Balifinds.com

Really my friends...
if you're in Bali or going to Bali, go to Balifinds.com, online classifieds for Bali Indonesia. You can find housing, volunteering, jobs, yoga or list your non-profit, used goods or find a friend to have coffee with!
Some ads are $10 to post, most are free! For pain ads, all credit cards are excepted and it's totally secured by Paypal. Otherwise, enjoy using the FREE ads on Balifinds.com!

Emily

What To Do In Chiang Mai, Thailand

The following is an e-mail I wrote about what to do in Chiang Mai, Thailand:


"I'm sure your will love Chiang Mai! You definitely need a bike to see the city if you stay at Imm Eco Hostel, Chiang Mai. I chose Imm Eco because it's closer to the music scene, it's incredibly clean, they have an olympic sized pool, and a free buffet breakfast. it is however across the river which is only about a 6 min drive into the city center.

The other place I love is
Gap's House on
Rajadamnern Road, Soi 4 Chiang Mai 3, Chiang Mai, 50100, Thailand‎ - 053-278140

‎

It's inside the city moat (walls) and right off the road where the AWESOME Sunday night market takes place. The rooms are beautiful for the price— antiques, Thai art, big comfy beds, and sweet owners. The price is 400 baht/night I think. They don't have a pool.

Khun Churn restaurant: This veggie buffet is so good. I know you're not veggie but you must go. It's in the hip and happening area of Chiang Mai, Nimminhemin area, and the food is so fresh. They have tons of options with an incredible salad bar and North Thai dishes. Go for the buffet 11-2pm everyday.

Khun Churn:

serves a vegetarian buffet (60 baht) every lunch which is popular with Thai and ex-pats alike in the Nimminhemin area. 4 Nimanhemin Rd., Soi 17, Chiang Mai, Tel: (053) 224124, open: 8am to 10pm. $

In the same area is Drunken Flower which "has long been the queen of Nimmenhaemen’s bohemian bar scene and enjoys a devout following of expats and well-off Thais. It’s tucked into a side alley and offers mixed indoor and garden seating. Thai folk bands play on the weekends." Warm Up "is one Chiang Mai’s most popular clubs, especially with students from Chiang Mai University. It’s another asset of Nimmenhaemen Road and regularly hosts bands covering the latest, most popular Thai music."

Closer to the Imm Eco Hostel and along the river are the following music bars/clubs:

One of the best-known (and longest-running) establishments on the Ping River is Riverside Bar and Restaurant. Music starts after sunset, and by 21:00 house bands have taken the stage at both ends of the building. It’s worth getting a table and ordering from the menu.

To really explore Chiang Mai’s jazz scene, look no further than North Gate Jazz co-op. This funky three-walled venue is inside the northern flank of the moat next to Chang Puak Gate. Local bands rotate in and out on a nightly basis, with an open-mic night on Tuesdays. The emphasis is on improvisational (often experimental) jazz.

There is a Saturday market in Chiang Mai which has Northern food, art, and textiles... similar to the Sunday Market but a little more relaxed. AWESOME FOOD at this market.

Take your bike and head towards the Mae Rim area (45 min) for Orchid farms, beautiful temples, and an elephant hospital if you're into it.

Closer is a drive up the mountain, Doi Inthanon, South of Chiang Mai (to reach the summit is like 30 min bike ride) for a breezy and refreshing view as well as a walk through some slightly touristy hill tribe villages. This is an awesome solo trip and you'll feel great being out of the city heat.

Massage—go get a real one! Try a teacher from Sunshine Massage school (Ohm is great).

Sunshine Massage School 159/2 Kaew Nawarat Soi 4
Chiang Mai 50000 Thailand
here is the map

Email: click here
Phone: 053 262 574 (international +66.53 262 574)

• Watpo Thai Traditional Medicine School

and

• ITM - International Thai Massage School

• Another school, super cheap and really great is I think called Baan Saab or You Saab ... I forget. But, at Tha Pae Gate if inside the gates (walls) and looking toards the inner moat turn right, walk 200 meters and your left will be a sign with You Saab or whatever. It's down a little road and if you can get 'ya' (her name sounds just like I wrote it) she's great.

Each time I visit Chinag Mai I head to my friend Krit's farm and cooking school in Mae Teang province— You Sabai. it doesn't get any better than this place. You will stay in earthen homes and cook food so good, you may just cry. You will leave Krit's place with life long friends and a greater appreciation for living with the earth.

