So the new year came last night and I can say that I celebrated in paradise. The evening was pretty laid back and there really wasn't anything crazy going on (it was no full moon party). I started out the night at my bungalow's bar. There I hung out with a few folks I played volleyball with the other day. After sipping on my Thai wiskey bucket for a few hours we made our way up the beach to another bar. Again nothing to crazy but just a lot of people. I ended up talking most of the night to some thai people and utterly trying to convince them that I could not get them a work visa in the USA. For some odd reason they seem to think that I can work wonders and can get them a work visa in the USA.
Anyhow, around 3am I came home and woke up to a nice hangover. Happy new year from what I remember of it.
During the evening of December 30th I joined a bunch of South Africans for a fish BBQ. We grilled up a very large Barracuda and a bunch of prawns. It was the first time I had Barracuda and I must say that it is excellent. The fish was over a meter long and could feed a small army. The prawns were delicious too. The night proved to be a success and everyone went to bed completely stuffed.
The Cook
The rest of the group
Well I decided to travel south for about two hours to the island of Ko Lanta. Ko Lanta is famous for beautiful white sand beaches. It was also suppost to be fairly cheap and not too crowded. Both those things were false in the end.
My journey to Ko Lanta was rocky from the start. I took a taxi to Krabi from Ao Nang and then headed to the Ferry Pier. Once I got there I was told I was at the wrong pier and that I needed to go to another one about 5 km away. So I hoped onto to the back of a motor bike taxi and speed away to the pier. Once I got there I boarded the ferry. However the ferry was about an hour late in departing so I was stuck doing nothing on the boat for three hours instead of two.
Once I got to Ko Lanta I need to find a cheap place to stay. Well it seems that everyone from Europe decided to come to Ko Lanta. Therefor I had to search for about two hours to find a place to stay. Wondering up and down the endless beach I finally was able to bargin some guy to let me stay underneith a bungalow right next to the bar. At a cost of 150 baat per night, it is quite a bargin all things considering. The cheapest room I could find was 400 baat, and there were only one of those I could find in two hours. Also to my delight, upon arriving at Ko Lanta I discovered that I left my passport and plane tickets in Ao Nang.
So now I find myself living in a complete shack on a beach with nothing really near it and everyone seems to go to bed around 10 pm. Not quite what I was expecting. The 10 pm thing wouldn't be a problem if my bed wasn't 5 feet away from the bar. I'll try to upload some pictures later to show what I mean.
Inside of my room, #1
Inside of my room, #2
Outside view of my "Bungalow"
So I'll probably stay on Ko Lanta until the 1st and then head to Ko Lak for a live aboard dive cruise to the Similian Islands. In the mean time I'll just be relaxing and enjoying the beach. A funny note, during my stay in Thailand I have only been away from a beach for 2 nights. Guess I'm a true beach bum now.
For the past two days I've been on a live-a-board dive boat. We started out from Ao Nang beach on the 26th. Our destination was the beautiful islands of Ko Phi-Phi. Ko Phi-Phi is considered one of the most beautiful places in Thailand and is also home to world class diving. My purpose of the trip was to get some good diving in and to get my next dive rating - Advanced Open Water.
The evening of the 26th we set out from Ao Nang. On our boat we had 14 divers, 2 instructors, and a few various staff people. Of the 14 of us, most were either German or Canadian. I was the only American. I was in the Advanced rating group, made up of 7 people. I probably hung out with the Canadians the most. They were generally the most friendly of the bunch. Most were rock climbers who were also staying on Ton Si beach earlier.
Longboat Taxi to the Dive Boat
The morning of the 27th we got up early. We were to do four dives that day. Our first dive was the deep dive. On the deep dive we dove to 26 meters. This is pretty far down. At these levels you can experience Nitrogen Narcosis. Nitrogen Narcosis is a distinct "high" feeling. I guess I was a bit unlucky cause I didn't experience any effects of Nitrogen Narcosis.
After finishing the deep dive we waited a few hours and then did our second dive. Our second dive was just a fun dive. There was no goal to it other than to just see the fish and coral.
Our third dive was a navigation dive. During the dive we did some compass navigation, following headings and swimming in a square pattern. It wasn't very interesting and I didn't see many fish or coral.
