So last night I wrote a letter home on the patio of the hostel. Outside a drunk from the halfway house next door was rambling about something or other. He was one of those sketchy rail-thin types who always seems to be taking his shirt off and still thinks mullets are cool. Under his well worn ball cap of course.
I went down to the front steps to hang out with some friends who were having a smoke. I ran into them coming from the bathroom, laughing. They looked at me then told me they had to wash their hands. I cocked my head and raised an eyebrow in that way I do. They laughed and told me that some dude asked for a smoke and insisted on shaking their hands. Apparently he was pretty greasy and they felt the need to wash their hands.
Shortly after the guy rambling drunk returned and my friends began to laugh and whisper. Same guy. So drunken white trash mullet guy wanders around a bit, considering coming up the walk to talk to us. After pacing by a few times he heads across the street towards the park. He paused on the sidewalk and looked up a row of flag poles. He then decides to climb one. Both hands wrapped around the post he braced his leg up against the pole and started to walk his way up. He got exactly 1 step before realizing he hadn't the coordination or balance to do such a thing.
His next plan was to climb a large tree. I ficus maybe. A large tree full of bats. And spiders I imagine but bats for sure. He got about ten feet off the ground where he came to a huge knot in the tree where a branch had once been but had fallen out to make way for an eventual moron. Buddy put his hands into the knot and put his feet up above them making a mentally deficient letter y. Y is for, yeah, this is gonna hurt.
Our hero then decides to try and use his ankles to dig into the tree and somehow hoist himself up. Thats when his grip broke. He fell a full ten feet to the ground flat on his back. He landed hard and made the exact sound you would expect. He sat up for a moment and looked dazed enough. I noticed his ball cap managed to stay on just before he fell back into a spread eagle position.
He lay on the ground for quite some time. Eventually his hillbilly buddy comes out in a wife beater with a large beer. He walks over and checks out his buddy. Genius number one sat for some time before getting up and declaring he was fine. He staggered to his feet then fell into the tall grass. He then squeeled with delight, and like an attention starved child rolled around in the tall grass making a huge racket.
Even in his hulking drunken state, hillbilly two had little regard for his buddy and walked away. Eventually genious 1 came back. He saw us watching him, (but pretending not to) and swung by to say hi and let us know not to test gravity, because it works. He was covered with red marks from his fall and several bug bites.
I commented that he's likely to get rabies and my friend Janko told me there is no rabies here. That blows my entire proposition from my last post. Fucking hell.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Welcome to Sydney! It's batshit crazy here!!
There are large bats living in trees outside my hostel. They fly at night and sound like mice. They come out around dusk, earlier if it's been raining. I know some bats carry rabies. If a person is inflicted with rabies, and left untreated, they will begin to show signs of zombie-ism. Slurred speach, staggering, aggressive behaviour, uncontrolled mania, drooling, spasms, hallucinations, trouble breathing, itching. Or a Friday night at the Cosmo in Moncton. I wonder if that place is still open.
I arrived by plane a little over a week ago. My room mates at the hostel were 3 young Finnish folks. One of them, whom I became friends with, told me that there were alot of crazy people here. I didn't know what he meant. A few days later he pointed out a lady sitting on a bench in the park across from the hostel. She was chanting/screaming/wailing/speaking in tongues. Antti (my new Finnish buddy) told me that a few days earlier he was out for a smoke (Europeans all smoke for some reason) and he saw her staring at him and it really creeped him out.
A few nights later a group from the hostel was sitting in the park late and the woman was worked up into a frenzy. Yelling, wailing, laughing. A couple of the young drunk Brits harrassed her a little. Classy I thought.
Someone told me that 50% of Aussies will experience some sort of mental disorder. Thats a big number. (Mental disorder could mean anything, and I have actually sourced it. I'm no journalist, do your own research if you're so concerned about it).
The next day I was walking down the street to see an apartment. An old bedraggled man with a matted beard, long matted hair was coming the other way. I had my head phones on and was rocking out to The Dirty Heads. As we passed he suddenly screamed. Like a bark or a grunt or something. Scared the shit out of me. He did it on purpose too. I was going to fight him over it but I realized that he'd probably infect me with fleas. It is most likely his super power. Besides he had to get back to being Rob Zombie.
