Chiang Mai, Day 1

We actually came in yesterday to town on the night train, had lunch, walked to our guesthouse, and had a killer lunch. That was enough. We were tired from traveling and a short walk around the area wore us out. I was able to lay in bed and watch a movie to end the day.

Today was a totally different beast. We took an all day cooking course that involved making 6 courses. So that meant... We also ate 6 meals. Whew! It began with a trip to the market to get a lesson on how to buy fresh ingredients and a LOT of information. Our guide was amazing and made it all seem so simple. When we get back to Vegas and I try this stuff out at my own home, we will see how simple it is.

Funny thing is one of the guys in the class was also on the train with us into Chiang Mai. He has an interesting story with the police in Bangkok, so be sure to ask me in person later. But how could that happen? We met up in the same class? There are several different cooking schools and we picked the same one at the same time on the same day. Ben was great to chat with and helped make the cooking even more enjoyable.

Back to the food.

We prepared everything from scratch, even making our own massaman, green, and penang curry. Here is a list of what G+K made:

Massaman Curry Paste, Green Curry Paste, Gaeng Kieow Wan Gai (chicken with green curry), Gad Pad Bai Graphao (stir fried chicken with basil leaves), Somtun (green papaya salad), Pad Thai (fried noodles Thai style), Glooay Tord (fried bananas with thick coconut toffee), Massaman Gai (massaman curry with chicken), Kao Pad Gai (fried rice with chicken), Porpia Tord (spring rolls), Kaew Neow Dum Biag (sticky rice pudding), Gai Pud Met Mar Mooung (stir fried chicken with cashew nuts.)

The whole thing was from 9am - 3:30pm making the day fly by. The food tasted great and the atmosphere was comforting. Another few points for the Thai hospitality!

 

 

Bangkok, Day 3

Not much happened today except for a little bit of shopping and eating. Our dive bags are checked at the hostel luggage room and the purchased items will hopefully be there when we get back. I locked them closed and packed the shirts and things inside. By traveling as light as we are for the next few weeks, there is no way to carry extra stuff with you, so the lightly packed dive bags have some room to load stuff for the return to the USA.

Right next to the hostel is a tailor shop. We had been in the adjoining convenience mart and noticed that it was a family run operation. I asked inside the hostel about the guys next door and if they made good shirts and suits. They mentioned that quite a few guests had clothes made there and they were quite reputable. My situation is a little weird. I don't wear suits to teach and don't really need more dress shirts, but a tuxedo would be amazing. So, that it what I went for. These guys took 50 measurements and I will be getting a classic look tux to fit in with the symphony. The tux will be a cotton cashmere blend with a satin stripe and the two shirts will be silk. I wanted a lighter weight set up compared to my all wool one I wear now. This should make those hot nights playing outside much easier. They took the initial fitting and when we come back in a few weeks they will do a few more. 3 days is normally than enough, but I just want to be sure.

As I write this entry, we are on the overnight train to Chiang Mai. There was no problem getting back to the station and reading the schedule was simple. Eating was a little different. We had to buy coupons with cash and then pay for your food at the vendors with the coupons. There was a nice Thai lady sitting next to us with her son that asked if we needed help ordering. Gee, I guess that we looked like we needed help. Actually what it was is she heard us speaking English and she told us that she was from Georgia. Her husband was back in the states and she comes to visit Thailand once a year with the son. We thought that was pretty cool and it was nice to meet another friendly person.

We are riding in the second class section of the train which is pretty nice. Compared to the first class ride from Chumphon to Bangkok, it's not really less desirable. Except, you can hear and are in the business of people around you. The large seats fold down to sleep for the night and have plenty of room. Earplugs are a must! There is no such thing as welded rail in Thailand thus far, so the clang clang of the track is loud! The trains in Germany ran almost silent which seems hard to believe right now. The train air conditioner works like a champ though, so we should be rested and ready to explore Northern Thailand.

