there to find a long tail taxi boat to Had Tien. After waiting for over an hour (I did not want to pay the 1000 baht "go now" fare) I saw two other backpackers taking off with a boat driver. I asked them if they were heading to Had Rien and since that was their destination I joined them. After an extremely bumpy ride of 30 minutes and getting completely soaked we finally arrived in Had Tien. This secluded beach can only be reached by boat or by hiking for 2 hours over a rugged path across the mountains from Had Rin. No streets and cars, very quite ......
I asked around for "The Sanctuary", which is the small retreat I had booked the fasting. I checked into the dorm room and immediately got in touch with some of the fellow fasters. For the first two days I had to prepare by just eating raw foods. I had a bowl of fruit for "lunch" and a small salad for dinner. The next morning I had again a bowl of fruit and a small salad for lunch. I was already starving without even beginning the fast. After lunch I passed the pH test and was allowed to officially start the fast. Now I was on a tight schedule for the next 7 days.
I asked around for "The Sanctuary", which is the small retreat I had booked the fasting. I checked into the dorm room and immediately got in touch with some of the fellow fasters. For the first two days I had to prepare by just eating raw foods. I had a bowl of fruit for "lunch" and a small salad for dinner. The next morning I had again a bowl of fruit and a small salad for lunch. I was already starving without even beginning the fast. After lunch I passed the pH test and was allowed to officially start the fast. Now I was on a tight schedule for the next 7 days.
Fasting Schedule
07:00 am Psyllium / Clay shake
08:30 am Herbs supplement
09:00 am "Cleansing" procedure
10:00 am Psyllium / Clay shake
13:00 pm Psyllium / Clay shake
02:30 pm Herbs supplement
02:50 pm Lymph Flush (Carrot Ginger Juice)
04:00 pm Psyllium / Clay shake
04:00 pm "Cleansing" procedure
05:30 pm Herbs supplement
07:00 pm Vegetable Broth
I have top admit I was really expecting very strong physical withdrawal symptoms and cravings for food. It actually did not really happen. No stomach growling or hunger attacks. The really difficult part were the mental cravings .... the thoughts about food, about coffee, about beer ..... I even had very realistic food dreams ..... a piece of French Camenbert with a sip pf red wine, a grilled cheese sandwich (that did not have enough cheese), Alsacien "Tarte Flambe" (Flammenkuchen) ..... it was a little surreal. Later in the fast we started studying the menu of the restaurant to plan what we would eat as our first meal after the fast. Sharing "the fate" with other fasters really made it much easier and we laughed a lot about the "cleansing procedure" experiences and such .... Only on day 4 I did not feel well. I was extremely low on energy and had a hard time doing Yoga.
Every day I had a 90 minute Yoga class, went swimming in the Ocean, used the herbal steam room and of course had a massage, either a soothing oil massage or a bone breaking Thai massage. Boy, having somebody walk on your back is quite an experience. The last days I also started doing my Pilates exercises again. Day 7 I started feeling really good and day 9 I felt just awesome. I also did a lot of reading, for example I finished the book of my dear friend Shana. She did a wonderful job finishing her first book about a voice over artist in New York and hopefully you will all be able to buy it in stores soon. I liked it very much! Great book Shana!!!!
In summary I have to say that I simply felt I had found paradise. I have never been relaxed like this in more than 10 years. Doing Yoga and meditation everyday was also a great experience and I am not shying away from singing "oooohhhhhhmmmmmm" loudly :-)
In addition I feel that I earned some bonus points by loosing around 6 to 8 kilos (15 to 20 pounds). It is normal to put some of it back on as soon as you start eating, but it would be awesome to keep 4 kilos off. Anyways, it was absolutely worth it and I will definitely do it again. I feel good!
The small but beautiful Had Tien beach.
"The Sanctuary" where I was staying at the Wellness Center to do my fasting and detox.
Just another view of the beach. You can see 2 of the lomgtail boat taxis that are used to shuttle people back to Had Rin.
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