Days later I was visiting one of the harbours and I noticed an older, very drunk man feeding the pigeons, as well as these freaky assed long beaked black headed birds that are ugly as sin. They were surrouding him, landing on him, on his hands, his head. People slowed to watch and he seemed to relish the attention. Later he ran out of bread and packed, then repacked his bag. Then he staggered a bit and circled his bench. He then staggered to another bench where a middle aged couple, who looked kind of dorky, were sitting near the edge of the bench. I'd say there was half a cheek left on that bench to sit on. The bird man of Circular Quay decided he'd sit on that narrow wedge of real estate. So he sat sideways and fell into the dork on the bench and sort of leaned on him. He was promptly pushed to the ground for his troubles. Poor bastard. He staggered back to his own bench .
One night, I was standing outside the gates of my hostel and this couople was walking and incredibly inebriated (probably crazy) guy home. His hostel/halfway house is next to mine. He was barely able to balance his own weight. They asked if he was ok and he slurred yes, then they asked if he could get in ok and he thanked them for their kindness and said he'd see them later. He was speaking as if underwater had a hair lip. He went through the gate then darted around again. He looked at my, I was fiddling with my iphone, and said, "Wherszit?!?" I just looked at him. He spun in a circle patting his pockets the way a dog might if he thought he'd left his tail in his other pants. He then said "Maphone! Fuckngo!" Apparently he lost his phone. I suppose his sponsor's number is in it which would make it very important to him. He then stagger-ran up the street. He looked behind him as he went and ran straight into a post, which slung him around unceremoniously and dropped him to the asphalt. None the worse for where, he got up and moved on. What a trooper!
Last night a girl visiting the hostel was punched in the mouth by and Aboriginal lady. From what I heard it was unprovoked, but its been my recent experience that drunken Brits are probably asking to get punched in the face.
The theories about the crazy like behaviour in Sydney have ranged from something in the water, to too much, sun, to a degenerative disorder caused by the inbreeding of a nation of criminals over several centuries. All scientifically sound hypothesis-es. I however, don't think we should count out the bats. I mean, where does bat shit crazy come from anyway?
 |
| Huge freakin bats in Sydney! |
A few nights later a group from the hostel was sitting in the park late and the woman was worked up into a frenzy. Yelling, wailing, laughing. A couple of the young drunk Brits harrassed her a little. Classy I thought.
Someone told me that 50% of Aussies will experience some sort of mental disorder. Thats a big number. (Mental disorder could mean anything, and I have actually sourced it. I'm no journalist, do your own research if you're so concerned about it).
The next day I was walking down the street to see an apartment. An old bedraggled man with a matted beard, long matted hair was coming the other way. I had my head phones on and was rocking out to The Dirty Heads. As we passed he suddenly screamed. Like a bark or a grunt or something. Scared the shit out of me. He did it on purpose too. I was going to fight him over it but I realized that he'd probably infect me with fleas. It is most likely his super power. Besides he had to get back to being Rob Zombie.
One night, I was standing outside the gates of my hostel and this couople was walking and incredibly inebriated (probably crazy) guy home. His hostel/halfway house is next to mine. He was barely able to balance his own weight. They asked if he was ok and he slurred yes, then they asked if he could get in ok and he thanked them for their kindness and said he'd see them later. He was speaking as if underwater had a hair lip. He went through the gate then darted around again. He looked at my, I was fiddling with my iphone, and said, "Wherszit?!?" I just looked at him. He spun in a circle patting his pockets the way a dog might if he thought he'd left his tail in his other pants. He then said "Maphone! Fuckngo!" Apparently he lost his phone. I suppose his sponsor's number is in it which would make it very important to him. He then stagger-ran up the street. He looked behind him as he went and ran straight into a post, which slung him around unceremoniously and dropped him to the asphalt. None the worse for where, he got up and moved on. What a trooper!
Last night a girl visiting the hostel was punched in the mouth by and Aboriginal lady. From what I heard it was unprovoked, but its been my recent experience that drunken Brits are probably asking to get punched in the face.The theories about the crazy like behaviour in Sydney have ranged from something in the water, to too much, sun, to a degenerative disorder caused by the inbreeding of a nation of criminals over several centuries. All scientifically sound hypothesis-es. I however, don't think we should count out the bats. I mean, where does bat shit crazy come from anyway?
