Archive for April, 2009

 

Where’s Drishti?

April 26, 2009 at 7:39 am in Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

What is going on with my practice lately? I know we move with the tide but I feel it’s at an all time low. Maybe I’ve had too much on my mind lately launching the “Global Bender” or do I really just need to “hard’n up” as my older brother Mick’s comments suggested in a previous post. Unfortunately I feel it’s a case of concentration, a detachment of mind from body during class.

But not only have I lost Drishti, I fear her whole family is missing! What’s worse, I’m now focusing on not having focus. Lol, I even have Roxanne’s voice in my head as I write this post, “find your point of focus…”

Thanks to Alex for bringing up Drishti in class, I now know who Drishti is and if I cant find her during my last week in Dubai, I hope she’s waiting for me in Budapest!

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2 wheel freedom

April 24, 2009 at 7:30 am in On The Street | Please subscribe!

I’m loose on two wheels again – white and pink ones at that! When Emma offered up her bicycle I couldn’t untangle the bike lock fast enough, saved at last from public transport woes and trudging the construction sandpit of Dubai.

I now ride everywhere. To breakfast, lunch and yoga.. then dinner and everywhere in between. It brings a smile, recklessness and an air of spontaneity as I dodge, glide and jump the people, back alleys and curbs of Bur Dubai. Apparently I’m staying in “the real Dubai” on Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road, a stones throw from the creek and this is how you get to really experience it, up close and personal.

If daylight brings traffic and chaos, it’s when darkness decends that the alleys really come alive. Cars and trolleys are put to bed (almost) and everyone’s on foot, brimming colour as neon beckons you this way and that; a souk here, restaurant there and soon enough you wonder where the night went before grabbing a quick samosa for your midnight snack track home.

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You idiot!

April 21, 2009 at 7:46 am in Matts Hot Travel Tips, On The Street | Please subscribe!

I’ve moved again, finding myself on another mound in “the sandpit” an expression often heard amongst the expats of Dubai. I shouldn’t knock this place but I have to as it shows (a) Dubai is not the best in the world at everything, and (b) I’m more of a freak than even I thought. Here’s the nightmare I had getting to class from my old ‘hood..

In keeping with my “Go Green” policy (catching public transport wherever possible), I left home at 2pm walking a half hour to the nearest bus stop on route to the 4pm class. I waited in the air conditioned fish tank come bus stop, swapping stories with migrant workers as the bus service, again played the joker of Dubai. After 1.5 hours an exodus began and I was offered to share a taxi but I stayed in principle, finally climbing aboard a bus and arriving at Club Stretch some 30 mins late for the 4pm class. Serenity now!

You think I could have let it go during Kevin’s blissfully exhausting 6pm class, but no! I declined a lift home and after comforting myself with a large plate of rice noodles, I decided to walk to see if I could beat the bus. I nonchalantly set off on my adventure, dodging speeding traffic where no sidewalks existed, crossing through 8 unavoidable construction sites and inhaling more dirt than a week of Kapalbhati breathing would ever expel. I finally walked through the door some 2hrs later at 11:30pm… But I did beat the bus and proudly walked the beat again to yoga the next day!

Matt’s Hot Travel Tip #2:

When it looks a long way on the map, it probably is. When you can sense trouble ahead, you’re probably right. When you’re knee deep in pig headed, principle pie one day, don’t be silly enough to order a slice the next because no amount of radox salts in the bath will soothe your aching body or silly ego!

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The honeymoon is over baby

April 14, 2009 at 5:59 pm in Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

After such a tough challenge in Mumbai I was relieved to find my yoga practice became.. well a little less intense! So much so that I started to feel I was on a little Bikram Yoga holiday.

Club Stretch / Bikram Yoga Dubai is a small, very modern, relaxed studio near Jumeirah beach and as Tasha Hawkins (Bikram Yoga teacher) describes it, “like a big family”. With a maximum capacity of about 30, the studio has quite a unique feel, sporting a curved wall at the rear, little rock garden at the front and wait for it.. timber flooring!

