This weekend should have been filmed and titled Hangover 2

Returning to NKP after 5 weeks on the road truly felt like going home, and it was so nice to be able to actually unpack and sleep in my own bed (even if that bed is not at all like my bed at American home).  I enjoyed getting back into the office and sharing stories with some of my co-workers.  Meeting Jes' husband, Abe, was also a joy as I'd heard so much about him over the year.  Abe moved to Thailand in March to be with Jes when she has their baby (any day now....c'mon baby!) and it was great to finally get to know him.

Anyway, Jes and I were out to lunch with the office the day before she and Abe left for Bangkok (where she is living now in the last few weeks of her pregnancy) and we were told about an office field trip to Bangkok and Kanchanaburi.  Naturally, we were invited to go too.  Normally, this is an invitation I would refuse, as sometime I feel alienated in the company of only Thai people after a few hours. However, because I would be in the office alone during Jes' maternity leave, I wanted to take the time to bond with the rest of the office staff without her. Kanchanaburi was also one of the places I wanted to hit while traveling but wasn't able to, so I figured it was a good idea to go.

So, at 7 am the next morning I boarded Crazy Bus Thailand (seriously, that's what the bus company was called) and knew I was in for a great trip - especially when all the men broke out their boxes of wine (where did they find wine?!?) Sure enough, the blaring karaoke began as soon as we left the office driveway...and lasted the entirety of the 14 hour drive to Bangkok (as well as any time we spent on the bus - a total of about 40 hours).  I did notice the laser stage lighting that the bus was equipped with and was grateful they opted not to turn that on - until they did on our journey back. Just wait for the video at the bottom of this post :)They tried soooo hard to get me to participate in the karaoke, but I refused.  However, they also know that I'll say "ok" to pretty much anything I don't understand (usually I won't have much of a choice anyway).  So while I had my headphones in attempting to drown out karaoke, someone asked me a question in Lao, not understanding I just said "ok" and immediately the mic was passed to me.  Thankfully there weren't any songs in English, but man those Thai people are tricksters!

We arrived in Bangkok in time for the Educational Directors Conference to begin, which was the reason for this outing.  I was told to wake up at 6 am...even though we wouldn't be leaving until 10? No worries, I was able to find a LIVE Sox game on TV.  Epic. There was a lot of just wandering around the conference center and meeting people.  The Director of the office I work in (I'll refer to him as my boss, but he's not) tried to find me a husband so that I wouldn't have to leave Thailand. I only found this out after the 5th young man brought to meet me could speak enough English and explained my boss' plan. Awkward.

Basically throughout the conference I was dragged in a million directions, because no one knew what to do. There was a redeeming moment though - one of the presenters was from America and was giving a presentation about teacher collaboration and observations.  Perfect!  Taking over the Field Director position I was tasked with site observations and leading a few volunteer conferences, so this guy's presentation was very timely. Of course Pornchai (the liaison between WT and the district office - my closest collaborator) dragged me up to the podium to meet him, and as soon as I turned to introduce Pornchai, he disappeared.  His excuse was that he had to go the bathroom. Yeah, right.

A lot of the confusion surrounding the conference was due to the fact that it was being held at the same venue as the finale of Thailand's version of American Idol. Seriously. Screaming teenagers filled the streets around the center. And the next day the Prime Minister of Education was slated to speak. You could have fooled me...I sort of thought it was a magic show.  It was held in the Royal Jubilee Ballroom and it featured mysterious music, fireworks, and a smoke machine. Seriously.

Then we were off to Kanchanaburi, the site of the Bridge over River Kwai (actually pronounced like "square" minus the s and a little bit of the r). We had about 15 minutes to look at the bridge and take a million pictures and then we were off on our dinner cruise on the river. I would have liked to explore the museums and actually learn something, but there was no time for that apparently. The beauty there was indescribable, and I was even able to enjoy it for about an hour before the karaoke began again! After the dinner cruise we went back to the hotel and were off first thing in the morning for the trip back to NKP.