Here's a vid of the bird man. I missed most of his more entertaining antics.
Shark!! Diving off Don Phi Phi, Thailand
Went diving today!
Did my emergency ascent today. Dive 3. Did buddy breathing, mask removal, getting really good at bouyancy.
We descended and at 6M I had a hard time equalizing my right ear so we went down slowly. All sorts of amazing things down there. Saw several black fin sharks. Very very cool.
Dive 4
We landed beside a giant outcropping of rock. We suited up and got wet. Stunning coral mountains under the waves. Clown fish, giant eels, and some sort of lobster running along with something in it's mouth. Found out later it was a giant shrimp. Big as a lobster though. Huge schools of tiny fish darted in different directions, travelling in unison giving the illusion of a flag being battered by the wind.
My right ear hurts a little bit and is full of water... Have to deal with that before I fly.
Dive 5 Last dive wasn't so great, cold and a bit murky but there were SO many fish!! We could see them jumping out of the water as we pulled into Phi Phi don. They were swimming in great schools as we eased our way in and around them. Mackerel groupers, small tuna, moray eels hiding under rocks waiting for prey. So I am now a PADI certified diver. 55 more dives and I'm a dive master. That might take a while....
Leaving Thailand
Krabi-phucket-Melbourne-Sydney
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| Scuba diving of Don Phi Phi in Thailand saw black tip sharks here |
I'm thoroughly pissed off and sour at the moment. The boat ride from krabi was pleasant enough, got some sun, no one bothered me, listened to the white album most of the way to phucket. Not my favorite beetles album but there are some gems and you can't deny the outrageous talent those guys have.
Short bus ride to the airport. I've a brutal sore throat which has surely been brought on by 3 or 4 days of la few hours of sleep each night from staying in the hottest hostel on the planet. Each morning I woke up completely dehydrated with sheets soaked in sweat. 2 of those mornings I had a 7am scuba trip lined up. They were awesome by the way.
I'm on a plane. Got the window, one row behind the bulkhead with all the footroom. Some couple with a baby is in those seats. A screaming baby. Beside me is a nice older couple, but all around me are really really hot Aussie chicks! Why can't I be sitting with them? (it's karma, I stole a pen from the hostel this morning)
Another baby off to my left just went off. Seriously, why the fuck do babies need to fly? They dont understand or appreciate any place you take em. They don't like flying, that's why they cry all the time. I think its cruel to make a baby fly. It should be against the law.
I get to the airport and it's completely insane. I have to get security checked walking in. They checked all but my carry on. Then I have to walk past passport control to check in. I go to check in and they they tell me I'm 18 kilos over and it'll be almost $350 to cover the extra weight. I lost it, I told her I couldn't pay, that I flew here with the same amount of stuff I'm leaving with.
Oh shit, the lady beside me is telling the flight attendant (whos a guy and also a nurse) that she's sick and has been vomiting and had diarrhea.
So anyway, I end up paying 180$ for my luggage. I'm livid. I'm Gonna call Visa and tell them I was extorted. I'm going to call the airline and tell them I took a massive dump before I got on the plane, so could they maybe credit me a kilo or two?
I then find out that I have to retrieve my luggage in Melbourne to go through immigration, then haul it around to the next flight. Assholes.
Speaking of which, someone's got a full diaper. Hope it's not one of the couple beside me. Fucking hell I hate kids on planes.
So I go through security and they X-ray my stuff and give me the wand. I go buy some m&ms, halls and water. Oh, they're announcing my flight... I should go line up. So I do.
I'm standing there behind two gorgeous girls, neither of whom I'll be sitting with, as we shuffle along. We get to the gate and there's ANOTHER security stop. They go through my bags again, in case the M&M lady slipped my some high grade horse to sell off in Aus I suppose. Then they take my fucking water. I couldn't believe it. I actually argued with them. "it's not even opened, plastic seal is on it"
Nope, no dice. The guy behind me had his motorbike helmet taken. I told him the leading cause of plane crashes was insane terrorist Aussies heatbutting their fellow passengers. He agreed with that.
So far the flights not bad. The kid in front on me reeks but could be worse. I get to watch the last half hour of Despicable Me which I missed when we landed early in Thailand. Gru is about to steel the moon, the minions are ecstatic.  |
| Day 1 in Aus |
Well, I guess that's it for Thailand for now... Off to sunny Australia.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Temples
At 5:30 my driver picked me up and took me to the national park. I bought a 1 day pass and had my pic taken. They gave me a pass with my photo on it I handed to staff at most temples.