 

 

Bangkok, Day 2

What happened today was totally crazy. I told 4 cab drivers they were full of crap, saw 3 large sights in the town center, and watched a runaway lizard get hit by 2 mopeds. As we were finishing up for the day and trying to get a cab back to the hostel, I saw a lizard running from the town park. This was no ordinary lizard. At first I thought it was a little crocodile, but could make out its head and saw that it was some type of iguana. No, just a lizard. I looked over at a military group of men and we laughed and exchanged facial expressions. But then, it ran into the street in front of the Grand Palace. This is where 6 lanes of traffic cross and the lizard was in the middle of it. I stopped to watch and wondered if I should go Steve Irwin style on it and grab it by the tail and bring it to safety. This joker was probably 4-5 feet long and ran like the Gila monsters you see in the Galapagos. I started to run out into traffic but Katherine said it might bite me and to leave it alone. So instead, I took out the camera and watched this beast play a game of frogger in which it lost. Two mopeds ran it over and it still was going. One moped driver even let out a huge scream as she broke the reptile's back. The next one just cruised over like nothing was happening. At this time all traffic had stopped and the lizard hid under a bus. A man came out with an umbrella and the creature still had enough life in it to jump up at him hissing and snapping. The other side of the street had people with cameras and I could have kept this whole thing from happening if I had somehow got him back on the sidewalk. We had to get going to get back to the hostel after many hours of museum touring and sightseeing. Poor little guy. With all the canals, I wonder if he was living in there, or was maybe someone's pet. I am sure though, someone will be eating lizard road kill this evening. Nothing goes to waste around here.

Before all that, the day began with a long taxi ride to the Grand Palace. We toured the grounds with a very comical guide. His name was Jeffrey and he spoke with a hefty Thai accent. We stayed close to him to hear the best that we could. Most of the tourists were from China and Japan making my ability to "blend in" a lost cause. After that, we visited the Textile Musum. Many of the royal dresses were on display, as well as a history of the current queen's actions to keep traditional silk weaving alive. She would travel around the country looking for great silk and practices. She wanted the best for her people and would monitor the living conditions to see where she could help. The silk trade is still alive and people are being treated fairly thanks to her hard work.

We were tired after those two stops but that did not stop us. Next, we went to the National Thai Museum. It is just a few blocks away and it was fun walking the busy street with vendors on either side. Sometimes you can only pass through the people in a straight line. The products, food, and people get really crammed. You just have to watch your pockets and stay smart. The museum was totally overwhelming and wore us out. I felt satisfied that we traveled through most of it seeing what we could. My favorite exhibit was the Thai musical instruments. It is one of the better displays I have seen. Too bad we couldn't bang on some of those huge drums and xylophone-like instruments.

The paragraph about the lizard is where the day ended. We got back to the hostel area after a long taxi ride in the traffic. Looking out the window was entertaining though. Plenty to see. Now it's time to get some laundry done and get ready for the train ride to Chiang Mai tomorrow. Bangkok has been a blast!

Oh yeah, before I forget. On the way back to the hostel, we saw a crowd of people gathering in front of the MBK mall. They had set up a boxing ring and were having a fight. Muay Thai boxing right in front of our place! How cool is that? We watched a few rounds and couldn't believe that there was live traditional music being played during the match.

 

Bangkok Day 1

It is difficult to call this post Bangkok Day 1 since we have been here for 2 days. I find naming the blogs a trying part of the entry. Yesterday we arrived in the morning on a night train, and today would be our first real day in town. The morning started with a send off of Michael. He had to get up really early to grab a cab at 05:30. His flight would take him from Bangkok to Qatar, then to Washington DC. I did get a text from him today mentioning that his hotel was giving him a little run a round, but things would work out. We are just glad that the taxi did not take him to some far off location, or to the cheap fake gems district. Later bro!

Our morning adventure took us to the Jim Thompson house. This is a preserved abode with Thai architecture at its finest. Mr. Thompson was an American architect that cherished the Thai culture and restored the cottage silk industry. He disappeared in Malaysia in 1967 and his place is a museum of fine Thai artwork. I found it quite interesting and the teak construction was something else!

From there, we went to the Bangkok Art and Cultural center for a look at some visual art and exhibits. It's like a Guggenheim museum, but larger and on the other side of the world. The exhibits change frequently, so you might see totally different things in a year.