In all seriousness though, I am so happy I went on this trip.  While I laughed to myself pretty much the whole time about what I was experiencing, I enjoyed every minute of it (ok, not the karaoke so much). I loved getting to know the office folk and even trying to learn their names (eh, I still only know 3). I loved their generosity and their interest in teaching me new things.  My boss would teach me the Thai and Lao words for just about everything we were surrounded by like umbrella, fingernail, sidewalk, etc. - of which I remember not one word.  Because of the gender roles in Thailand, the men and women were distinctly separated, and the women were given the task to care for me even though Pornchai is my main contact in the office.  Pornchai would still sneak over and make sure everything was ok though.  Nok, (not Pi Nok) the woman who invited me, certainly made sure I never got lost - I couldn't even go to the bathroom by myself! I could tell that among the women, though, there was a sort of "you invited her, now you have to make sure we don't lose her" attitude about me.  All of which I still find hilarious. 

Overall though, it really helped me bond with the other people in my office.  Everyday a few people come up to my desk and have a conversation with me.  The cute little old man reads from an English conversation book to me each morning. Nok's sons call me Na Malee (Aunt Malee) and give me hugs when they come to the office after school. And I was even invited to the nearby high school's pool with some of the women. It was a great trip, and the memories of it still make me laugh to this day.

The River Kwai at sunset

The Royal Jubilee Ballroom in BKK - where the magic happens

Me and Nok at the bridge

the bridge

Autumn in New England?...nope. Thailand in the hot season! Who knew?

Houses on the river

"Dump," the karaoke station on our dinner boat...at least they got that part right"

rainbow!

 

And now the moment you've all been waiting for...Karaoke with Laser Stage Lighting. (Please turn the volume all the way up to get the true taste of 40 hours on a bus is like)

Expedition Thailand Part 5: Last Legs...Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chiang Mai on the Eve of the Eve of Songkran...which in Thai time means that it had already started.  From the bus station we snagged a saawng tao and made our way to Rita and Michelle's guest house where we'd meet up with Rita's parents.  Along the way we realized that the water fights had already begun as children with water guns attacked. We ran into Rita's parents outside their guest house and immediately took cover.  I repacked my valuables into a dry bag, and headed out on a search for the hostel I would be sharing with 8 other WT volunteers and friends they met along their travels.

Just a little background info about Songkran.  It is traditionally the Thai New Year Celebration, although Thailand has adopted the western tradition of changing the calendar on January 1. Thailand has held onto its numbering system as it is currently the year 2554 here in Thailand (hello from the future!). Anyway, Songkran involves washing the Buddha's and it is considered a way of rinsing away any sins from the previous year.  The festival has since evolved into a country-wide water fight, with Chiang Mai as the center of the party.

I made my way to the guesthouse and met up with the friends I hadn't seen in about a month.  We shared some travel stories and enjoyed each other's company.   Another one of our first stops was to arm ourselves with watery weapons.  There were choices galore from tiny guns outfitted with umbrellas, water guns with tank backpacks, water rockets, and buckets. We stocked up on a variety of weapons and readied ourselves for the next day.

We went out on the Eve of Songkran (the festival still hadn't officially started yet!) and all around the moat surrounding the Old City were people on sidewalks spraying anyone that came close.  We decided to scope out the situation from the quieter side of the street.  As we watched the revelers across the moat, I spotted a familiar face. Who could it be?  It was Martin, one of the friends we met in Railey!  I called across the moat, and he ran over, joining our crew for the remainder of the week.  Once we knew what was going on, we joined in on the water fight and were quickly soaked to the bone - including everything that was in my "dry" bag (everyone's phones, my camera, my bus ticket home, etc).  Unusually chilly during Thailand's hot season, we were actually freezing and decided to call it a night early to place all our items in a bag of rice...which was surprisingly difficult to find. (No worries, everyone's phones, and even my camera, all made a successful recovery eventually).

The next few days carried on much the same way, a blur of water.  Knowing Thai allowed us to take part in a more exciting part of Songran.  Thai people load up their trucks with water buckets and ice and stereos and drive around the moats.  We had researched how we might charter a truck for the day, but we soon realized with the slow traffic and knowing Thai, we could easily just hop on any truck that had some friendly people. It was great to see the entire city and tourists from the world over take part.  People young and old reveled together in the watery streets.