Angkor Wat at sunrise. Pretty cool, but instead of sitting with the unwashed masses waiting to get a perfect picture if the sun coming up over the temple, I went around the backside and took pics of the walls getting hit by the first rays of sun. It was a full half hour before the sun was visible on the other side. I snapped on my iPod and had The Doors cracking away as I explored the ancient halls.
For the next 8 hours I climbed stone stairs that were almost vertical, snapped pictures of statues, carvings, releifs, pillars and stone. I mingled amongst crowds from around the world.
Women and children lie in wait as you approach each structure. Desperately they try to hawk their shirts, table runners, scarves, books and cold drinks.
They'll offer one thing, and switch to another. They will then just repeat the price over and over. You'll often be swarmed by three or four at a time. saying no means nothing. You just get the price again. They will walk with you the entire stretch between the parking lot and the entrance of whatever temple you're ar. Prices get cheaper as you get farther into the park I found out. I got a couple of t shirts and a book about the temples.
I visited about 9 temples built by kings, devoted to religious sects moslrlltly forgotten. The sheer feats of engineering to construct these offerings of stone in a time before cranes, winches or the block and tackle is impressive. The level of detail and complexity in the reliefs is inspiring. Tales of wars and triumphs, visions of dancers, elephants, horses and demons, and giant serene faces gazing endlessly at the four corners beyond the horizon adorn almost every free space.
The temples are amazing but after 8 and a half hours in the blazing sun I was done. Back to the guest house for a nap.
Angkor Wat at sunrise. Pretty cool, but instead of sitting with the unwashed masses waiting to get a perfect picture if the sun coming up over the temple, I went around the backside and took pics of the walls getting hit by the first rays of sun. It was a full half hour before the sun was visible on the other side. I snapped on my iPod and had The Doors cracking away as I explored the ancient halls.
For the next 8 hours I climbed stone stairs that were almost vertical, snapped pictures of statues, carvings, releifs, pillars and stone. I mingled amongst crowds from around the world.
Women and children lie in wait as you approach each structure. Desperately they try to hawk their shirts, table runners, scarves, books and cold drinks.
They'll offer one thing, and switch to another. They will then just repeat the price over and over. You'll often be swarmed by three or four at a time. saying no means nothing. You just get the price again. They will walk with you the entire stretch between the parking lot and the entrance of whatever temple you're ar. Prices get cheaper as you get farther into the park I found out. I got a couple of t shirts and a book about the temples.
I visited about 9 temples built by kings, devoted to religious sects moslrlltly forgotten. The sheer feats of engineering to construct these offerings of stone in a time before cranes, winches or the block and tackle is impressive. The level of detail and complexity in the reliefs is inspiring. Tales of wars and triumphs, visions of dancers, elephants, horses and demons, and giant serene faces gazing endlessly at the four corners beyond the horizon adorn almost every free space.
The temples are amazing but after 8 and a half hours in the blazing sun I was done. Back to the guest house for a nap.
Strange tales of Thai.
Thai people can't add
Yeah, that's a gross generalization, but this is my story - go write your own if you don't want to read sweeping generalizations about an entire country. You hit a shop here and the sales folks all have calculators. Big ones. You ask a price for something and they type it out on the countin' box then immediately hNd it to you for your counter offer. I thought it was just for communicating. Three days ago I bought a boat ticket for 600b. I gave dude 1000. He had to use the calculator for the change. Then I started watching. It happens all the time. Quick, three nights in a room at 400/night... How much do I owe? Thai hotel clerks need to use a calculator to figure it out.
White guys on mopeds
There's a strange cultural phenomenon here. I remember a video years back by good Charlotte or Blink 182 maybe. One of those bands with so much black eye makeup, hair dye and tattoos that they look like walking shadows dressed up like white folks for Halloween. The video had a bunch of geriatric actors dressed and behaving like teenaged idiots. Just being young and stupid. They could have filmed that in Krabi Thailand
Scores of enthusiastic silverbacks can be seen screaming through the streets at night on scooters. Long grey hair, white goatees, beer guts hanging out over their ancient crotches and resting on the vinyl seat of a 125cc speed machine. Often a significantly younger Thai girl is riding pinion , or sometimes driving if grandpa has had one too many vodka/prune juices.