Right across the street was the MDK mall. With Michael, this was the one mall we did not go into. Boy, he sure missed out! We were unhappy with the high end malls of yesterday and this one was the mall we were looking for. Silk, yes. Electronics, yes. Freaky shirts that you might be embarrassed to wear in the USA, double yes. This place was like the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, but it in a techie sort of way and times 1000. It was all going well until the power went out. We were on the sixth floor out of seven when it happened. Thankfully, the emergency lights came on in a few places. I thought people might start to loot and panic, but most just stopped where they were and looked around. I noticed that there was a vacant fire escape close by and if we decided to get out of there, that would be our exit. Within 5-7 minutes or so, the power came back on and everyone continued their shopping frenzy. What a place! (notice the pic below, only emergency lights are on.)

 

Chumphon to Bangkok

As I sit here writing this blog, I find it continually difficult to realize that we are in Thailand. People are friendly and travel is easy. The overnight train ride to Bangkok was smooth with no hiccups. Our day here in the city was a little hot and hectic trying to find the hostel with 2 subway lines and a switch between them. The subway here is really clean, and navigating to our hostel was not a problem at all with last year's Europe trip under our belt. We have some travel skills. Some parts are tricky, but the unknown is what keeps me coming back for more.

The old middle school joke about this nations capital keeps running through my head. If you don't know what I mean, just know that it involves hitting your recipient in the "parts" after you ask what the capital of Thailand is. 5th graders at my school would mumble the joke as I told them were I was going this summer. Yeah, real funny guys! You wanna call home and tell your mom the joke? Huh?

I find it interesting that as an American I have known nothing about this beautiful country and it's history. Previously, I just knew that Thailand is a country close to other countries where a lot of soldiers died before I was even born. History books that were required readings in school did not hit much on this place at all. Today, after visiting the Siam Square shopping district, I realize that it is a lot different than I had originally thought. The shopping malls are larger than any American malls and there are 4 of them within 5 minutes walking distance of where we are staying! One was as big as Crystal City in Virginia. We did not buy anything at the malls since prices were high and all the things I saw I could get cheaper on the internet. The people watching was the bet part. (as I review the blog, wait for blog tomorrow, we hit the gold mine of malls)

Michael leaves in the morning and it will conclude his 2 weeks with us. He has been a great travel partner and we all got along very well. Even though he was new to diving, he picked up on things extrememly quickly and was a blast to have with us. Michael, you are welcome to come along on any insane trip we plan!

 

 

Koh Tao to Chumphon

Right now we are taking the ferry back to the the mainland. Our stop will be Chumphon sometimes spelled Chumporn which we find hysterical. I just got done with some minor video editing on the iPad. The few videos that I made just got slammed into an impromptu project. Supposedly, tomorrow we will have a great Internet connection in Bangkok and I will get the video up on YouTube. It will not be an editing project as you all have seen in the past, but a quick thrown together pile of the shots that I have taken in between the still shots. A real fully edited video will be made with stills and video in the future.

I have to go ahead and say that it was a bittersweet end to the time on Koh Tao. We had to go into the dive shop to fill up water, get some shirts, and leave some much earned tips for the staff. I would love to come back, but there are so many places to get to with so little time. We had no complaints and the staff made us feel at home. Hopefully, we will be back again soon. It is half way around the world. This might make it difficult.

It was Election Day in Thailand today. There is some rule about not having alcohol in the restaurants on this day until a certain time. We found this out when the server at the restaurant looked around when we ordered our drinks and whispered something at us while pointing under the table. I guess there might be cops or inspectors coming by on motorbikes looking for violators. At 1pm the drinks suddenly appeared on top of the tables. It just seemed like a game the locals were playing. Surely, there would be a hefty fine if you got caught. Not cool.

This time we are on the super fast ferry back to the mainland, not the slow hippy ferry. I mean there are still hippies on here, but they are probably the ones not looking for the cheapest fares. One dude even busted out his guitar. The people on here all have very expensive cameras and the class difference is huge compared to the way out. It's amazing what a few Baht will get you.

Tonight will take us to Bangkok via night train out of Chumphon. We splurged for the first class sleeper car ($35) and I am interested to see what that will be like. The train station is small and we plan to hit up the Salsa Hostel for a shower. The plan is to get a quick bight to eat right before the train and then hop on. Arrival in Bangkok will be in the early AM and we will be looking for our new hostel to drop our bags. Going from little island to big city surely will be a change. We will be in the shopping district so I am sure that the blog will get interesting.

