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After India, Bangkok is like a dream.

Reclining Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand By Sonja Bjelland

My hotel is clean and has hot water. And I didn’t even have to pay a ton. Heck, I even have air conditioning.

The roads are paved to the store fronts and not a cow in sight.

But I needed a yoga class to sooth my body after walking all day taking in the Grand Palace, temples and museums.

It reminds me of a mix of Hong Kong and Delhi actually. Tucked in among the glistening skyscrapers sit wooden houses and shacks on the pier. Makes sense because it’s Indochina I supposed.

I passed by a Dairy Queen and Boots drugstore trying to find the tourism information kiosk. I’m sure this is only the smallest fraction of Thai life. But one I was surprised to see.

So above the Sizzler, (yes, that Sizzler, with the steaks and salad bar) in a glassy, lit-up building in the Thong Lo district I found two yoga studios. Absolute Yoga and Iyengar Yoga Bangkok.

Mural at the Grand Palace of the Thai interpretation of Indian mythology

Absolute Yoga is a chain of yoga centers with several around Bangkok and a yoga resort on Koh Samui that was just mentioned in the New York Times as one of the 41 things to do in 2011.

However, most of the classes at the studio closest to my place were of the “hot” yoga variety. Being that I’m in Bangkok and the daily high tops 85 I figured I’ve sweat enough already and went with the Iyengar studio.

By the end of the Iyengar class I’d amassed a small pile of yoga blocks was happy to see them being used. I’m not the most flexible and fortunately for me the Iyengar type of yoga uses props such as blocks and straps to keep the body in correct alignment, no matter how little you can stretch. The owner even had special blocks cut just for shoulder stands.

While Iyengar is based in India, the idea of blocks and straps is somewhat controversial there so this type of yoga confined to the Pune region outside of Mumbai where it is taught. I brought my own strap to a few classes in India and was told not to use it.

In the confines of the studio, I could have been at a yoga class anywhere in the West. The fill-in instructor, Les, adjusted people as needed and it felt good to stretch all my tired muscles.

With “sivansansa,” relaxing at the end of class, I’m hoping to conquer this jetlag tonight before I land in Koh Samui on Saturday.

Night market chef grilling pork to go with peanut sauce By Sonja Bjelland