Yoga and more Yoga

The road - converted to a rice drying platform

Half way through last week I remembered there was a yoga retreat at Mai Chau, a place in the mountains outside Hanoi. With the weekend forecast for yet more torrential rain (which did not happen) I decided a bit of meditation and relaxation was what was in order.

I called the company organising the weekend and they confirmed they still had places and a room was duly booked. On Thursday a man arrived to collect my deposit and on Friday afternoon I found myself a motorbike taxi and set off for the meeting point. The driver, born and bred in Hanoi and not a spring chicken had no idea where he was going and we eventually arrived at the destination with me giving the directions. He then offered to wait for me and I had to try and explain I was not going home until Sunday night. Eventually, looking a bit crest fallen he set off to try and find his way home.

Six hours later we arrived at the lodge and immediately changed for the first class, a session which lasted 2 hours. Dinner and bed - once the local ethnic dancing display had finished.

Unlike the forecast Saturday morning was damp (it did rain in the night) but clear and therefore cool. Our practice room was a floating bamboo and palm building on a lake and was not the warmest of places. Class overran again and it was over three hours later when we emerged for breakfast. This was followed by a 2 hour cycle ride. We didn't follow the intended route because all the locals were using every inch of concrete paving to frantically dry rice which they had salvaged from the previous week's floods. Everywhere everyone was drying rice in the autumn sunshine.

We stopped for a beer on the way back and in keeping with the theme of the weekend were nearly 2 hours late for lunch. The lodge was getting used to us.

After a relaxing afternoon the third session of yoga started at 5.30pm and also overan to nearly 8.30pm, so it was dinner and bed again. There were a couple of absentees by the time the 7.30am Sunday session started and also overan. That left time for breakfast, a walk into the local minority village to try and shop (I didn't buy anything apart from a beer), lunch, check out and travel back to Hanoi, which took five hours.

I slept well on Sunday night but today I am far from flexible. I ache all over.