You'll see them trolling along, stopping in front of the 7-11 to chat with the young Thai girls taking a break from riding thier scooters to get a coke and a new sim card. The Thai girls, some of them I mean, I know how you feel about generalizations, are completely game. They'll see some newly invigorated Ben Gay receptacle and wave saying "hello my boyfriend!". Hey quickly stops reminiscing about his Plymouth Rock landing and say "hey where you going!?" all excited and titillated. Then they become a very unlikely scooter gang, roaring off into the night to the next cocktail bar/bamboo hut.
It's like a playground for old divorcees who've found a new lease on life.
Viagra is a terrible thing...
Cultural differences
A good friend lived in japan for a spell and told me the girls there had an annoying habit of talking with hi pitched childlike voices. This has been confirmed by some other former inhabitants if the land if the rising sun I know.
The other night I was walking by some seafood place and a lady out front is saying Hi to everyone walking by. Common practice here, and tough work, the boardwalks are slammed with tourist bastards in the evenings.
So this lady is saying hi, over and over, you can hear her 3 doors down. I want to buy her a pack of "Fishermans Friends" and give her a hug. Then all of a sudden, she practically screams, in a voice a full 2 octaves higher and several decibels louder "halloooooo! Welcooooome!". I actually jumped it had startled me so.
I didn't think about it again. Well, I've walked by this place a few times since, it's on the was to the beach and near the diveshop I've been hanging out at. It's happened 3 or 4 more times. Then I noticed, she only does it when there are Japanese people walking by. I stood and watched for a few minutes last night to confirm my suspicions, it she did it again about a 2 minutes into my investigation when a Japanese couple walked by. I recognized them by their hello kitty backpacks and the professional grade cameras where their faces should have been.
Food
Some of the best food comes from carts on the street. Theres a ton of competition and there's no small amount of pride in the traditional dishes they tend to serve at a third of the price of a restaurant.
Thais generally do a pisspoor job of western food in general. Breakfast is weak at best, burgers are not made of beef. They do however do a good job on pizza. They tend to favour thin crust pizza cooked in a wood oven. I've had 3. All fantastic.
McDonalds, BK Pizza Hut, and others are slowly making their mark here. It's a shame that a place with such a rich culinary history is being diluted so a few assholes can make a few more bucks selling mystery meat disguised as cheeseburgers to a ballooning society. I hope Ronald McDonald and that creepy ass king from the BK commercials have massive heartattacks resulting in quadruple by passes, then spend their days in a home for the infirm, being visited less and less often over the years by Mayor McCheese, the Hamburgler and Grimace, all of whom are anxiously awaiting their deaths and a healthy inheritance. The petty infighting would have begun on day one.
Thats all I got for now.
Yeah, that's a gross generalization, but this is my story - go write your own if you don't want to read sweeping generalizations about an entire country. You hit a shop here and the sales folks all have calculators. Big ones. You ask a price for something and they type it out on the countin' box then immediately hNd it to you for your counter offer. I thought it was just for communicating. Three days ago I bought a boat ticket for 600b. I gave dude 1000. He had to use the calculator for the change. Then I started watching. It happens all the time. Quick, three nights in a room at 400/night... How much do I owe? Thai hotel clerks need to use a calculator to figure it out.
White guys on mopeds
There's a strange cultural phenomenon here. I remember a video years back by good Charlotte or Blink 182 maybe. One of those bands with so much black eye makeup, hair dye and tattoos that they look like walking shadows dressed up like white folks for Halloween. The video had a bunch of geriatric actors dressed and behaving like teenaged idiots. Just being young and stupid. They could have filmed that in Krabi Thailand
Scores of enthusiastic silverbacks can be seen screaming through the streets at night on scooters. Long grey hair, white goatees, beer guts hanging out over their ancient crotches and resting on the vinyl seat of a 125cc speed machine. Often a significantly younger Thai girl is riding pinion , or sometimes driving if grandpa has had one too many vodka/prune juices.
