Explosion, panicked wildlife, and a looooonnnng journey home...

So I left you all somewhere around Koh Tao I think... whats happened since? Well my last night on Koh Toa started off quite tame, a few of us popped into town for a Sunday Roast (Beest on the island apparently, but I wasnt convinced...), then bunch of light weights that we are, headed back to the resort, for a quiet beer... That quiet beer was had at Easy Bar, on the beach, and turned into a load of beer, 4+ Buckets, and some fire dancing/juggling... and yes, I was tried my hand at this, while drunk.... even I'm surprised I survived... The next day my head was more than a tad tender....

Next stop was bangkok, via Chumpon, and a night train... I supposed I should have guessed, but even I was a bit too tall for the bed, and wasnt too impressed by the 4:30am wakeup call, so they could turn the bed into a seat!!!! anyway, it was still fun, and and took the opportunity of an early morning trip to the floating markets as we were up so early.... great place, but seriously, would they stop with the wooden frogs!!!!! Oh, I had a foot massage there... bloody good one too :o)

We headed out of Bangkok then, on a bus with the locals to Kantchnaburi (The bridge over the river Kwai), and got to spend some time that afternoon in the war cemetery... Very impressive, the work they put into keeping it, and it makes me stop, and think about all those guys that gave their life, so we could have ours... sounds a bit cheesy, but I just saw >6800 graves, and got to see what those guys went through.... As it happens, the anual celebrrations were on that week, and we got to see an amazing light/sound show, on the river, going over the life of the bridge... including ligts, explosions, flames in the sky, and dive bombers!!!!! Very impressive :o)

So I've heard a lot of people say the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi is not good for the animals, and they are not looked after, etc... but I've also had as many people say they've been there, and the animals are OK, seem to be looked after, etc... Idecided to go, and make up my own mind... pesonally, I think they may have a bad rep from the past, but they seem to have their act together, the volunteers reallly care about the animals, you can see the attachment, etc... and most importantly, with out that place, there'd be less tigers in the world... It's quitte a cool place, and what Ididnt realise was there are so many other animals all being looked after there too... like ponys, hogs, etc... we did have an incident with a hog that scared the sh1t out of me initially, as it ran at a fence, at high speed, and got it's head stuck between the fence posts, and went beserk (Understandably)... It got itself free, but the squealing will haunt me for a while... even though, the mere thought of the incident now makes me chuckle :o)

Anyway, a bit of a slog from there back to Bangkok, and so far, I've not blogged anything about Bangkok, but thats for another entry, I've another 7 hours to kill in the airport, so assuming Ican get back online... will blog more in a bit ;o)

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles....

A lot of you have been asking me if all is OK here, telling me to be careful, etc... Thanks :o) Dont worry though, I only know whats going on, as I've made a point of checking the news, and the web, but that aside, it's lafe as normal here on Koh Tao, and according to a contact in Bangkok, it's much the same there too.... The Airports there are closed, due to a so far peaceful protest, and I know at the moment, China Airlines, who I flew with are routing their flights via Chiang Mai... What the situation will be in a week when I'm due to come home? I dont know, but am not overtly concerned, other than at the thought of loosing time travelling to Chiang Mai, although I do like Chiang mai, and it may be a good thing to go there, instead of hanging in Bangkok... :o)

That aside, it's all good here... the weather has picked up, and if I'm not in the water, I'm chilling in or around the resort... it's quiet, without a huge amount going on, but suits me for now, as the morning dives (The deep ones) mean I need to haul my ass out of bed at 6:30am... They are worth it though :o) The visability isnt great, but for me, from Holland, it's an improvement ;o) I've another night dive to look forward to tonight, and then my last 2 dives tomorrow morning...

So what eles has been happening??? We'll I've met a good bunch of divers, and more than a few have suggested I come back to to a Dive Master Internship... (When the weather is better) That's be >2 Months, and mean packing it all in back home.... Not right now, I dont think, but nice to dream about :o) I've not even seen much of the island apart from the port, and resort, well, not from the land anyway, I've seen a whole chunk from the water...

Whats next after here? That all depends on whats going on in Bangkok, but assuming it's quite there, it's back to BK for some shopping, chilling, & sightseeing, we'll be heading back on Mon afternoon, to get an overnight train... Lets hjust see what happens between now, & then though...

Soalked to the skin.....

.... and loving it ;o)

I left the floods of Koh Samui yesterday, and with a short, but bumpy Catamaran trip, got to rainy Koh Tao, which was experiencing equally torrential rain :o( Not long after the open back pickup picked me up, and drove through the rain enroute to the Dive Center, did it get bogged down in a flash flood!!!! (Yes, I was sitting in the open back, wth my bags... but still smiling)Thanks to all the locals for pushing us out again...

Even that didnt dampen my spirits ;o) I did have to soend the evening studying for my first 2 Advanced Dives though, PPB, & UW Photography, before having to get up at 6:30 this morning to head off to the boat...

A Day later, and I've 3 more dives to study for, but have just had an amazing day under water!!!! Both advanced dives in the morning were great, and I learned a lot, followed by 2 fun dives this afternoon :oD The Visability has been OK by local standards, but beaks the socks off Vinkeveen!!! My last dive was the first to cross 50mins, and we only got out cos my DM was getting cold....

So far, we've seen quite a large Baracuda, a lot larger than you'd normally see during the day, some rare fish like a Harlequin Sweet Lips (Think thats the name...) and loads of others... Plenty more Pics to follow

Anyway, tomorrow is Deep, Navigation, & Night dives, I'm cream crackered, so off to eat, study, and sleeeeeeeep ;o)

A day for a high stool by the fire...

