It's the morning of day 8 now so time to catch up on days 6&7 (of my fast & detox).

Best start with the end of Day 5 - after writing and posting the blog I started to walk back to the Muay Thai Camp - Chris the manager here came past in his car at the end of the drive and though it was completely out of his way (and his day off!) he gave me a lift all the way back to Rawai. It's not really a huge imposition for him, but makes such a huge difference when you're walking!
Day 6 was a much better day than days 3-5. I had very little nausea and a lot more energy.

I arrived in the morning later than usual as I didn't fancy the mountain walk (I've been walking into Atsumi from the Muay Thai camp which is 3Km which isn't a lot but with the heat and humidity and the morning sun gets you pretty hot and sweaty first thing. We had our usual morning gathering of everyone...there were a few people feeling a bit angry at the way the centre's being run and the changes that have been implemented lately. I have to be honest while I understand why some people have been frustrated it hasn't really affected me too much and I'm not really interested in the complaining.

My card was the Lovers. It felt pretty apt as I'd been have some very loving conversations with my other half on messenger the night before and was feeling full of love.
The colema produced a lot less and is starting to move away from the black cherry-like apparitions.

After the morning session I went to Nai Harn Beach for the first time with Una - lovely Irish woman who has what I can only describe as smiling eyes and Deidre, a part Maltese-part English nurse who is very into alternative healing. The beach was beautiful..I realised that I can't actually remember the last time I went to a beach like that and was able to swim and sunbathe. We had some really interesting conversations about Reiki and spiritual awareness. The sun and the water was absolute heaven. It's actually the beach where Le Meridien Hotel has lots of terraced rooms which all seem to have a sea view. Looks like a great location if anyone's thinking about a holiday over here!
We went down at about 2ish so that we missed the real heat of the day. My sister gave me some sun screen before I left which I dutifully applied however I realised this morning that I missed a strip of skin under the strap of my tankini and though I didn't think I had my back out too much it did burn - you've got to be so careful!

We headed back to the Atsumi centre for 4 pm for the second colema of the day and more of the same - not so much black anymore but some strange red bits mixed in there.

At 5ish we headed down to the steam room. I went with Hannah, who's hired a jeep while she's here and has very kindly given me lifts home and taken me shopping with her and all sorts! There were lots of people heading down so it would have been 2 trips in the Atsumi car if it weren't for her. The steam room is great..it is really hot but you only sit as long as you want and breath in the herbs. I think I mentioned this before...you douse yourself with cold water before you go in and when you come out. This time at the steam room a lot of us were sitting outside in the evening sun and the discussion turned to the issues at the centre. Frank - one of the German guys had left very suddenly the night before. He'd been unhappy with some inconsistencies in the way things had been running but I think we were all surprised when he left without saying goodbye to anyone. I did feel this killed the peaceful atmosphere I'd been starting to enjoy and at one point found myself alone in the steam room with Una..we had a good chat and left the discussion that was going on outside - outside.

After the steam Hannah and I had planned to play a game of pool. We were talking about it on the way in (there's a bar as you head in from the road with a pool table on the left - all open to the air). You walk past the bar and an air conditioned treatment room, to several treatment beds, a table with all the lovely Thai ladies who provide Foot Massages, Oil massages and something else I can't remember just at the minute.

Day 7 was supposed to be my last day however I felt I still had some detoxing to do. One of the effects of the detox can be a really really really furry tongue (it's gross!). The first few days I also got some monumental bad breath to go with it. It was pretty bad going to the Muay Thai fight because I did want to talk to people and join in but I could smell how bad it was, so I might have come across a bit quiet. You can't chew or take anything other than what is recommended during the fast so chewing gum or breath mints (which are usually filled with chemicals anyway) are totally out of the question. So, the furry tongue isn't as bad as it used to be but it definitely no where near as bad and my breath seems to be much better.
So all that being said I decided to extend to 10 days. It's funny to think that not eating for a week would be this effortless...the most challenging bit to get through is the healing crises - and everyone's fast and each fast is entirely different. Claus from Munich has been doing the fast one day less than me and still hasn't had any adverse reactions and is frustrated that he hasn't experienced the pain the rest of us have been going through.