You'll see them trolling along, stopping in front of the 7-11 to chat with the young Thai girls taking a break from riding thier scooters to get a coke and a new sim card. The Thai girls, some of them I mean, I know how you feel about generalizations, are completely game. They'll see some newly invigorated Ben Gay receptacle and wave saying "hello my boyfriend!". Hey quickly stops reminiscing about his Plymouth Rock landing and say "hey where you going!?" all excited and titillated. Then they become a very unlikely scooter gang, roaring off into the night to the next cocktail bar/bamboo hut.
It's like a playground for old divorcees who've found a new lease on life.
Viagra is a terrible thing...
Cultural differences
A good friend lived in japan for a spell and told me the girls there had an annoying habit of talking with hi pitched childlike voices. This has been confirmed by some other former inhabitants if the land if the rising sun I know.
The other night I was walking by some seafood place and a lady out front is saying Hi to everyone walking by. Common practice here, and tough work, the boardwalks are slammed with tourist bastards in the evenings.
So this lady is saying hi, over and over, you can hear her 3 doors down. I want to buy her a pack of "Fishermans Friends" and give her a hug. Then all of a sudden, she practically screams, in a voice a full 2 octaves higher and several decibels louder "halloooooo! Welcooooome!". I actually jumped it had startled me so.
I didn't think about it again. Well, I've walked by this place a few times since, it's on the was to the beach and near the diveshop I've been hanging out at. It's happened 3 or 4 more times. Then I noticed, she only does it when there are Japanese people walking by. I stood and watched for a few minutes last night to confirm my suspicions, it she did it again about a 2 minutes into my investigation when a Japanese couple walked by. I recognized them by their hello kitty backpacks and the professional grade cameras where their faces should have been.
Food
Some of the best food comes from carts on the street. Theres a ton of competition and there's no small amount of pride in the traditional dishes they tend to serve at a third of the price of a restaurant.
Thais generally do a pisspoor job of western food in general. Breakfast is weak at best, burgers are not made of beef. They do however do a good job on pizza. They tend to favour thin crust pizza cooked in a wood oven. I've had 3. All fantastic.
McDonalds, BK Pizza Hut, and others are slowly making their mark here. It's a shame that a place with such a rich culinary history is being diluted so a few assholes can make a few more bucks selling mystery meat disguised as cheeseburgers to a ballooning society. I hope Ronald McDonald and that creepy ass king from the BK commercials have massive heartattacks resulting in quadruple by passes, then spend their days in a home for the infirm, being visited less and less often over the years by Mayor McCheese, the Hamburgler and Grimace, all of whom are anxiously awaiting their deaths and a healthy inheritance. The petty infighting would have begun on day one.
Thats all I got for now.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Just about a perfect day
I found Nemo - Saying goodnight
Feb 7 2011
Up at 630, picked up a friend at 7 and hit the dive shop at 715 20 mins later a bus picked us up and drove us to a longtail boat. We transferred to the dive boat from there. Once there the divemaster discovered that I didn't have my open water cert. Well. Lots of chattering on German... Phone calls to the main land, heated debate about my fate. They finally decided that I would do a "discover scuba" dive, then the money I spent would get put toward my open water. Sweet
For breakfast we had sticky rice and mango, fried dough with condensed milk, bananas, and sticky rice with spicy coconut. Amazingly good.
Filled out some forms, wrote a test on material I last read almost a year ago (92% thank you). Finally I got in on the 2nd dive. Anemone reef.
My first open dive was unreal. We did some skills then descended. The coral was amazing. Fish of every colour flippered along alone or in schools of hundreds. My instructor kept tabs on me and I stuck close. The whole thing was exhilarating.
Back on the boat we had lunch , rice with green curry, and some sort of veggie stir fry. It was all great! We paddled to the next spot about an hour away and suited up at shark point.
The wild life underwater is amazing, giant schools of tiny fish, reefs that tower above you, stripped eels, neon finned little fish. I saw a leopard shark, they are a neat little shark. Sharks have to keep water flowing into their mouths and out their gills to breathe. Therefore they most continually move. This brilliant little fella sleeps all the time. He dies so by lying on the sea bed with his head in current, so water just flows through him while he dozes Its the equivilant of sleeping at you desk while wearing glasses with eyeballs painted on the lenses. We also saw a barracuda, great big black shrimp, clown fish (nemo), and on and on. I was limited to 12 m because of my cert issue, but still there was lots to see.