The fourth dive of the day was a night dive. Now this was an interesting dive. Diving a night is a completely different experience. Most of the fish out during the day sleep at night. Things like eels, sea snakes, sharks, crabs, lobsters, and shrimp are easily found at night. I was rather unfortunate and I saw very little during our night dive. I only saw a few fish and a couple of crabs. Nothing really special.
Ko Phi-Phi
Sunset
Sunset with me
After a long night of rest we woke on the 28th. This day would prove the best for diving. For we were to dive the three of the best places in Ko Phi-Phi: King Cruiser Wreck, Shark Point, and Aneme Reef.
The first dive was at King Cruiser. King Cruiser was a ferry boat that sunk about 7 years ago. For some reason, the ferry had no cars on it and stuck the ONLY rock any where close to the navigation channel. Also of interest is that all the valuable navigation instruments were misterously removed before the ship left the port. Huh? Guess it must have been an accident.
The dive was awesome! Countless numbers of fish could be seen at the wreck. Also, the wreck is still very intact, adding a really cool backdrop to the dive.
Our second dive was at shark point. Unfortuately I only saw one shark. Our dive group stumbled upon a Lepard Shark sleeping on the floor of the ocean. We also saw a bunch of eels, a flute fish, and numberous puffer fish.
The third dive was the best dive. I can't tell you how many fish I saw. The whole reef was littered with fish. I saw countless varieties and numbers of them. It was unreal. Everyone on the boat said it was the best dive that they had ever done. Many of those people had 60+ dives under their belt.
With the third dive done we headed back to port at Ao Nang. Currently I'm at Ao Nang and will probably stay here a few days. Ao Nang is another built up tourist town. Its full of western food, overpriced bungalows and hotels, and all those typical tourist shops (think the Fisherman's Warf in San Francisco). The beach is quite pleasant though and there is lots to do.
View of the local Islands on the way back to Ao Nang
Dive Folks
Me, #1
Me, #2
I was rather lucky in that for my dives, my dive buddy was always the Dive Instructor. Cause of this, I had many more cool fish pointed out for me. I was also able to improve my scuba technique more than the others.
The 23rd, 24th, and 25th I stayed at Ton Si beach. Ton Si is in the Krabi province which is located on the south west coast of Thailand. Ton Si beach is home to tons of avid rock climbers. Basically if you don't rock climb you don't really fit in here. Being that I don't rock climb I did my best to 'fit in'.
How to describe the beachs around Krabi. Think of hugh limestone cliffs overlooking a beautiful crystal blue ocean. Yea, its nice. Now if you put two and two together you can see why rock climbers love this area.
Ton Si Beach (panaramic)
Ton Si Beach (sunset)
Rahleh Beach (looking south, 1)
Rahleh Beach (looking south, 2)
Rahleh Beach (looking north)
I didn't do much on the 23rd other than get to Ton Si. To get to Ton Si is quite an effort. First one takes a mini bus to Krabi. Then you get in the back of a pickup truck and go to Ao Nang beach. Then you get on a long tail boat and go to Ton Si. See, the only way to and from Ton Si is by boat. However, due to its remoteness, you get cheap bungalows, rather expensive food, and limited services.
My Row House
My Bungalow Operation
On the 24th I went on a kayak adventure. I rented a kayak for half the day and ventured out into the ocean, kayaking around the huge limestone cliffs that overlook the ocean. My kayaking adventure can be described as roasting in the sun looking at beautiful scenery while getting pounded by waves and having my arms nearly fall off due to fatigue. All in all it was really fun.
The 25th came and with it came Chrismas day and a nice hangover. You see on the 24th I meet some cool folks from England and we drank it up till 3 am. I guess santa wasn't too nice to me. Chrismas day was rather uneventful. I listened to some Chrismas music and had some seafood coconut curry for dinner. Mmm, yum!
On the 26th I headed out to Ao Nang for a two day live-aboard dive cruise around Ko Phi-Phi.
Today was my second day in Hat Yai. Today's task was to cross the border into Malaysia and then come back to Hat Yai. After spending about 2 hours trying to find the bus station and then the right bus I boarded the bus to the Thai border. The bus was pretty run down and my knees were pressed against the seat in front of me the whole time. Also cheezy Thai karokee was blasting the whole time. After finally ariving at the border I crossed into Malaysia, then back to Thailand, getting a new 30 days for Thailand.
Back in Hat Yai I then went to a local market. You can buy just about any type of food at one of these markets. You name, you got it. Today I had a bunch of fried bannas. Yum... a little to many though... I think my stomach hurts now.