This morning I picked the possibilities card. Throughout the day I've been remembering the point when my other half and I first found this on the internet back in around October last year. I remember reading through the benefits and how much weight people were able to lose - I had a moment of realisation about what this could do for me..and started wondering how I was going to be able to do this. At the time I was so stressed with work and couldn't see how it was possible but we talked about it and said the long term goal was to earn the money to pay for what we thought it would cost. And circumstances have got me here now!
All through the day people have been saying to me how they feel this is going to completely change my life and how much better I'm looking. I was even told I was a sexy looking woman..my ego is saying..yes please, more of these lovely compliments! :-)

I feel there are possibilities opening up to me now and am very grateful for how appropriate all of messages I've been getting have been.
I spent some time a few days ago chatting with one of the practitioners, Len who's from Maui. A very quiet spoken peaceful man with a lot of interesting things to say. He and I were talking about attracting things into your life. I can think of at least 3 major changes to my life where I've thought carefully about what I've wanted and let it go and then pretty much within 3 months it's appeared! The latest two being the opportunity to come here and also being able to take a few months off work. I had one of my checks (we have even day checks with Areti on how our fast is going). She has a lot of experience fasting so is a really good person to talk to if you're worried about any of your reactions or struggling, etc. The law of attraction came up again then and she recommended the book to me which is in the library here.
Today again I was talking to Len and he mentioned a book by a guy he knows called Mind, Body and Sport. It sounds really interesting and I'd love to read it while I'm training. Not sure how I can get hold of copies of these while I'm here but I'm sure if it's right they will find their way through to me!

During the morning session in the group a lot of people vented their frustrations and there were apologies about the mistakes that have been made and I think it really cleared the air. I chipped in enough to make a suggestion for improvement -which I hope changed the feeling of the meeting a little into something a bit more positive...certain people were getting a bit negative and accusatory but then they've already acknowledged that they have some suppressed emotions to deal with...though the concerns are still valid.

After the morning colema I hung out at reception on the bamboo sofas and had an Ion cleanse for a second time. (I think I forgot to mention the first one!). You stick your feet in a large bowl of water and a device sits on the side of the bucket. A charge is run through the water for about 30mins and toxins come out through your feet. I had black flecks and rusty red flecks. It's really intersting because everyone's is completely different..some people here have had the water completely red and white floating bits and all sorts. The black flecks are supposed to be due to heavy metals in the body and the red flecks are to do with blood clot material. The second time I did it there was a lot less coming out and the water was significantly clearer (less flecks). I was wondering where the heavy metal could have come from but I guess tonnes of tuna fish and a healthy appetite for sushi has probably been responsible for that.

I then spent a lot of the day with Una..we went down to her room - which is lovely all the giant bamboo furniture, the paintings on the wall, lots of space. We talked for ages whilst doing the parasite zapping (another contraption with a current running through it). It was quite hot and there was a power cut on so we both passed out for a couple of hours and woke up in time for our second colema. I'm finding now that the colema isn't a problem at all...it's just getting set up for it - the tip you insert has holes in it which I find a little sharp and sometimes is quite painful to insert. But I think it comes down to how relaxed you are..and if I'm worried about being hurt..I'm tensing up! Some more black stuff this time - more intestinal plaque coming loose!

Afterwards I went back to reception to talk to my other half for a bit on msn but there were a lot of people wanting to use the internet so I didn't get to finish my blog of talk to him very much either....which I why I'm updating this now this morning...and hopefully I'll have a bit more time to talk this afternoon :o)

After the internet time the group of girls all decided to go to Central Festival which is the large shopping centre near Phuket Town..Hannah and I had both seen it before but we somehow manage to drive past it or miss it. A lot of the junctions and roundabouts in Phuket have no signs whatsoever so we got rather lost and took twice as long to get there. It was really weird to walk around it because it felt really westernised..though there were some fantastic Thai thigns in there too...bit thrown by Boots, Body Shop and the sports shop...if you were living here as a westerner and missed the UK - this place would definitely help!

The food in the stalls all the way to the shopping centre was intoxicating..it smelt soooooo great!!! We went into the market in the centre as well...there was a luxury chocolate stand and I was amazed to find I wasn't tempted by it at all...as a life long chocoholic I can't believe it. The food that really got me walking through there was all the fresh fruit - mangoes with yellow skin just the way they are in HK (Nicky I will eat enough for you as well!). The fresh veg just looks delicious as well...I can't wait to taste again...the hunger itself isn't really there for the majority of the day but the craving for taste is incredible. Everyone's been saying that food tastes incredible when you break your fast and most people don't fancy the really spicy, cooked foods. I think because I was supposed to finish I had started to think about the fruit platter the centre provides...but now I'm having to change my thinking again...
Actually in a way I'm a little worried about eating again...I wonder if I'm going to go nuts on fruit and eat tonnes..though Areti assures me the body eats as much as it needs.
I went to bed too late and am a bit tired this morning...but I'm yet another kilo down this morning, which I think takes me down to about a stone and a half down now!

Right off to the rest of today now..morning gathering about to start xxxx