GREEN PEARLS® – curated for sustainable impact
What can we do in everyday life and when traveling to live more sustainable? What does sustainability aim at? Consequences of climate change? Where and how are t-shirts produced? And why is Juist car free? These questions take center stage at the children university, which…
The Italian Dolomites are for sure well known to every mountain lover. Who has not seen the impressive pictures of the Drei Zinnen or the gorgeous view from the Seiser Alm to the Langkofel-Gruppe? In addition clear mountain lakes reflecting mountains and pines wait to…
To get to know Thailand from another perspective – namely its green side – is what we aim at in our blog. Also if Thailand is one of the most popular destinations in South-East Asia, you can find many opportunities to travel off the beaten tracks making unique experiences. Today we take you to the less known region of Loei in the Northern part of Thailand.
By a total of 127 national parks in Thailand only one handful is really known. Phu Kradueng belongs to those less visited, though its nature is especially impressive and diverse: from the high plateau to bamboo and pinewoods to waterfalls and blossoming meadows. On walks in the park you meet elephant, dogs, squirrels, all sort of birds and the rare species of tortoise Tao Poo Loo. The park is spread over more than 348 km2 – enough space for hiking far away of the bustle. A special highlight in the park is the sunrise over the Pha Nok Aen cliff and the sundown at the Pha Lom Sak cliff. Also in the Phu Kradueng national park you will find the mountain Phu Ho that is often compared to the Japanese Fuji. A real must for all nature lovers.
As if you have landed in the film set of Jurassic park – this is how you will feel every now and then in the park Suan There Pha Ngam. The weirdly and arbitrarily towering limestone rocks together with the gigantic trees almost look primeval. Exploring the park by feet definitively is a special experience: Some of the walks will lead you to platforms from which you can spot the formations from above. With some imagination you can maybe guess the names of the rocks, which are chosen accurately, for example, “tortoise”, “dinosaur” or “elephant”. Other paths bring you right into the limestone caves hollowed out by the water over millions of years.
If you love (authentic) Thai food as much as me, you should plan a short stay in the small town Chiang Khan. It lies in the Northern part of the region, only separated from the neighboring country Laos by the Mekong. On the weekend the town comes alive: then on every corner you can find food stands and street side barbecues – perfect to get to know the variety of the Thai kitchen apart from Pad Thai! Also worth an excursion is the Mekong rapid Keaeng Khut Khan only a few kilometers from Chiang Khan, which is a real eye-catcher in particularly in the dry season. Then the river water writhes around multicolored, flatly polished rocks.
If you travel to Loei in June, you should by no means miss the three-day-long Bun Phawet festival in the town of the same name. This year the “mind festival” takes place from the 16th to the 18th of June. While on the first day the people ask for the protection of the spirits of the nearby Mun River and take part in Buddhist ceremonies on the third day, the real highlight takes place on the second day: the colorful Phi Ta Khon parade. The locals dress up and dance through the streets up to the temple Wat Phon Chai. The masks are carved with love to the detail from the wood of coconut palms and rice shells and are brightly painted. A little bit creepy, but at the same time also very impressive.
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The dietary approach is an essential component of Ayurveda. It is based on the individual doshas. The doshas are three bioenergies composed of the five elements (earth, fire, water, air, ether/space). The literal meaning of the word can be translated as “that which can cause problems.” Which dosha one belongs to is innate. However, according to the Ayurvedic view of health, one can influence one’s own constitution through diet (and an adapted lifestyle).
If you want to know what Ayurveda type you are, there are several online tests available, the best known of which is probably the Banyan Botanicals Dosha Quiz. It’s in English, and you’ll need to register via email.
However, if you familiarize yourself with the different types, you can easily categorize yourself into a group.
If you’d prefer professional support, you can find it, for example, at special Ayurvedic retreats while on vacation. The Hotel Korinjak on the Croatian island of Iž, for example, is deeply rooted in Ayurveda and regularly hosts teachers (some of whom come directly from India or are graduates of the Wagholi College of Ayurveda or BSDT’s Ayurved Mahavidyalaya), who will work with you to determine your Ayurvedic type and provide you with specific dietary recommendations.
Listen to your body. This is one of the principles of Ayurvedic nutrition. What’s good for you? What isn’t? Especially at the beginning, you should stick to foods you’re used to so as not to overwhelm your body.
Recommendations are provided in the form of stimulating or soothing flavors that the individual dosha types can use as a guide.
A person who is predominantly Pitta can slightly temper the fire with sweet and astringent foods. As a Pitta type, you also tolerate carbohydrates much better than others.
In contrast, Kapha types should opt for spicy, salty, or sour foods and spices and eat light meals to avoid exacerbating their tendency toward sluggishness and lethargy.
If you tend toward the Vata type, you can ground your mercurial nature with tart and spicy foods.
Instead of focusing too much on the ingredients in your food, you can start by incorporating a mindful routine. Especially in our fast-paced world, it’s hard to consciously enjoy meals rather than viewing them merely as a necessary evil. After all, eating regularly is also part of the Ayurvedic lifestyle:
Tip: Here’s something you can start doing right away as part of the Ayurvedic lifestyle: Drink a glass of warm (ginger) water as soon as you wake up. This will replenish your fluid levels and help you start the day feeling refreshed.
Also: Put your cell phone aside while eating, focus on the food in front of you, and savor the flavors. For example, the Ayurvedic, sweet, or savory breakfast waffles at the HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio.
The HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio specializes in Ayurvedic travel and treatments. Here, you can not only indulge in Ayurvedic delicacies but also learn how to prepare them yourself in a workshop.
These sweet waffles are suitable for Vata and Pitta
· Why? Oatmeal is naturally heavy, nourishing, warming, and oily. Combined with sugar and cinnamon, it has an extremely grounding and calming effect. This is the perfect remedy for the nervous, light Vata dosha. Pitta also benefits from the substantial, sweet energy of oats and sugar (as long as not too much heating cocoa is used).
For Kapha, oats, sugar, and coconut are less suitable, as they drag down the sluggish Kapha dosha even further.
The savory waffles with cashew chutney are suitable for: Vata and Kapha
· Why? The spices (cayenne, pepper, chili, garlic) provide the necessary fire to make the heavy oats more digestible. This stimulates the slow digestive fire (Agni) of Kapha. The bitter/tart character of dried tomatoes and thyme is also beneficial for Kapha.
Caution for Pitta: Green chilies, garlic, sour limes, and long pepper are extremely heating and are therefore not suitable for balancing the Pitta fire.
In Ayurveda, the biological clock (the Dosha times of day) and the digestive fire (Agni) play an important role.
Breakfast is served between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and should be warm, light, and easily digestible. The breakfast waffles should therefore definitely be eaten warm.
As mentioned earlier, a late lunch is the main meal in Ayurveda.
And how many breakfast waffles should you eat? Here, too, there’s an interesting Ayurvedic principle: as many as fit in your two hands!
This is an update from July 22, 2022
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