Tommorow I'm off to Krabi. Krabi's on the west coast of Thailand and should have better weather than the east coast.
For the past few days I've been on the island of Ko Samui. Ko Samui is the largest of the islands in the eastern gulf of Thailand and with it, more touristy and more expensive. Apparently Ko Samui is a hot spot for German tourists there, so most signs are in Thai, English, and German. While in Ko Samui I spent my time in the town of Chaweng.
Chaweng is an example of how not to build a tourist town. There is garbage everywhere. There are no, or very few sidewalks. There are hundreds of motorbikes buzzing everywhere. And there is music blasting 24 hours a day. Regardless of all the worthless crap in the city, the beach was quite enjoyable and the island it self was charming in its own way.
People of Ko Samui are a bit different than from the rest of Thailand. Not only do they speak a very hard to understand version of Thai (not that I can tell), but they have an odd sense of humor about things. You sort of think they are serious, but they are really joking. Its a little hard to explain.
In Ko Samui I stayed at the Reggae bungalows. They are right in the middle of things and you can't really sleep at night. But thats ok, its cheap and who wants to sleep at night anyways. While at the Reggae bungalow I hung out with a bunch of Thai's who lived there. It was pretty cool because they showed me some Thai cooking and what is good and what is not so good to eat. They also cooked me a Thai dish that is definitely the hottest thing I've ever tasted. Its made from fish and lots (and I mean lots) of chilis. Below are some pictures from one of our meals.
Food image 1
Food image 2
Food image 3
It was also nice because a bunch of us would hang out at night and then go to the Reggae pub next door. Below are some pictures.
Thai girls 1
Thai girls 2
Reggae Pub
Thai girls and me
Currently I am now in Hat Yai, the southern commerence capital of Thailand. Tommorow I'll be crossing the border to Malaysia to renew my 30 days in Thailand. After that I think I'll be heading up the west coast of Thailand to do some more scuba diving and beach relaxing.
Today I managed to get up in time to make my 7:30 am taxi to the pier. I also decided to check out of my room and move futher north on the island. Down south there isn't much to do other than read a book.
After getting my scuba equipement from the dive shop I boarded the boat. Today was my groups last day for the Open Water course. It was also special in that we had a guy come along to film us. I'll be watching the film later tonight, so I'll be sure to say whether it came out ok or not. Upon reaching the boat we headed out to sea for two dives.
On our first dive we went to a depth of 18m. A depth of 18m is the limit of the Open Water rating. If I get my advanced rating then I can go to 30m. The absolute limit of scuba diving is 40m and should only really be attempted with special equipment and training. The dive was pretty nice, however the visibility was less than 5m. On a good day at Ko Tao the visibility will be around 40m. But because this is the monsoon season, the best one could probably hope for is 15m. Near the end of the dive I lost my dive group. After searching around for a while I surfaced and found them. It wasn't a big deal because I was running low on air.
The second dive wasn't as deep, reaching about 9m. We first started out by submerging and replacing our mask with a pair of sunglasses. After dancing around like a rock star for a bit, we put the mask back on and swam off. Near the end of our dive we took off our fins and had a foot race under the water. Its rather funny to watch this as you really can't move underwater without your fins. I really couldn't run faster than maybe 3m/min. I can't wait to see this on film!
After our second dive we surfaced and headed back to the port. After filling out some paper work, we all became certified scuba divers!
With the paper work filled out I headed out to find a place to stay for tonight. I'm now staying in a hotel like building mid way between the two main villages on the island. For 200 Baat per night, its a good deal and is nicely situated on the island. Its nothing special and only has electricity between 6 pm and 2 am, but at least it has an electrical outlet (thats saying a lot).
The dive group on the boat getting ready
View of dive boat
The dive group planning the dive
The dive group
Budda
Me, ready to dive
The village path
Relaxing in a hammoc
Beach
Sunset 1
Sunset 2
Ferry to Ko Samui
Today was a long day of SCUBA. After a long night hanging out with friends on the north part of the island I started to walk home, back to my bungalow around 3 am. I got picked up about half way by some guys in a truck and they gave me a lift to my bungalow (total distance was around 4 km). After five hours of sleep I woke up at 8:15 for my 8:30 taxi. I was cutting it a little to close. I have no alarm clock!!! I needed to take a taxi to the other resort location of my dive operation. There I was to take my SCUBA final exam. I was a bit rushed, but I managed to pass it.