Well, I've not found the fire yet, nor do I need to, but I'd found a high stool in a nice little place called Tropical Murphys... a decent little place with stuff like Paddy Thai on the menu :o) For the moment, I need to steer clear of the food, as I've picked up some damn infection... you dont need the details... However, I can drink OK, so have taken the opertunity to try the local Guinness... Not like home, but it's smooth and creamy non the less... and that will do for me :o) Not sure how it will mix with the anti-biotics though...

So we got to Koh Samui last night, not with out drama, but we've made it, and I think it's fair to say we didnt bring the good weather... I've not seen rain like this in a long long time... I've taken the hotel courtesy bus into town, to explore a bit, and sort out my ferry to Koh Tao tomorrow, for a week of diving, where I expect I'll be online even less thatn the last few days...

So whats been happening???? Hmmm, if I've not mentioned it before, we took a day trip to the James Bond Island the other day.... and got the most amazing long tail boat trip through the rivers to the bay the island sites in... It has to be said, the views were breat taking the whole way there, and back... we even got to stop at the a "Floating"village on the way....

That aside, I had a nice relaxing time in Phuket (Karon Beach), the weather picked up some, and I even started to get a colour (Off white is a colour ;o), and just before leavign, managed to get Yen on Skype Chat, to pass on my best to Art, who's first B'Day party was on yesterday... more than a tad pissed I couldnt make it, as I'm so close while in Thailand, but there you go...

Last night, we got hit by one of the tourist scams, that saw us arrive in Suruithani, withut a same day ferry to Koh Samui, even though we'd booked a same day transfer from Karon, to Koh Samui... So it was a mad dash with a french couple, also not intrested in an overnight ferry, to get to the port on time for the last direct ferry... we made it with just 10 mins to spare...

Now, I'm off to sort out what I need to, and get back to people watching, and chilling from the sheltered terrace at Tropical Murphys...........

Rain Rain go away.....

So, we made it to Phuket last night, and have got a crackin Hotel, just by the beach... It's still slightly under construction, but nothing thats an issue, and it's soooo cheap, for what you get, compared to back home :oD

So whats been happening the last few days???? &*$%^% if I can remember.... But it's all been good :o) I did my cooking course in Chiang Mai, and I have to say, impressed myself, but I think the instructor gets most of the credit... I did 5 Dishes, and now am a big fan of Sticky Rice... just hope I can get it back home :os

It's fair to say, the weather was amazing on Wed, when I went to the course, but on the way back, the heavens opened.... It was so funny watching the locals on scooters, at high speed ducking and diving between the traffic, trying to see where they were going through closed eve lids, as the rain pelted their faces.... (Its not cruel to laugh, as they had the choice to park up, and wait...), anyway, the turn in weather led me to get my first massage, a herbal one... I dunno what the herbs did, but it was good :o)

That aside, I've spend the last few evenings eating great food, trying the local beers, and trying to let the locals know that No, I dont need a *&%$#&$^ New Suit, Watch, or Wooden Frog.... It's great :o)

Am off out in the drizzle again, to go get some food, then off to visit some islands tomorrow... catch u all later................

6 Days in - Elephants, & The Village People...

No, not YMCA Village People....

Well, 6 Days in now, we're at Chiang Mai, and it's great :o) All the advice I got, to get out of Bangkok as soon as I landed, was right. As much as I like it, Chaing Mai is so much better. We got here a few days ago (Not sure of the day, as I'm in chilled holiday mood...) took a decent Taxi (Not even interested in ripping us off...) to the guest house, which I have to say, looked like a Dump... that is until I realised it was the back entrance, as the front is too narrow for Taxi's... And in reality, it's quite a decent place... so I promptly dumped my gear, and settled in the tropical garded, with a cold one :o)

Top of the list to get done from here was Trekking to the Hill Tribes, which we managed to do via the Elephant Park, where I'd had the pleasre of driving my own Elephant, before atempting the daunting task of climbing the mountain to the hill tribes, in scorching weather (Dont let the name fool you, cos they do live up a steep mountian!!!), led by Willow, and Bond, 2 far from identical twin brothers who are not actually related... (Serious). Met by spectaular views, we chilled there for the evening, met the real village people, and got to spend the night in a proper village hut...

The return from the village was equally adventureous, with raging rivers, and vicious cliffs to challenge us, and it was equally fun too :o)

Tomorrow, I'm off to find out how to make the best Thai Food, so I can attempt, and no dubt fail misserably, to match it when I return... but I'm sure I'll still be able to put together a decent Pad Thai by days end ;o)

As for now, Well, I'm just killing time, before I venture to the Night Bazaar, as itjust opening up now I think... maybe I should stop off to say Hi to my new friend Chang first :oD

BTW, thanks to all for the travel advice, I cant get to do everything, but what I have gotten to do has all been good so far :o)

The Fun Begins

So I managed to get some sleep y'day afternoon, and be awake enough to enjoy my first night in Bangkok :o)

You'd expect me to know a bit better than to eat whole chilli's, even the small ones, but I didnt, and I ate one, bloody hell it was hot!!!!! That aside though, the food was great :o)

A number of Changs, & Jagermeisters (Yes they have it here too) later, I was on my first Tuk Tuk ride, where I got to drive!!!! (OK, not really, but the drive was good enough to offer to take my Pic, so of course I took advantage ;o)