Far away from the torturous heat panels in the ceiling of the Mumbai studio I found myself able to relax a little, and if I’m totally honest, maybe a little too much. “How is 42 degrees different?” you may ask. Put it this way, I felt I was being cooked under the heat panels. Any relief you feel once you lie down in Savasana at the end of the standing series is quickly sapped as you find your towel and the floor beneath you also being cooked!

In the last week I’ve been conscious of needing to move out of my comfort zone again and take my practice to new levels. At the start of each month I set little goals and visualise my postures at the end of the month. It’s funny, as soon as you put the thought out there, you’ll recieve and I can happily announce, “the ‘honeymoon’ is definately over!” Thanks to Brian Ward (Studio owner) and Kevin (visiting owner/teacher from Colorado), I find myself being pushed again. I’m back on the wagon and the challenge is as tough and rewarding as ever!

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Only 10 minutes..

April 12, 2009 at 5:44 am in Matts Hot Travel Tips, On The Street | Please subscribe!

I’ve moved to my third home in Dubai in 11 days and the first thing one must do is set out on foot, looking for the cheapest supermarket, quaint family run restaurant and cafe serving the finest coffee.

It must be the weathered, exhausted look on a travelers face when asking how long to the closest market/cafe/restaurant that a ‘local’ feels responsible to offer a moments gratification by saying “only ten minutes”.

I walk for perhaps an hour along a 2ft wide unfinished pavement, dodging speeding traffic, salivating at the promise of a cheap Arabic restaurant or cafe to rest my weary legs, chill and reflect on my day. Finally at the end of the yellow-brick (read sandy) road I chuckle at yet another polished high rise, lego land village and squinting towards the end of the courtyard I spy.. a Spinnies supermarket, Italian cuisine and wait for it… a starbucks!

I give up and purchase bread, crunchy peanut butter, baked beans and a half dozen eggs. I negotiate my own way home, between construction and skyscrapers trying to keep all 58 floors of my new home in view. My internal compass is usually on the money but with the rapidly disappearing Dirhams from my money clip the needle strength rivals that of my left knee trying to lock during Standing Head to Knee Pose and I wonder if I’ll get back before midnight.

Alas, in the last 50 meters I find a short cut through the construction site and as I leap over a 4ft wide x 6ft deep trench clutching my shopping bag, visions of laying at the bottom in a perfect egg encrusted Savasana flash before my wide eyes.

Matt’s Hot Travel Tip #1:

When you’re sharing an apartment with air crew, never try to gulp a quick mouthful of orange juice from the fridge.. they can be away for a very long time!

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The best in the world?

April 7, 2009 at 9:31 pm in On The Street | Please subscribe!

My first post in Dubai and I’m struggling for words, probably because Dubai is on the surface, quite western and I’m still getting over the kaleidoscopic richness of Mumbai. I’ve been on foot, bus and bike, cruised down Dubai Creek by night and sipped coffee overlooking a ski park in Emirates Mall but I’ve yet to tickle the underbelly and take lead in my Arabian Nights adventure.

Dubai city certainly makes an impression with its glittering skyscrapers, architectural delights and mammoth malls, all boasting to be “the best in the world”. To really blow you away check out a map of Dubai showing the Palm Trilogy and The World, a development of man made islands, in the shape of palm trees and the world no less, just off the coast. For now though I’ll quench my wanderlust desires exploring back streets, souks and other hidden gems before getting lost in the desert.

Finally after frothing quietly away for far too long I eventually got my salty fix, running across the wide “open” beach of Jumeira, ripping off my clothes to jump in the crystal clear and surprisingly cool waters of the Arabian Sea. Most of the beaches in Dubai are the private domain of hotels and private residence with only 2 open beaches available to the general public. Crazy! If they tried this in Australia there would be a riot as we all know Australian beaches are.. “the best in the world”
;)

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Goodbye Mumbai, Hello Dubai

April 5, 2009 at 9:55 am in On The Street, Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

With 3 Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenges completed (90 days continuous yoga), I find myself in another country starting all over again. Huzzah only 9 more challenges to go!

It’s bewildering to think I’m a quarter of the way through my journey already and yet I feel it’s all going too fast! 30 days may seem like enough, or even too much time in one city but I only just start to feel it’s pulse, then I’m off on the next adventure.