After the exam we chilled out for a bit. I walked south to the main town and got some lunch. Two lunches to be exact. You see the food is so good and the portions are rather small, so I normally get two plates for lunch. I had some yellow curry with pork and then massaman curry. Good stuff! Total cost? $2 USD
After lunch I got my SCUBA gear and got on the boat. Our plan was to do two dives in the afternoon. Our first dive was really awesome. We went down to 12 meters and swam around for a bit. I saw tons of fish and lots and lots of coral. Supposively there were clown fish down there (see Finding Nemo), but I didn't see them. After our dive we got back on the boat, got some more air, and headed back down.
Next we did a shallow dive. We went down to about 7 meters and did some buddy exercises. Basically, a bunch of lifesaving skills that you might need to do in an emergency. We also swam around for a bit and then surfaced. The second dive wasn't as good as the first, but it was still quite enjoyable.
Now I find myself quite tired from lack of sleep, two dives, and one test. Its going to be an early night tonight for me. Tomorrow I have to catch a taxi at 7:30 am for our final two dives. As much as I hate getting up in the morning, I think the diving will provide enough motivation.
So today we got on the dive boat and went into the sea. After setting up my gear, I found that I had a faulty air tank. So I set it up again (ugh!) and everything was dandy. First we had to do our 200m swim. So we approximated it with a swim two times around the boat. It was short but rather tiring as swiming in waves completely sucks.
Next we got our gear on and jumped into the sea. We then did some surface manuvers and prepared for our first dive in the sea. We then decended into the water to about 3 meters. It took me quite a while to figure out how to swim down as I kept floating back up to the surface. Once on the bottom, we did some levation techniques to learn bouency control. It was pretty cool. We levated like Budda does. Speaking of Budda, did you know that at the front of every ship in Thailand is the Budda place. This means that no one sits or stands at the front of the ship as Budda is there.
After our levation exercises we went back up to the surface and got back on the boat. In all it was a great dive. I saw tons of fish and lots of really neat coral. It was rather amazing because we were only about 100-200m off the shore. If given the chance, I highly recommend SCUBA diving.
Well I made it to the island of Ko Tao on the 11th. I really ment to get there on the 10th but the weather has started to get bad here in Thailand. Its moonsoon season now (yet, it is the tourest high season) and often the ferrys don't run if the waves get too big. So naturally, the waves were to big to get to the island on the 10th.
So on the 11th the ferry ran and it was a wicked ride. The boat was crashing up and down, water splashing everywhere, and the wind was howling all around you. After about 2.5 hours of people puking over the side from seasickness, we finally made it.
Finally on Ko Tao it was time to learn how to SCUBA dive. Earlier on Ko Pha-Ngan I signed up for the Open Water Course at Asia Divers. Luckly I signed up before everything got more expensive. On the 10th of December all the prices went up. So I saved about 3000 baat ($75 USD) by signing up early. The course cost was 6800 baat ($170 USD). I think this is probably very cheap for a dive course.
Today (the 12th) I started the SCUBA course. It was a bit odd breathing under water. For our first day we spent about 2 hours in a pool learning how the equipment works, hand signals, and some various SCUBA skills. Afterwards we spent two hours in a classroom going over some various knowledge stuff. Most of it is a no-brainer.
In the next few days I'll be going out on a boat and doing a few dives followed by some more instruction in the classroom. Finally, in two days I should have my open water certification.
I'm currently staying near the south end of the island of Ko Tao. My bungalow is way up on a hillside and can be quite a work out to get to. My bungalow only gets electriciticy for about 8 hours a day, and only at night. It also has no electrical outlets which is rather annoying as my electric razor accidently turned on during the ferry ride and has no battery life left. On top of this, there is not very much to do on the south end of the island. The only thing worth mentioning is the 7-11 around the corner. No food stalls and no worthy Thai food to speak of (all the Thai food is toned down for the foriegners).
Tonight I plan on trying to meet up with a few of my fellow divers at the main port town. There is a lot more going on up there after nightfall.
View from my bungalow
My homemade outlet in my bungalow
Well the Full Moon came and went and so did the people. Today, the 9th the island seems dead of people compared to the night before. The full moon party started around 9 pm for me and ended sometime around noon the next day (I don't really remember exactly). I started out at my bungalow hanging with the folks who run it and the other travelers there. Once word got out that I was a pilot everyone was like, we can work together.....you fly, I can be your flight engineer, navagitor, etc., and we can fly around the world. I'm like....uh, no...but thanks for the offer.