I did take one day to explore the surrounding area.  I met back up with Michelle, Rita, and her parents for a day of trekking.  We started off bamboo rafting down a river, took an elephant ride through the jungle, hiked through hill tribe villages, and swam in a waterfall.  It was a wonderful break from crazy Chiang Mai, and we really enjoyed getting to know our bamboo raft and elephant guides (again, thanks to knowing Thai). 

It was a great way to end 5 weeks of traveling around.  And man was I grateful to be finally home in NKP.  But little did I know, my travels wouldn't officially end there...

Friendly family who's truck we hopped on

Insanity

the moat surrounding the Old City

Expedition Thailand Part 4: Northbound: Bangkok - Chiang Mai

We landed in Bangkok at around 7 pm, just hours after we’d booked our flight (who’d have thunk you can still book a flight the same day you fly).  We headed straight to the backpacker paradise of Khao San Road.  While heading directly to Farang central isn’t typically my method of choice, we knew we’d be able to find food and beds and that the Taxi driver would know exactly where it was – and after sitting in traffic for a few hours, we knew we’d made the right choice.

Bangkok, this time around, actually made a better impression on me.  Maybe it was because we’d been there before and knew what to expect.  Maybe it was because, 3 weeks into our travels, we were used to being surrounded by foreigners.  Whatever it was, I enjoyed it.  We spent the day buying train tickets north, exploring the grand palace (except that it was closed because of yet another holiday) and crossing the river to Wat Arun.  We ended the day at Siam Square, the ritzy shopping center, hoping to catch a movie.  We walked into the theater area, didn’t recognize a single movie, didn’t know how to use the fancy ticket machines, and quickly opted to hit the basement aquarium instead.  It was really fun to explore the aquarium after we’d been scuba diving, because we could point out all the cool things we saw.

The next morning we headed back to the train station to catch our train to the northern-ish town of Phitsanulok. I love trains.  Taking trains in Greece and from Germany to the Czech Republic really established rail travel as my top choice.  You just get to see so much of the country that can’t be traveled by road.  We chugged through Ayuthaya and its ruins, rode past Lopburi’s monkey temple, and saw innumerable ricefields.

We got to Phitsanulok and I ran through the city trying to find a hotel, while Rita waited in the shade.  She’d come down with a flu-like something, and I wanted to get her to AC and a bed ASAP.  Turns out the maps in Lonely Planet stink (surprise surprise) and we’d gone past it.  I walked into a store and asked a few women where a hotel was.  I explained that my friend was sick and needed to find a place soon.  They jumped up and offered to take her to the hospital, but I politely declined.  While waiting, Michelle met a guy that offered to drive us in his pickup truck, and we made it safely. Of course, when I went to move the fan in the lobby, it chopped part of my finger off (not really, just a nice slice), and both Rita and I were “mai sabai” for the night.

With Rita’s illness, we decided to stay there and recuperate for a day. I was itching for an adventure and some alone time.  I’d seen a mosque on our way in, and decided to go check it out.  Most of the deep south of Thailand is Muslim, which has resulted in a lot of violence there, so I was intrigued to see how it was perceived here in the north.  Not to mention that traveling in Turkey and Egypt has inspired an interest in Islam for me.  I walked over and took a few pictures, but didn’t venture inside because I didn’t know what the protocol was.  It was then that I saw a woman in a hijab working at a pancake stand.  I walked over and started chatting with her, telling her that I was interested in the mosque.  She immediately closed her stand and took me inside with her.  She took me to children’s Islam classes that we being held inside and I explained to them what I was doing there.  She even snuck me into the main part of the mosque where women are usually not permitted.  All of our conversing happened in Thai, and I really enjoyed this wonderful cultural exchange that we shared. That afternoon I walked along the riverfront to the biggest temple in town, where they were preparing for Songkran.  It was a wonderful day of learning and experiencing.

The next day we bussed over to Sukhothai, where we would explore the ancient ruins there. The first afternoon in town, though, was reserved for relaxing and reading.  I had seen a sign at our bungalow that a nearby hotel allowed guests access to their swimming pool.  Of course, that was my destination to the afternoon.  I left Michelle and Rita and went on another adventure.  I was the only one in the pool for a while and enjoyed swimming laps.  Then a Thai mother and daughter showed up.  All the Thai people I know are deathly afraid of the water, so I immediately asked how they knew how to swim and what they did.  I ended up having a wonderful conversation with a woman from a province near NKP.  Her daughter learned how to swim at a private school as it was part of their gym classes.  I spent about an hour talking and playing with the young girl – I even taught her how to flip!  It was so nice to be back in the water and teaching swimming.  I know that one thing I’ll miss most about home this summer is working at the pools.