 

 

 

Koh Tao Diving, Day 4-5

The last day of diving on the island was something truly spectacular. We had an early meet at 7 am and then off to Shark Island (no sharks) and then to Hin Ngam. Shark Island started with some serious current and then smoothed out once we evaded it by going shallower in the protection of some reef. The highlights were some giant grouper, more nudibranch, beaked corral fish, and long tail emperor fish. Mark was our guide and it was a slow relaxing time. Water was clear, a good 60 foot viz, and our gear was dialed in. We have now logged 13 dives on Koh Tao and have another 11-12 hours of dive time.

The night dive yesterday took us to the site Twins. It was shallow and easily managed since we were familiar with the site. At night, the corral polyps were abundant and so were the feather stars. No one on the boat got sick or had to come up early, so we all nailed hour dives. There was even a turtle we saw bedding down for the evening. I have some video of the turtle, but no still shots, since a 35w strobe might send the beast into a heart attack!

The Master Divers crew and staff has been better than expected. It's not a place that is going to put you gear on for you, and you have to climb a ladder to get out of the boat. The outfit in Australia was a little different. I like having to work and help out a bit and sometimes have to simmer down to not get in the way.

Captain Pee Dong needs a paragraph to himself. Each boat trip is controlled by this man, and a man he is. He is a shorter older man with the long goatee from the movies. His chest is tatooed with bullets and Thai writing in various swirls and over his arms. He constantly talks on the radio, and we were told he is setting up his next spear fishing outing or breakfast dates. No one goes past the blessed front of the boat and never into his cabin. We showed a little gratitude today by offering a tip as he was walking back out to the boat. When I reached out my hand to offer, he was surprised and when he took the money, he offerd me in return his drink. I originally refused and said just keep it, but he insisted. Some people in the dive shop were watching and I returned to the staring group who asked what I did for Pee Dong to get him to hand over a drink? It seemed to be a coffee almond sugary creation from a local shop. We all tried it out and it is still a mystery. Captain Pee Dong, thank you for the safe travels in choppy waters.

 

Koh Tao Diving, Day 3

The night finished with a "send off" of two future dive masters. The Master Divers crew threw a party at a mini golf place for their two students that recently completed their requirement for becoming a dive master. We got the invite a few days ago and were asked to join in the festivities. The next day would have us diving early, but we wanted to see what all this was about. A similar thing happened on the island of Bonaire while out diving and it was so much fun, we were sure no to miss this event. Hopefully the picture will do this justice.

The first dive today took us out to Chumphon Pinnacle. This is a shallow spot in the water with no island and very shallow water which must cause havoc for ships. Since we were WAY out in the ocean, the large fish were abundant. We saw trevally, snappers, and barracudas in large schools. The current was strong and I missed a chance at a goliath grouper, but I didn't want to swim against the current and risk scaring it off for the rest of the dive party. The second dive brought us closer to the main island. We saw our first turtle there and I got a sweet pic of a nudibranch. The dive times were right at an hour making the day perfect! It was nice to sleep in a bit and get out later. Tomorrow will have us doing two early dives and then back out for a night dive.

 

 

Koh Tao Diving, Day 1+2

The last 2 days have been a whirlwind of diving. The sites are beautiful and full of life. I have been able to photo a new species on the camera each time we are down. The visibility on this side of Thailand is a bit better than Phuket, but it's a little more crowded. Master Divers and the other operations on the island seem to really have their stuff together. There is a call time at the shop about 15 min prior to loading the boat. From there, we load the long tail boat with gear and divers.

The long tail boat is something fierce! Ours is about 30' long, wooden, and thoroughly broken in. What is most impressive is the drivers of these improvised boats. Once we wade out in the water and load into the boat from its sides, the driver has to spin the entire thing around. There is no reverse! The motor is elevated off the back of the boat connected to a swivel. Mounted to the motor is the control rod on one end, and the super long propeller shaft on the other. When the boat is driving forward the long propeller shaft hangs out the back spraying up water as well. This is how the boat gets its name Long Tail. It might not be the safest thing out there, but it works. Our long tail captain is dark from the sun and super strong from all this manipulating of the heavy engine. I don't think his lungs are in that great of shape from the diesel that pumps out of this motor into his face at times. Or, maybe he just holds his breath and just ends up smelling like gas. It sure is interesting watching these guys go around the port and noticing the variances between the long tails. Some of the engines are actually car motors ripped out of front wheel drive vehicles and strapped to the back of boats.