We steamed back to shore, about an hour and a half run, some folks got picked up about halfway on a longtail and went to a different beach.
We unloaded and figured out how I was going to finish the course. After much Deutch squabbling we got it settled and I left.
My new traveling companion, Bianca, had left before me to get cleaned up for dinner. I picked her up on the way and we went to my hostel so she could use the net. Hers didn't have it. I went up and showered off the salt and got changed.
We got dinner at the beach as the waves lapped the sand just yards away. Dinner was amazing. Thai barbecue, corn on the cob, baked potatoes. We ate and chatted about nothing in particular. She told me in broken English about some of the places shes dived around the world. I told her about hockey.
Later we wandered up the beach where she bought a lantern. She lit it and we waited for it to fill with heat to ascend. Finally it lifted gracefully from her fingertips and slowly floated to the stars. We watched it sail away into the night for a long time until it gently flickered out and disappeared.
We ended the night with a drink and watched a fire show on the street outside "the Coconut Bar"
We left, and walked up the strip to her bungalo and said goodbye. She's now off to koh samoi, I've another 2 days in Krabi. Traveling is funny. The only constant is you. New hostels, new scenery, new friends; but as soon as you get to know a place, a person, or a custom, it's time to move on. The shotgun approach to life I suppose.
Koh phi phi for 3 dives tomorrow. Can't wait
Feb 7 2011
Up at 630, picked up a friend at 7 and hit the dive shop at 715 20 mins later a bus picked us up and drove us to a longtail boat. We transferred to the dive boat from there. Once there the divemaster discovered that I didn't have my open water cert. Well. Lots of chattering on German... Phone calls to the main land, heated debate about my fate. They finally decided that I would do a "discover scuba" dive, then the money I spent would get put toward my open water. Sweet
For breakfast we had sticky rice and mango, fried dough with condensed milk, bananas, and sticky rice with spicy coconut. Amazingly good.
Filled out some forms, wrote a test on material I last read almost a year ago (92% thank you). Finally I got in on the 2nd dive. Anemone reef.
My first open dive was unreal. We did some skills then descended. The coral was amazing. Fish of every colour flippered along alone or in schools of hundreds. My instructor kept tabs on me and I stuck close. The whole thing was exhilarating.
Back on the boat we had lunch , rice with green curry, and some sort of veggie stir fry. It was all great! We paddled to the next spot about an hour away and suited up at shark point.
The wild life underwater is amazing, giant schools of tiny fish, reefs that tower above you, stripped eels, neon finned little fish. I saw a leopard shark, they are a neat little shark. Sharks have to keep water flowing into their mouths and out their gills to breathe. Therefore they most continually move. This brilliant little fella sleeps all the time. He dies so by lying on the sea bed with his head in current, so water just flows through him while he dozes Its the equivilant of sleeping at you desk while wearing glasses with eyeballs painted on the lenses. We also saw a barracuda, great big black shrimp, clown fish (nemo), and on and on. I was limited to 12 m because of my cert issue, but still there was lots to see.
We steamed back to shore, about an hour and a half run, some folks got picked up about halfway on a longtail and went to a different beach.
We unloaded and figured out how I was going to finish the course. After much Deutch squabbling we got it settled and I left.
My new traveling companion, Bianca, had left before me to get cleaned up for dinner. I picked her up on the way and we went to my hostel so she could use the net. Hers didn't have it. I went up and showered off the salt and got changed.
We got dinner at the beach as the waves lapped the sand just yards away. Dinner was amazing. Thai barbecue, corn on the cob, baked potatoes. We ate and chatted about nothing in particular. She told me in broken English about some of the places shes dived around the world. I told her about hockey.
Later we wandered up the beach where she bought a lantern. She lit it and we waited for it to fill with heat to ascend. Finally it lifted gracefully from her fingertips and slowly floated to the stars. We watched it sail away into the night for a long time until it gently flickered out and disappeared.
We ended the night with a drink and watched a fire show on the street outside "the Coconut Bar"
We left, and walked up the strip to her bungalo and said goodbye. She's now off to koh samoi, I've another 2 days in Krabi. Traveling is funny. The only constant is you. New hostels, new scenery, new friends; but as soon as you get to know a place, a person, or a custom, it's time to move on. The shotgun approach to life I suppose.
Koh phi phi for 3 dives tomorrow. Can't wait
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