These two small experiences sum up exactly what I love about Thailand.  All the people are so friendly and you can just go up and start talking to them like it’s the most normal thing in the world.  It’s also why I love being able to speak at least a little Thai.  Had I been just another tourist, I wouldn’t have been able to communicate with these wonderful people. 

We headed to Sukhothai Historical Park the next day, and it was serene and beautiful.  We rented bikes and spent a few hours riding around the ruins and exploring them.  I wish I’d studied up on Thai history before visiting, but it was still a wonderful experience.

Next stop on our Journey:  Chiang Mai and the craziness that is Songkran!

At Wat Arun...the Grand Palace is right across the river in the background

Crossing the river to get to Wat Arun

Only in Thailand.  On the wall it says "Karaoke Saloon"

Khao San Road

The Mosque in Phitsanulok

Inside the mosque...Its simplicity is interesting to compare to the ones I've seen elsewhere

Riverfront Phitsanulok

Outside a temple in Phitsanulok

Sukhothai Historical Park

Man cleaning the ponds

Man, I wish my bike in NKP was like these ones :)

Expedition Thailand Part 3: Water Water Everywhere - Railay

After our liveaboard trip we decided to head to Railay, a peninsula that can only be reached by longtail boat because it is surrounded by limestone cliffs.  This place was pure paradise.  Soft beaches, warm water, absolutely gorgeous scenery - this place had it all.  You know what else it had? Rain, and lots of it.

We arrived just as the clouds started floating in and quickly trekked across the peninsula to the cheaper side where the beach was muddy and covered in mangroves.  We hiked the stairs up to the bungalows that had been recommended and immediately agreed to stay there.  We sat on the porch and in the hammock watching the rain pour down around us.  It was then that we met our next travel friend, Kevin.  It was approximately 4 pm as he left the bungalow next door, walked by, and casually greeted us with a "good morning."  We laughed it off and wondered who this kid was.  Little did we know that the very next night he'd invite us to join him for dinner and we'd be spending the next 9 days coming up with adventures with him and his French friend Martin. We had an early dinner at the bungalows' indian restaurant (my new favorite cuisine) and called it an early night.

We awoke in the morning and quickly agreed we would not be spending another night in our soggy bungalow, as cute as it was.  We were out of the door by 8 am and made it into another bungalow with more substantial walls just as the rain started for that day.  Whenever there was a respite from the deluge, we'd rush out, explore a bit, and run back to shelter in the pouring rain.  This went on for about 4 days, until the day we'd been planning to leave when the sun finally peeked through the clouds. The rain wreaked havoc on our laundry intentions (no dryers in Thailand), and slowed the healing of my poor infected toe that got chewed up from the scuba fins (I prefer to say that I got attacked by a triggerfish - hey it ALMOST happened!) But we didn't let the rain dampen our spirits.

We spent one whole day watching movies and playing Skip-Bo before we decided that we would not be stuck inside and we'd be happy braving the rain.  We spent a few hours each day exploring the caves that littered the 3 beaches around the peninsula.  Finally, when the rain stopped for a few hours Kevin, Rita, and I rented a Kayak for a few hours and explored the same caves from the water.  We would kayak through islands and have to duck our heads to keep them safe from the rocks. It was the one "I'm not leaving Railay until I do this" activity that I had in mind and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

When the sun finally came out the next day, we decided that we'd take a hike up to the lagoon and the viewpoint that Martin had suggested.  We had walked by the trailhead a few times and completely dismissed the idea due to the fact that it was basically rock-climbing in mud.   Eventually though, we were convinced to do it, and my toe was finally able to fit comfortably inside my sneakers.  It was an interesting and slippery hike, that was probably not the safest to do, but the views at the top were more than worth it.  We could see the entire peninsula and all the cliffs.  After standing in awe for a while at the view, we headed down to where the lagoon was.  At one point we had to repel down an incredibly steep hill that was covered in mud.  Unfortunately because the trail was so sketchy we couldn't get to the lagoon itself, but we made it to where we could see it between the rocks. We eventually made it to solid ground, but not without getting covered head to toe in red mud.  In short, it was awesome.