Looking back I wonder if I have achieved what I set out to do. Same answer for any month in our lives – yes and no. I wanted to produce more video but the time required to shoot, edit, compress and upload is immense, coupled with a slow internet connection and I’m sitting in front of my mac, wishing I was outside experiencing life.

Before leaving Australia I clearly prioritized my goals so one wouldn’t interfere with another. I never realised how important this was until my practice almost fell apart in India. I found it so tough I would end each class, my hands in namaskar thanking myself for just completing my #1 goal: “do the yoga, every day”. I can honestly say, I felt I had only 6 strong classes the whole month. Just getting through each class, practicing every posture without sitting down (or throwing up on myself) was.. well, I guess you’d could call it a challenge!

Thank you so much Rowena, Benn and Maddy (manager & teachers at Bikram Yoga Mumbai) for buying me Bikram’s new book “Bikram Yoga” – just what I needed for focus, inspiration and grounding for the next phase. Also thanks to Rich (teacher, Bikram Yoga Bangkok and Regional Manager True Fitness) for supporting my journey.

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Problems in Australia? You have no idea!

April 4, 2009 at 9:47 am in On The Street | Please subscribe!

As my final days in Mumbai close in fast I seem to be zipping around in rickshaws saying goodbye, attending class or trying to find the elusive wifi cafe that’s never where you’re told it is. Hot tip: The Bagel Shop, Pali Hills, Bandra was only one I could find.

Wherever I was going, whatever time of day and whichever road I traveled, I’d see countless homes set up along the footpath. A single body asleep under a dusty blanket, a mother brushing out dirt from the shelter or a child playing naked on their adventure park (read pile of rocks). I’m not sure if they’re outcast from the slums or a step up but it drains your heart and curdles the chai in your stomach to see the little abodes made with an assortment of sheets and blankets secured with twine constantly relocating as road construction or destruction threatens what little they have.

As I shared a cab ride with Sakina, a local photographer, we chatted about life in Mumbai and what the future held. At one point she asked “There are countless problems with this city but tell me, what problems does Australia have?” I opened my mouth but no words came out… my throat went dry and I made some pathetic joke… we obviously have some but at that moment I could think of none.

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Dhobi Ghat Laundry, Mahalakshmi

April 4, 2009 at 7:58 am in On The Street | Please subscribe!

One of the many tourist attractions in Mumbai is the Dhobi Ghat commercial Laundry outside Mahalakshmi train station. Dhobi Ghat is just down the road from Chor Bazaar and if I was to find my missing yoga Speedo trunks (pinched from the drying room) no doubt bound for the Thieves Market, they would have to be washed first!

From the bridge over the railway tracks you’ll have a colourful view of the laundry in action. What’s amazing is this vast laundry operates in sections according to colour. Perhaps not all that spectacular as we often separate colours from darks and whites but how do they manage to sort them all back together again?

I’m sure they have a system similar to the local laundry I frequented as each shirt, short, jock and sock was returned with a small material tag attached with a string thread containing a handwritten code of numbers and letters. Whatever their method it’s an interesting spectacle for the tourists lined up on the bridge with their cameras, much to the amusement of the locals.

And no, I didn’t find my yoga shorts!

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Chor Bazaar aka Thieves Market

April 4, 2009 at 7:05 am in On The Street | Please subscribe!

The saying goes “If you lose anything in Mumbai, you’ll find it at Chor Bazaar”. We hadn’t lost anything but thought it worth a look, especially with such an intriguing name. The market is huge covering several blocks and apparently offering everything from mobile phones to mutton chops.

We found ourselves lost amongst the hub caps and dismembered car section although we did find a barbers opposite an outlet stocking every conceivable horn manufactured in India (and perhaps the rest of the world) just down the lane from a large truck unloading what appeared to be sacks of onions. The market is packed with most shops wares spilling onto the narrow dirt streets and you wonder how the trucks make it inside in the first place.

We saw many goats, none of which appeared to be for sale dotted throughout the market, as happy and unpredictable as goats are and I couldn’t help chuckling as I remembered the one that chased Rowena all over the cricket pitch some weeks before.. but that’s another story!

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