After numberous beers and pilot talk we headed out to the beach for the party. Man was it kick'n. As you walk down the streets to get to the beach all you see are loads of people, trance blasting, and people screaming. The full moon brings something else out of people here. I really don't know how to explain it. You must see it for yourself.
Upon reaching the beach all I saw were people, people, and more people. People everywhere (get the idea?). People around 10-20 thousand I'd guess. The rest is history as I lost all track of the people I came with and the current time of day. After a few nights away from the Thai wiskey buckets, I made amends and had a few more.
At sunrise is when the party peaks. People start to dance in the water and trance music is generally the music of choice. The energy of the people and the party can't be matched.
After numerous hours of dancing I finally stumbled to my bungalow around noon. I later woke up at sundown only to eat and sleep some more.
Today I sleep and rest on the beach as that is all that can be done.
Today is my fourth day on the island of Ko Pha-Ngan. The island has come alive with travelers over the past few days. The anticipation of the full moon party is growing stronger and stronger each day.
Life on the island is pretty laid back. I'm staying in the town of Haad Rin where the party is located. You wouldn't even know that you are in Thailand when you walk around in Haad Rin. Other than the motorbikes and the wonderful Thai cuisene, this place screams Europe all over.
The past few nights I've hung out with a couple of different groups of travelers. Last night I hung out with some locals and a few guys from England. After having a few beers at our bungalow's restraunt, we headed down to the main beach (Haad Rin Nok) where everyone parties at night. I ended up loosing everyone I came with (5,000 people are probably on the beach at night) and I stumbled home at 5 am in the morning.
The alcohol here is really strong. The main beer people drink is Chang Beer, weighing in at a nice 6.2%. The other drinks of choice come in a bucket. For about 150 baat you get a bucket that comes with ice, a can of coke, a pint of Thai wiskey, and a bottle of red bull. Two things to note, 1) the Thai wiskey has anphetemenes in it, and 2) the red bull is like 5 times as strong as the red bull at home. Basically if you drink a bucket by yourself you're gonna be partying all night long. I had a bucket on my first night in Haad Rin. It wasn't a pretty sight (I got sick).
I had some of the best red curry I've ever had today. I told the woman who made it to make it super spicy. It was so hot it nearly blew my head off. I hope to learn how to make it that way!!!!
I am now on the island of Ko Phangnan, Thailand. After seeing the
tea plantations and doing some jungle trekking in the Cameron Highlands I
traveled back to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. I didn't do much
in KL, just eat some more fine Chinese food (yup the real stuff, none of
this sweet and sour chicken crap). After a day I took off to Penang.
Penang is in the northwest of Malaysia. It is often considered to be
very similar to Hong Kong. About 70-80% of the people there are Chinese,
and the serve up some fine food. I didn't see much in Penang as it was a
short stop on my way to Ko Phangnan. I did manage to see some of the old
British buildings that remain there. Penang was under British rule for
quite some time long ago.
Street vendor in Penang
Street in Penang
British fort in Penang
From Penang I rode in a van all the way up into Thailand. Imagine 11
people in a small VW eurovan for about 9 hours. Oh yea, we listened to
some really bad Thai music on the way there. Once we got to the ferry
port I boarded a night ferry to Ko Phangnan.
Arriving in Ko Phangnan I was hounded by dozens of locals trying to get
me to stay at their bungalow place. I decided to stay a night on the
very quiet northern coast for a cost of 100 beat (thats $2.50 USD). So
what did my $2.50 get me? How about your own bungalow hut right on the
beach. Yea, try to do that back at home.
Today I moved down to the happening part of the island, Hat Rind. Hat
Rind is where the full moon parties are held. Every 28 days (full moon)
thousands flock to the island for the full moon party. Its a giant beach
party for about 10,000 folks (mainly Europeans). On that note, in three
weeks of traveling I have only meet 3 other Americans. Seems like
everyone is from the UK, Holland, or Scandaniva.
Sunset with palm tree
Me
Sunset with fishing boat
Sunset from my bungalow
Hat Rin Nok beach
Full moon party preparations at Hat Rin Nok
Full moon party monument
I made a blog for Todd. This way, we can all see what's going on in his travels!