The rest of our time in Railay was pretty uneventful as we were finally able to enjoy the beaches - and all the monkeys that hang out on them.  We ended up extending our stay even a few days longer so we would be able to enjoy the sun.  That, and we'd heard a number of differing accounts about the state of the roads we'd need to take.  We knew Koh Tao had needed to be evacuated because of the flooding, the railroad had been washed away at one point, and our friends had been picked up by the Thai Navy as they were trying to travel north - so we didn't want to risk traveling until we knew that it was safe.  Even so, we ended up catching a flight from Krabi to Bangkok because we couldn't get a clear answer about the roads.

Railay is a place that I know I will go back to one day.  There was always something to do, even in torrential downpours, and it was probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  We met a number of wonderful people, including a couple from Australia who invited us to come visit and stay with them anytime,  Ida and Tim from Norway who were traveling around the world, Sebastian from Germany, Marco from Israel, and of course our buddies Kevin and Martin.  Kevin was headed back to Canada, and Martin was headed north, but Railay wasn't going to be the last place we saw him...

The main shopping street - impacts from the flood

the view from our hike!

The hike at its least steep part..."DANGER. slippery area ahead"...yep.

beautiful sunsets

absolutely stunning

caves everywhere!

we kayaked all around here

longboats take travelers to and from Railay

so. much. rain.

cliffs behind our bungalow

Michelle, Rita, and I with our new friends Sebastian, Martin, and Kevin

monkeys visited everyday!

Expedition Thailand Part 2: Liveaboard Dive Trip to the Surin and Similan Islands

When we arrived back in Surat Thani, we were met with a frantic search to find Peter within the 20 minutes before our bus left.  Our bus left from the new bus station, which was also called Bus Station 2.  Peter’s bus arrived at Bus Station 2, but it wasn’t the new one.  The word for “new” is “mai” which is also the word for “no” and the word to use when asking questions in general.  I think it’s clear that finding Peter was not easy.  Thankfully we managed to ask the bus driver to wait for our friend and Peter strolled up with seconds to spare.

We were headed back to the other side of the Thai coast, with Khao Lak as our destination.  Having loved Scuba diving so much, we decided to look for a 3 or 4 day liveaboard headed to the famed Surin and Similan islands.  Peter, an experienced scuba diver, had waited for us all to get certified to begin his vacation underwater.  The town of Khao Lak was not at all impressive – I’d go so far as to say that it was the Hampton Beach of Thailand.  But it was the best place for liveaboards so we found a place to crash for the night and went off in search of dive shops. 

We knew exactly what we wanted in terms of our liveaboard.  We wanted a relatively small boat that would be departing within the next 2 days.  Many dive shops would also keep their boat out at sea, with divers coming and going every day depending on how many days they wanted to dive.  We wanted to be sure we’d be with the same people for the duration of our trip, which was actually very hard to find within our very limited price range.  During our search, the rain started pouring and we became more and more discouraged with every shop we entered. Feeling defeated we opted to check one more shop before packing it in and heading either down to Railay or back to Koh Tao.  Then we entered Liquid Adventure.  Their trip was leaving the following evening and had everything else we wanted.  The shop had a great atmosphere and we immediately signed our lives away. 

Ben and Zach managed to join Rita, Peter, and I just in time for the trip.  We boarded the boat with excitement and became even more enthusiastic when we learned more about the boat and what our trip would entail. 

Having had mediocre dive conditions on Koh Tao, we had no idea what to expect when we awoke at our first dive site in the Surin Islands.  We made an easy descent and could see for what felt like miles around us.  The corals were more colorful and the fish more plentiful than any of us could have imagined. We came up from that dive even more astonished than we’d been during our course, and we knew we were in for an incredible few days.  Each dive seemed more impressive than the last and we experienced such thrills from all we saw.  We dove at a site with a swim through which tested our buoyancy skills, and we did a wreck dive covered in lionfish that tested our nerves. We dove the famous Richelieau Rock, a pinnacle covered in purple soft corals near the Burma marine border, which was discovered by none other than Jacques Cousteau. We also did two night dives that scared us all shit-less as we had no idea what to expect, but we were so enthralled with what we’d seen all of our fears melted away.