The large dive boat is another topic of interest. During the briefing we are first off told not to cross the red board in the front of the boat. This is where the captain does not want us to pass since it has been blessed for safe travels and is wrapped in colorful sashes. Also, you are not to go into the captain's quarters unless you are invited because this is his home and where he sleeps. This goes with the dry area in the back as well. Our captain primarily stayed at the helm with a CB radio in his hand and never came out. I know the boats talk to each other, but this guy was in some sort of CB chat room that never ended. The boat was maneuvered flawlessly in and out of sites and back to the port. His boat is made out of wood and is quite large. Maybe 70' long. I need to find out the name of this boat.

The island is a little smaller than Bonaire and a boat will easily get you around the entire island. We have only ventured through a small area just around the dive shop and our bungalow. Electricity is known to surge and go out randomly, and Internet here is washy at best. It only comes in at the dive shop, but coffee places and Internet cafes have service.

Each dive I tend to take about 60-90 photos. I am trying to take less, but of better quality, but digital allows you to take as many as you want and just delete later. My biggest concern is to not hold up the dive party and still crank away on some subjects. The late night photo reviews are fun when I make it a game to delete at least half of them right off the bat and then fine tune the rest.

 

Phuket to Chumphon

This was a day of transit. It began with a trip from the Palm Garden Resort to the bus station in Phuket. This is a little abnormal as most people are traveling out in a plane. We got to the main "new" bus terminal without a problem. The wait was just an hour, but we had to pay for an extra seat for our luggage. Dive gear takes up a bit of space. Upon entering the minibus we thought that we would have enough room. Not exactly. It was really cramped with locals and the bus stopped a little more that we thought. The first bus took us to Suratthani. From there we got on another taxi-like vehicle called a tuk-tuk to the next minibus location. This was a hectic mess, but it looked like the locals knew the ordeal, not us. We waited an hour for the next vehicle to take us to Chumphon. Yes, it got us there, but WAY out to some other bus station. We wandered a bit for a while and not so smoothly looked around for information. After struggling, we had a man yell out from a desk at us. He called us over to his window and asked in English where we wanted to go. We made it simple and asked if he would take us to the train station. From there it was a .5k walk to the hostel. No, there was not a taxi, it was him. He toted us in his El Camino like truck. All of us in his 4 person cab for 250 Baht. No problem. When he delivered us to the train station, I thought he earned a US $2 bill. I keep a pack of those for really nice helpful people, and he was. It blew his mind! Yeah, but we were now able to but tickets to Bangkok. That was nice. Supposedly, we have first class sleeper cars on the 24th. If we get to Bangkok in comfort, I will be surprised.

From the train station it was a close walk to the Salsa Hostel. In the middle of borderline chaos of mopeds and people, the Salsa Hostel was oasis in a desert. The was a modern hostel with all the amenities one would wish for international travel. They had a full beverage spread at local prices, bunks with bed side lights and outlets, a clean shower, AC, and free breakfast. For $6 US a night, spectacular! Oh, and they had free, fast wi-fi. We didn't have much time, but dinner was to be had and a shower was in the plan.

Now dinner. Good God! We went for a stroll along the night market looking for some tasty morsels. The vendors were out in full force, and right in front of our place is where it all began. All we needed was some food, how difficult was that? I don't speak the language and have no idea what people eat here. We got a few meat skewers for a few Baht, then walked the market. Meat was good, but we needed some substance. Rice? Anyone? Nowhere to be found. Noodles? Anyone? Same thing. So, we decide on more meat stick. This time Michael and I opted for the dark red glistening stick of mammal. Well, hopefully. Let me tell you, the first half of the meat stick was great, until I realized it was no other meat that I have had before. I have been hunting and have eaten wild game, but this was nothing of the sort. Chewy. Rich. Interesting. And, it all stayed in my teeth until the morning. Our consensus is rat or other rodent, but your guess is as good as ours.

We slept amazingly, and the AC was a gift from the gods. Thank you gods.

 

 

Phuket, Day 4

Today was a little odd... We did not dive.

Instead, we took our time at breakfast and talked about the previous days encounters. Then we went out and lounged by the pool. It had looked SO inviting, but we were just too tired to jump in when we got back from diving the last 3 days. It was nice to sit out there today, play with the camera, listen to the high school drum line, and feel the tropical breeze. As a pool guy in the past, this was a splendid creation! Infinity edges, at least 50' long, free form, and custom tile and mosaic work. Nice job guys!

There were 2 tasks for the day. One, was to get Katherine's regulator from the shop. She had a free flow issue at depth, so we took it to the Mares dealer on the main drag. The second was to get travel info on how to get to Koh Tao. The manager of the resort met with us and made a few calls regarding bus transport with gear to the city of Chumphon. From there we will take the ferry out to Koh Tao. So far it looks good and travel might not be that bad. We are traveling across the countryside and anything can happen. It is a fairly well traveled route on the way to Bangkok, so as long as we stay on track, all should be fine.

The night ended with a great last meal at the Palm Garden Resort. We paid the tabs and talked briefly with 2 instructors from Sea Bees Diving. We were warned by one of them as to how much fun we would have in Cambodia. I draw the line at deep fried tarantulas!

Phuket Diving, Day 3

Today it just kept getting better. The dive outing consisted of just 2 dives, and that was all we needed to totally overwhelm us. The visibility was not the best and it didn't even matter. In the shallower depths, the sun provided enough light to cut through most of it and everywhere you looked there was some creature that we had never seen before. I don't even know where to start. My camera is getting closer to taking shots that I want, but now it is up to me to learn it a little more and get the settings right. We hit two dive sites very close together, Shark Point and Anemone Reef. It was a one and a half hour stroll out there at 7 knots in the big yellow Excalibur II. When we got there the two sites were 300m from each other. How convienent! The first site of Shark Point gets one word to describe it and it's not sharks. It's PURPLE! The purple soft corals were truly astonishing! There was a little current making photos difficult. The sea life was abundant and our guide Martin has great eyes for the weird and different. He would show us all sorts of things hiding in the rocks. We were able to see things that I only saw on TV nature shows.

 

The second location of Anemone Reef was (as you expected it) full of anemones. And with anemones,comes the clown fish. This was my time to try to nail a good shot of those little guys.

The three days of diving with Sea Bees had to come to an end. We totally lucked out with great weather, a good guide, and small numbers of people on the boat. This is the rainy season for this side of Thailand and for us to luck out like this is very special. The 1.5 hour ride back was nice giving us plenty of time to fill out the log books and chat with Martin a little bit. He has a great life story and is living it up as a dive guide with his girlfriend that is in the business with him. We traded contact info and maybe sometime we will see him in the Maldives doing what he does best. Thanks for the wonderful 3 days!

 

Phuket Diving, Day 2

Oh, the diving. Let me tell you a little about that. We just finished our second day out on the boat and now we are preparing for our third. Water temps have been in the 28-30 degree C range. Nothing we have done has been deep. We might have hit 25 meters once, but mostly the depths have been in the 15-20 meter range. Yesterday, we started with a beautiful wall dive on Koh Doc Mai. Viz was good and the life was astounding. Then we headed out to Koh Phi Phi Lee and Koh Phi Phi Beda Nia. The super cool things that we saw were: a ghost pipe fish, yellow sea horse, nudibranch, box shrimp, dancing shrimp, giant moray eels, 3' nurse shark sleeping in a hole, mantis shrimp, stick pipe fish, numerous lion fish, clown fish, kuhl stingray, and even a crown of thorns. Whew! The photo SD card is getting a work out as well as the camera, housing and strobe. Out of the hundreds of photos that I took, there might be 10 that I like and are acceptable. That's just how it goes. The islands themselves have a striking beauty, which is probably why they were used as the setting in the Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach. Most of them butt right up to the ocean with giant cliffs of limestone. The jungle still finds places to take root making the green and rock stand out from miles away. I have never seen anything like that. I will try to put up some pics that show what I mean.

As I write this, we are planning to get out and to another day of diving. My goal is to enjoy myself and hopefully get this camera dialed in on a few shots. We will be back earlier today with only 2 dives in the plan and can figure out how we are getting to Koh Tao the next day.

 

Phuket Diving, day 1

Diving off the coast of Chalong Bay was something else today. The port harbor was intensely humid without a breeze and the commotion of the previous day was nonexistent at 8:30am. The massage parlors and eateries were still closed as we walked our way to the dive shop. Once there, we boarded the shuttle that took us out to the pier. At the end of the pier was the Excalibur dive boat. This vessel was about bring us to the distant island of Koh Racha Yai. The bright yellow Excalibur slowly pushed through the large swells. I could only think about how the surfing would be on the west side of Thailand. The swells were consistent and uniform. Our boat was slow and steady, just rolling with the great big blue. I am probably better off not knowing what it was like with those swells breaking over a break somewhere far away. Somewhere, someone is getting some great surfing, and if Kevin is reading this, I am dead. Enough of that! We were on a dive boat off to see what is underwater, and not to go surfing. Sooner than we knew it, we were doning our gear for the first dive of the day.

The water was clear and the bottom sandy. Martin, our guide, gave us a great dive briefing earlier on the boat, and now we all glided along through the surreal underworld. We started by exploring artificial reef fragments in a series of cubes. After the Tsunami much of the reef was damaged or destroyed. They also had an El Niño year where water around 35 deg C came in an bleached the place out. Even with this, the dive was not bad at all. Where the was corral, it was full of life. This is obviously a reef in the making. I have a detailed review of the dive in my log book, but the highlights were seeing a stonefish, tender guppy and shrimp, and the always impressive clown fish. Lunch was on the boat during the surface interval between dives. The local Thai boat crew whipped up an Indian curry chicken dish and a broccoli and shrimp plate. There were also egg rolls like none other. It was a roll of ham and cheese deep fried. You can't go wrong with that!

The evening started with a stop at the 7/11. No joke, this place is littered with them. The 7/11s carry all the necessary items, but what stood out to me was the funny liquor they carried. Who has ever heard of Hong Thong? There was a knock off Red Bull item as well in a dark brown medicine jar. That might be more than a morning pick me up. I will just stay away from that.

We finished the night reviewing pictures over some more Thai food. There was so much food on the boat that Kath and I just shared a meal and Michael has his own. My dinner attire was full length pants and shirt treated with the bug killer Permethrin. Under the table was a mosquito coil and a fan blowing on high above. It was quite comfortable, I must say.

 

 

Phuket arrival

Meeting Michael in Bangkok was simple and smooth. It was tough leaving a nice hotel to sit on the airplane for another hour, but hey. What's another hour? We met our driver from the dive resort and he took us the 45 minutes out to Chalong Bay. Talk about mom and pop shops. I didn't see a single chain store except for auto dealers and gas stations along the way. Those don't really make sense as a mom and pop operation creating their own gas or vehicles. People were all out and about. Congestion was minimal to what I had originally perceived about this place. It is low season here though. It will sure get different out of the resort town when we head back to Bangkok in 2 weeks.

Is this FAA approved? Or just "cute" approved? Sighting in Seoul.

The Palm Garden Resort, through Sea Bees Diving is pretty sweet so far. We get out on the boat tomorrow morning. On the way through town we stopped at the main office to sign some papers clearing them of any wrongful acts. Blah, blah, blah. What truly stuck out was when we got to the actual resort with the rooms and grounds. Its beautiful! Centrally located in the property is the clear free formed infinity pool with plenty of vegetation surrounding its borders. Michael has his own room right next to us and there is a restaurant as well. So far we have met some Thai people, but what stands out is the way they communicate. There are lots of pleasantries and facial expressions. The resort host was extra sure that our needs would be taken care of. Hospitality is on fire here!

 

LA Airport

Well, we made it through the security and have our bags going all the way to Phuket. I find it interesting with the layover, we will leave the AP and stay somewhere in Bangkok and then come back when our bags have spent the night without us. Poor bags :(

Now for the people contact.... I talked the guys ear off on the Vegas to LA flight. Not a very interesting guy. But, I find it interesting with the luck of the draw who is sitting next to you on the plane. The dude was going to Singapore on a business trip and seemed to be in disbelief with the stories I was telling him.

