... Frans certainly never expected that the two of us would ever go on a
yoga retreat.
On Friday afternoon we took our bicycles and rode up to the Fragrant Hills, a park outside of Beijing. We had hoped to sleep in a tent, but it turned out to be freaking cold. Even inside. No central heating. That may also explain the fact that we were the only retreatees...
Nonetheless, we had a good night, and the next morning we did yoga on the roof where the sun did its best to make it warm. The views were beautiful, and I at least enjoyed the yoga as well. After that we relaxed, read, and walked up to the real bird's nest (not the fake one used for the Olympics) to do a bit of drumming.
Much needed fire to keep us somewhat warm in the evening.
After more yoga, we went to a nearby temple on Sunday. Besides an illustration of the
tower of turtles cosmic belief, there was also a hall with 500 (I think) life size monk statues.
The most memorable thing for this weekend may have been the fact that we ate only vegetarian food, and had no beer or coffee. (Ok, ok, we cheated and went to a cafe on Saturday afternoon for a quick espresso and a corona.) I suffered from caffeine-withdrawal headaches the whole time. Here's my first cup once I got back:
