We will enjoy simple double & triple occupancy bamboo bungalows with mosquito nets and private bathrooms at the Eco Horizon Resort. This secluded beach and bay will be the backdrop for our Thai Yoga Massage training, complemented and deepened with daily yoga and meditation. Interspersed with rituals, kayaking, snorkeling, surfing, hiking, relaxing and delicious vegetarian Thai cuisine, this six days is sure to be quite nourishing.

As we travel by speedboat to the Surin Islands, off the west coast of Thailand, we will enjoy world-class snorkeling and swimming. We will spend the afternoon with the Moken people, a tribe of sea nomads who live off the abundance of the ocean. We will learn about their historic way of life and how it has been affected by the modern world. 

Meet your Moken local guide and take a long tail boat trip to the village. With your

guide, take a tour of the village and get insight into the intricate relationship

between the Moken and their surrounding environment. Learn about the brightly

colored "Spirit Poles" and Moken homes, built on wooden stilts directly on the

beach.

Activity options to be decided by the group: 

~Forest hike ‐ your Moken guide will highlight useful plants, including medicinal herbs, edible species, and those used in construction of traditional houseboats.

~Rowing a Moken "row‐boat" and re‐enacting their method of spear fishing.
~Handicraft workshop ‐ learn the traditional art of Moken weaving using forest Pandanus leaves to weave a natural bracelet (keep it as a souvenir).

~Moken Music ‐ Listen to beautiful songs that tell stories and the history of the Moken people.

We will travel by speedboat back to Kuraburi, where we will receive our briefing for the Ban Tale Nok homestay program.

***Optional activities can include: Heading out on a long tail boat for snorkeling,

hiking the nature trail that joins the two campsites to explore the jungle, snorkeling

off of the camp beach or exploring the mangroves.

***Optional activity fees not included in the program price.

*** Mask and fins are provided.

Head to your homestay village of Ban Tale Nok to experience a truly memorable

cultural experience. Take a walking tour of the community with your local guide to learn about the history and lives of these villagers. See an area of the village that was destroyed by the 2004 tsunami and learn how this event affected the community. Take part in a handicraft workshop and learn the art of Batik, a technique of hand‐dyeing fabrics by using designs drawn in wax, and keep your creation as a souvenir.

Learn to weave leaves of the nypa palm with the villagers and help make

traditional roofing from a local mangrove plant. Take a short walk to the beach where you will earn the traditional way of net fishing.

Relax and bask in the spectacular colors of an Andaman Sea sunset. For dinner, enjoy a barbeque dinner on the beach with your hosts and feast on

freshly‐caught seafood, garden‐fresh vegetables, and Thai curries (weather

permitting, alternative is dinner in the homestay).

In the evening participate in a cultural activity where you can share stories and

experiences with the family and local villagers. Pictures from home are always

appreciated! Try on their traditional Muslim clothing and learn about their culture.

Spend the morning giving Thai Massage to the local community members. Please

remember that this is a Muslim village and you will want to focus on more

conservative massage methods.

Handicraft workshop ‐ the women's group, established after the tsunami, makes

beautifully hand‐crafted soap, using only the finest natural ingredients. Watch an

informative demonstration and then make soap for yourself with the expert guidance of the soap ladies, and keep a souvenir. You can learn to cook dinner with your homestay families, learn about the traditional ingredients that they use.

Our home for the last week of our journey will be floating bamboo huts surrounded by stunning views and the sounds of gibbons and cicadas, but NO mosquitoes! Fabulous Thai cuisine will nourish us during this retreat. 

You will put into action the skills you've learned in Thai Yoga Massage in a clinic setting, providing daily sessions to guests that will join us for this last week. This culmination is designed to give you the opportunity to creatively integrate and refine the techniques you’ve learned into a fluid and effective session. Under the supervision of your instructor, you will get valuable feedback from laypeople, and experience first-hand the healing effects of giving daily Thai Yoga Massage. 

The rest of the days, enjoy the escape from technology and immerse yourself in the surrounding nature. Relax on the decks, laze in hammocks, hike the neighboring jungle, canoe on the vast lake. Our home for this week is blissfully free of electricity, our nights lit by the sparkle of an indescribably starry sky. 

Unplug everything. And connect in.