This week, we are lucky to have Janna Clare Weaver guest blog for MISSION to share her Enduracool experience... here she shares the ups and downs during her quest to study Yoga in the jungles of Thailand. You can follow her @embodily......
My adventure began in Frankfurt as we boarded our Thai Airways flight to Bangkok. It began to dawn on me then that I was in for culture shock. This was my first trip to Asia, and first time eating "authentic" Thai food. The chicken satay appetizer was so spicy I needed plenty of wine with it. When we transferred to a smaller plane in Bangkok to go to Koh Samui I immediately noticed the difference in aircraft and quality. As soon as we touched down in USM airport I realized I was in a third world country that had not yet been developed, at least by Western standards. The jetway was partly dirt. You could see sewers with murky brown water lining the strip. The open air airport was hot, humid and muggy. As we piled into a taxi to the hotel where we planned to recover from jet-lag, I was shocked at what I saw along the winding roads lined with shanty towns. I had never seen poverty like this. While we waited for our room to be ready at the hotel we became drenched in sweat. Thankfully I had thought to pack my Mission Enduracool towel in my carryon bag. I needed this towel to wipe away the huge drops of sweat as we waited for three hours on the patio. We were unfortunately sunburned due to the serious intensity of the sun, my boyfriend had major mosquito bites that were swelling up and we were exhausted. Thus began our month+ in the jungles of Thailand, the islands.
After a few days of shock and adjusting to totally different surroundings we switched from what we discovered was the relative comfort of our hotel to a new island, Koh Phangan. This was considered less developed; mostly jungle; only accessible by motor boat or in our case a longtail boat. We had intended to study yoga on this island but after only three days in the jungle, in conditions that were unsanitary, unhealthy, and not at all as advertised, I fell ill with extreme heat exhaustion. My towel was invaluable in the jungle. We had a 30+ minute hike over a mountainous path from our accommodations to the neighboring beach where the training was held. The temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and there wasn't clean water available. By the time we arrived at the next beach I would be drenched with sweat and had trouble cooling off my body. My Enduracool towel, worn around my neck over my shoulders, offered the cooling I needed to help my core temperature calm down.
Even after we escaped Koh Phangan, I carried my Enduracool towel everywhere. It was perfect for keeping comfortable while sightseeing. I wore the pink towel like a scarf in Paris and didn't get overheated despite hours of trudging on hot pavement. I'm using the towel now in the yoga studio back in the US, as it wicks away moisture so effectively and doesn't look dingy at the end of a session.
While it was the perfect towel for the jungle, you don't need to go all the way to Thailand to benefit from Enduracool!
A few photos from the trip.....