While we were waiting for the Thai Airways flight, there was a family next to us with a few older people in the crew and some older children. As soon as Katherine got up to scope the place out, the guy I had been observing decided to chat with me. He introduced himself as JJ and was heading to Thailand after being gone for 32 years. I told him I know exactly how long that is since that is how long I have been on this lovely planet. He said he had not been back since he swam across the Mekong River at a 45 degree angle to get out. This is where my ignorance comes into play. I am not sure what direction he was going or where he was fleeing, but he has a US passport that I saw and the children spoke without an accent at all. He wore sleek white overalls and was on the cell phone making arrangements for the travel through his carrier. Obviously, he has fled a situation and come to America and is "living the dream." Good for him!

Update: The plane is now boarding at 2:15pm. We are going to get into Bangkok LATE!!! Unfortunately, we booked a place in town to stay for out long layover. Now, they a going to get us at 2am or so. Argghhh! After a walk through the airport to stretch the legs, we got back to the gate and our plane had arrived. What a sight! It's a white Boeing 777 airplane with purple, gold, and hot pink diagonal stripes. The Thai flag is on the back of the rudder and I have never seen such a thing. Ok. Let me enter the SD card from the camera and try to upload the pic...

 

 

Airport junkies

Here we go! Alan got us to the airport this morning in plenty of time to catch the Southwest flight to LA. It sure is nice having a bro like that for wonderful limo service. Right now, things are going a little too smoothly. I won't believe anything until we are on the flight to Seoul. Surely, I can create some type of hang up before then.

This post is also a sort of test with the Blogsy app and the camera on the iPad. Typically, I would opt for the S100 camera, but this seems cool to do everything on the same device. Dive duffels weighed in at 20 and 25 lbs each. The regs and computers are in the carry on bags, so weight was a little down. Thai Airways is a little stingy with a 15 lb carry on limit, so there is plenty of room in the duffels to add to.

Gotta say this: Vegas is sure a special place with all the girls in the airport with their overnight bags. Fly in, work a few hours, go home, put gas in the Maserati.

Night before

I sit here writing this post knowing it will be my last at home for quite some time. Bags are packed, and have been for a week. The checklists have been worked and reworked. The house is is great shape. But... There still is that apprehension about leaving. Last year was the same, which is funny. I thought I would be calmer since this is my second huge trip. Planning was easier, and the preparations were smoothly coordinated. But, there is still something creating this excitement before the trip. Maybe it is that we are diving and there is a whole load of gear that goes along with that? Or, is it that we are going to the other side of the world in a cultural opposite of what we are accustomed to? Maybe it is this thrill of the unknown that keeps bringing me to the next trip and I will always be uneasy about it? It would be much more simple and productive to stay at home. The 240z needs about a year of work, the trombone will not practice itself, and the truck needs to be run in the trails. Bottom line: the excitement is high and I never thought I would go travel across these four countries in my life! Actually, when I was in elementary school, I thought we would all be wearing aluminum suits Ian's be living on a Mars base of some kind. Now, that never happened. Big downer.

Tomorrow's travel from Vegas - Los Angeles - Seoul - Bangkok - Phuket, all 40 hours or so, will give me enough time and people watching to fill a whole book. Let's see what it has to bring. I have a camera and I am willing to use it!

 

 

Packing Underway

Packing has begun and the checklists are, well.... being checked. There is no way I can leave on a trip without visually seeing a checked checklist. My biggest problem being sure that the correct items are on the list. When I search "checklist" on my computer about 10 show up for previous trips and I have to pick and choose what times will be on the latest excursion. There are checklist for diving, hunting, snowboarding, and even camping. With an over seas adventure on the way, there is one sure bet to be sure that you have everything, make a checklist.

Below is a picture of the dive duffel that will be going. Not very petty, but just to be sure: fins, BCD, mask, snorkel, 3 mil wetsuit, whistle, should all be there. This is helping me get organized. This whole week be expecting to see numerous OCD packing rituals ensue.

 

Here is another pic of camera and electronic equipment. I will be sporting a new Canon S100 camera with Ikelite housing with 35 watt strobe. All the necessary batteries, SD cards, and adapters are shown. I plan to do a full review of items on this trip, unlike last time. Some people were really interested int the gear that we were bringing and a blog site is the way to go for sharing knowledge. Hope you enjoy!