I hope this helps...maybe I should write a guide book.

I'll try to connect you with some buddies. Give me a day. "

Jivamukti in Whistler

(Tina on left)

After living in Bali for a year and a half I very much missed 3 things: tall trees, mountains, and yoga. I rented a car and embarked on a week long solo camping trip through British Columbia visiting a friend first in Vancouver then hitting the road on the Sea to Sky Highway towards Whistler.

Once in Whistler I was incredibly fortunate to drop in on Jivamukti yoga teacher Tina James' class. Oh, how dry I was for passionate discussions and beautifully led asana. She is full on—wild about preservation of land, animals and community.

Tina relocated to Whistler from NYC, her heart calling her to native American lands and people. Five years and she is still in Whistler, bringing vedic insight to locals and tourists who may have no clue what they're dropping in on. Her stories of living in India delighted me and I was filled with the feeling I love most— being part of the global tribal community.

Check her out!




JIVAMUKTI YOGA CENTER WHISTLER
Tina James
9213 Lakeshore drive.
, Whistler B.C. Von 1b9
Phone: 604 9381533
Website: www.worldyogawithin.com
E-mail: tinajames.1@virgin.net

Current Shananigans and Seva Yoga

I've been teaching at Seva Yoga, a cool Austin, TX donation only yoga studio which has been receiving lots of juicy attention. Tons of classes every day of the week and well trainer teachers in exchange for whatever the student can afford to toss in the Seva money jar. I like this.

Change the equation. Trade, barter, donate ... when I read these words I know I'm about to meet some groovy people.

Yoga gifts us with hidden joys, one being community. Before yoga I felt icky. I didn't understand why. I had never been in a supportive community, open and strong, which collectively pondered the spirit of life and laughed about it. I had no idea I had family worldwide, hundreds of friends waiting to be met, who love just because of the simple common factor: life should be lived, experienced, and enjoyed. Only through yoga did my eyes open to a world of enticing beings who challenge the norms of even the super abnormal. Wild, free, and insightful yogis, seekers, and artists. I could say it changed me but what yoga did was open me. Expand me. I began to fly.

These feelings and experiences do not allow for one to turn back to the old life. I could call doing so impossible. What happens is a washing, a bathing of all which does not serve health, happiness, and freedom. It is a wild ride and a feeling of mind blowing insight. The most revered washing in my life was with people. Old relationships which hurt and held me down dissolved into nothing. I was no longer attached to family, friends, and love. I surrounded myself with greatness; singers, yogis, writers, the wise. I realize what it means to consciously be surrounded by interesting and inspiring beings.

These experiences draw me to places like Seva Yoga.

Free Yoga in Austin, TX

Thanks to AustinYogaTeachers.com I came across many free yoga classes in Austin I hadn't heard about!
Some free classes I didn't find in the list:
Yoga Vida 707 : Friday @ 7pm
Yoga Vida 3620 Bee Cave Rd. : Friday @ 6:30pm
Empower Yoga offers $5 classes Fridays— ALL classes are $5!!!

Free and Donation Yoga Classes
There are free & donation yoga classes offered in the Austin area! Here are a few:
Amala Foundation Sanctuary Sundays 7-8:15pm The 36th Chamber of Yoga (donation)
AOMA (email) Meditation, Sundays at 5pm, 512-492-3034
Austin Kula Yoga - Open Teacher Practice, Sundays 3-5pm; Shanti for the Heart, last Sunday each month 6:30-7:30pm
Black Swan Yoga, all classes are donation based
Blanton Museum of Art , Third Thursdays at 6:30pm (free)
Burly House
Barton Springs, Robert E. Lee side, Kriya Hatha Yoga w/Athuai, 512.928.2281, Saturdays, 10:30-11:30am, donation
East Side Yoga Free:Saturdays 8:15am Intro; donation: Sundays 9:30am Meditation, 10:30am Hatha, 2pm New Teacher Class
Esquina Tango (donation), Sundays 11am Hatha Flow, Wednesdays 6pm Vinyasa Flow,
Fridays 5:30-6:30 Happy Hour
Charles MacInerney leads a Free outdoor Yoga class each month on the Full Moon
Kundalini Yoga at Tara House (donation) email for details
Power Yoga Flow (donation)
Outdoor Yoga (donation)
Ruta Maya
South Austin Cancer Center - Tuesdays 2-3pm
Saturday mornings at the lululemon store
Seva Yoga Daily donation classes
Soma Vida Saturdays through August 9am
Sanctuary at Amala Foundation Mondays 7:15pm-8:15pm (donation)
Sundara Yoga Therapy Thursdays 7-8:15pm The Art of Self-Healing (donation)
The Vortex, Mon/Wed noon-1pm (suggested donation $7)
Yoga in the Park, Shipe Park, Wednesdays 6:30pm (donation)

