From the comfort of my home computer, I scour the news for reports from Thailand about the recent flooding. It is the worst in 50 years, and the river that runs through Bangkok may well flood its banks. This is devastating for the locals.

What about me? How does this change the scheduled one-whole-month of travels? It is time to practice being a yogi – time to be flexible and unflappable! Some structures are in place, such as needing to get on the Cathy Pacific flight to Bangkok on Thursday morning from LAX. Such as meeting the group of yogis accompanying me to Bhutan at 5am on November 4th in BKK airport! However, what we will do when we arrive in BKK on Friday evening, is still entirely unclear. Please, don’t let us have to stay in the airport!
Chris and I had scheduled 5 days as a pre-Bhutan get-into the time-zone and the travel mood, before meeting the entire yoga group to go to Bhutan.
What will do with that time? So far the best laid plans have been abandoned due to the flooding. I first heard of the flooding in a personal email to me in response to my request to visit the ElephantStay Camp an hour outside of Bangkok. Did you know such a place existed? Guests are invited to stay for several days to live in close proximity with the retired elephants, and to assist with the nursery of young elies. Now that is SO exciting to me. You have your own elephant to care for, feed, bath, and bond with. Oh my, such a rocket of desire in me to do that. I adore elephants! Enormous creatures who appear so still and so tuned in to what is happening around them. They are teachers of stillness and meditation to me. So, when I heard that 90 elephants had been moved to higher land, and that the staff and other animals at the Elephant Stay are under threat with the floods, I felt compassion for them, and big disappointment for me! Right now, we cannot go there.
Elephants rescued from floods in Thailand.
There are some alternatives of course, all flood depending. I can see no reports on Northern Thailand. Perhaps we could go to Chiang Mai, visit temples and go back to Elephant Nature Reserve, the place we visited last year and where the elephant affair deepened. Should I just book flights to Chiang Mai, or wait and get weather reports?? Learning again to be in the moment and to embrace uncertainty!

Updates to follow!

I love this gentle giant! May we meet again soon!
Hmmmm, only three days to departure. Now, what do I need to pack??