Lululemon Salutation Nation

Lululemon hosted Salutation Nation at Austin, TX's Festival Beach on August 6, 2010. The way it works: all around the US yogis gather and practice at the same time.

As we all practiced with Christina Sell, a spunky and hilarious certified Anusara yoga instructor, under the trees, protected from the scorching Texas sun, I thought, 'Groovy...this is yoga. Out of the studio and into the grass—let's practice in nature more often!'

Gioconda, another Austin favorite yoga teacher, practiced with a pink cast on her left arm (broken wrist) and smiled the entire time. Rock on sister! Kids, men, women, puppies... there was so much vibrant energy in the park that day!

After class local businesses including Snap Kitchen fed us freebie dishes such as Tofu & Sambal, Ginger Salmon, and Veggie Lasagna. Well fed and feeling bright, my boyfriend and I left the park with a feeling of community in our hearts.

Much gratitude to all ya'll who pulled this off!

Ruta Maya Free Yoga With Pam

New to Austin, TX, I'm doing what I usually do new in town— attending every pseudo–hippie event or class, beginning to find my groove in my new surroundings. Ruta Maya coffee house is an Austin, TX favorite for community classes, music, and local art.

I woke at 7:40am, remembered Ruta Maya's Monday 8:00-9:00am yoga class, hopped in the car and headed South on Congress. About 25 yoga students, from beginners to advanced, sat on their unraveled mats which covered the entire floor! This coffee house is large and even has a stage for the bands who come and play.

Pam, a sweet, straight forward and clearly spoken yoga instructor, guided the class through a sequence of salutations, twists, and hip openers. The class was planned very well and Pam offered everyone pose variations depending on flexibility and experience.

I hope you can attend a free class at Ruta Maya! It's a kind gesture to tip your teacher and Ruta Maya asks that you purchase a coffee or tea after class to supliment the cost of their awesome space. No biggie for a well thought out class! Here is their schedule:

Yoga Is Always FREE at Ruta Maya with Coffee House Purchase

Yoga Class Schedule at a Glance

Class	Day	Time
Hatha Flow Yoga	Monday	8 to 9 AM
Happy Hour Yoga	Monday	5:30 to 6:30 PM
Vinyasa Yoga	Tuesday	9 to 10 AM
Hatha Flow Yoga	Wednesday	8 to 9 AM
Happy Hour Yoga	Wednesday	5:30 to 6:30 PM
Hatha Flow Yoga	Thursday	9 to 10 AM
Hatha Flow Yoga	Friday	8 to 9 AM
Family Yoga for Kids	Saturday	10 to 11 AM
Hatha Flow Yoga	Saturday	12 Noon to 1 PM

How Yoga Works at Ruta Maya

1. Show up for class and set up your mat.
2. Return to the counter to make your purchase.
3. You may get your purchase at this time OR bring your receipt back to the counter after class to collect your purchase.

Amala Foundation, Austin, TX

Years of un–layering and introspect bring most to this important fact: like attracts like. Black Swan Yoga of Austin, TX offered their studio to the Amala Foundation to host Keep Austin Peaceful, a party to celebrate the upcoming Wimberley, TX camp for 45 of Austin's 65,000 refugee children— 4th Annual Global Youth Peace Summit.
Volunteers and councelors, yogis, and new friends were all celebrated as Vanessa, founder of Amala Foundation, voiced her insight and experience after 10 years with the foundation.

She touched on our willingness to gather and how gathering can be done anywhere but must be done now with intent. The war within us and around our neighborhoods is more difficult to dissolve than the war of countries. It starts within.

I was invited to a volunteer meeting at the Amala Foundation sanctuary in South Austin. Tibetan flags, and large chimes, Cedar trees, and sweet smiles, burning Nag Champa, and safe breezes surround this enticing sanctuary, inviting all to enjoy peace— the peace that is felt through the simplicity and spirit of a home like the Amala Foundation.

Many arms opened to me as i walked in the door. Chai tea was passed from hand to hand and pillows lined the floor. We shared our talents and jobs and skills were partitioned off to the necessary places. All donations needed to complete preparations for The Summit; Verizon phones to use as walkey talkies, children's clothes, trailers, trucks, etc. were found within the glowing group of 40 volunteers. The power of community was reaffirmed within me as this collective of goodwill took place.

The 4th Annual Global Youth Peace Summit is an 8-day conference uniting 70 international, refugee, immigrant and local youth ages 12-18 as peace leaders of a global community. This year's Summit brings Austin’s youth together with refugee and immigrant youth from Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, Somalia, Bhutan, Iran, Burma, Colombia, Congo, Guatemala, Tibet, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Burundi, El Salvador, South Africa, Mexico, India, Nepal, and Thailand. About 80% of the youth who come to the Summit live in the Austin area.


The goal of the Summit is to challenge and inspire youth to extend beyond their cultural differences to create One Village united by values of peace, healing, respect, and service to others. Through activities, discussions, art, music-making, and special events, the youth will learn to communicate, to think and act with compassion, and serve others with love. The Amala Foundation partners with other peace-centered social change organizations to offer a truly inspirational event, including Urban Roots, the Indigenous People Institute, local artists, musicians, educators, and peace leaders.


The Summit is a place for healing. Many of the youth come from homes challenged by poverty, violence, and deprivation; some have witnessed the atrocities of war and have literally run for their lives; many have been uprooted from their native cultures and struggle to integrate into an entirely foreign world. Everyone in the Village is invited to speak about their experiences, to share their perspectives, and to find within themselves new inspiration to live as leaders for peace. The Amala Foundation offers scholarships to underserved and refugee youth in order to ensure that this powerful experience is available to all youth who are inspired to take part.

The 4th Annual Global Youth Peace Summit begins Friday, Aug 7th and ends the 14th.

Turkish absurdities

My father, twin sisters and Turkish step mother live in Istanbul, Turkey. This ensures my visiting the 'largest city in Europe' once a year to kiss my family, practice yoga at Ciyangir, and sip Turkish wines at the top of one of thousands of secret roof-top apartment-bars. However, this last trip was different.

Not only was I able to attent the Turkish president's party for Istanbul being named the Capital of Culture 2010, I was invited on a snowboarding extravaganza in Kartalkaya, Bolu 3 hours East of Istanbul where I found myself being pampered at the ever-so-shi-shi Golden Key Hotel. After living in Bali for over a year, I was deep in powder soft snow—observing individual snowflakes as they graced my mittens.

After a long day of training on a board with the Turkish champion of kite and snow boarding and too many lovely glasses of red wine, my crew headed to the hotel room for much needed sleep. Someone in our room opened the window in the beautiful living-room to smoke a joint and then, forgot to close it. In the morning, the rooms were like icicles. We dressed and made our way downstairs to the lodge. Empty. Restaurant—empty. What the heck?

This may be the only time I'll give weed credit for saving the day because 16 people went to the intensive care unit at the far away hospital. The cause: Carbon Monoxide poisoning.
Our open weed window allowed the winter night air to circulate the rooms, saving us from a fatal woe.

Just another day in the life of Emily.

Balifinds.com

A year of training my noggin as a computer, striving to create a web site which would allow people to communicate about housing, volunteering, jobs, and more in Bali, resulted in Balifinds.com!

The community's response has put a huge smile on my face!

Basically, Balifinds.com is cool online classifieds for Bali, Indonesia.

Post & Search everything in Bali and let us know of your favorite Balinese artisans, non-profits, and eateries! We will post a classified for them-bringing more people to their Bali goodness!

***Check it out! If you're coming to Bali Spirit festival and need a house, a friend, or want to volunteer post or search for free on Balifinds.com and someone out there will see your ad and help you! Many people are listing, many people are talking and making new friends!

Also, if you're teaching yoga, music, dance or want to learn any of these in Bali please post!

Help us make Balifinds.com a wonderful community resource!

With gratitude,
Emily