We saw countless creatures as well with our most impressive sights being a leopard shark, a juvenile angelfish and a manta ray, which I spotted in the deep while each and every one of my comrades searched for tiny creatures in the corals. I spent a good minute try to signal for the manta ray – which looks like awkward flailing about – but to no avail.  I was the only member of my group to witness this magnificent animal, but the sighting was verified from other groups aboard the boat.  Other creatures we saw in abundance were pufferfish, boxfish, angelfish, triggerfish, butterfly fish, clownfish, giant blue starfish, parrotfish, and limitless others. 

It was a remarkable 3 days filled with 14 dives – totally worth breaking my travel budget for this trip.  We met incredible people from around the world – Sweden, India, Germany, etc.  The trip had been sold to us as “eat, sleep, dive, eat, sleep, dive” and that’s exactly what it was.  Each and every day we’d wake up, have a quick breakfast, dive, eat a real breakfast, nap, dive, eat lunch, nap, dive, eat a snack, nap, night dive, eat dinner, sleep. We hated having to leave the boat and wished we’d been able to spend our entire vacation on the liveaboard. But we knew that even more adventures were awaiting us.

Rita and I on the boat

Ridding the boat of evil spirits as we set off

Surin Islands

This might be Koh Bon?

Life on the boat

One of many dive briefs...

Peforming the Buddy Check PADI high-five...Divemaster Dave would have been so proud...

The group on our last dive

Lionfish on the Bon Soon Wreck Dive

Expedition Thailand Part 1: Koh Tao Scuba

Several weeks ago I started off on my adventure.  The first step was to get to "nearby" Udon Thani, about a 5 hour bus ride (somehow last week that number doubled) to catch a plane to Phuket.  Arriving in Phuket was quite the culture shock.  As soon as the baggage claim doors opened, we were bombarded with offers of taxis/buses/hotels all in English.  White people were the majority.  As soon as we exited the airport my traveling companions, Rita and Michelle, and I had to stop and just take a moment to breath before navigating the onslaught. Luckily we found a taxi driver who was very intrigued we could speak Thai and we (mostly I - as I had been nominated/forced to sit in the front during all taxi rides) chatted during the ride to our hotel, helping us to remember that yes, we were still in Thailand.
We spent the next morning on the beach and enjoying the sun, planning the next step to our journey - traveling across the southern peninsula and meeting friends on Koh Tao for our scuba certification.  That afternoon we hopped on a saawng tao and headed to the bus station. We had heard some stories of scams if you travel through agencies, so thankfully we were already well versed in public transportation. Magically, our timing was impeccable and we made all of our connections with just moments to spare or wait. On the way to Surat Thani, where we were to hop on a ferry) we met some really awkward German guys who were also traveling to Koh Tao.  Suffice it to say, they had no idea what they were doing, so we took them under our wings and helped them along, including their first tastes of som tam, which 2 were too scared to try. The ferry was an overnight trip, but it had small mattresses on the floor as berths.  On this ferry our fate was sealed for the rest of the week...

We met the first of our travel buddies, TJ, as soon as we pulled out Skip-Bo to play.  TJ is best described as the Anthony Black of Thailand - he just sat right down, introduced himself and started playing along. He shared details of his time with Teach for America in Chicago as well as months spent picking apples and apricots in New Zealand and Australia.  As we were chatting about our plans, a nearby guy trying to sleep, spoke up and told us we needed to go to his favorite dive shop.  He was a man of few words and promptly decided to try to ignore our chatting and giggling late into the night.  As the sun was rising we decided it might be a good idea to find the mystery guy who knew the island.  Rita and I found Tom at the back of the boat watching the sunrise.  He told us that he was working on his divemaster cert at New Way Diving, and could maybe help hook us up with then. Best. advice. ever.  Tom called the shop who sent a truck to pick us up from the port.  Within the hour we were set up with our course and an awesome place to crash not far from the shop. He even managed to score us a discount and the rooms for 2 extra nights.

We had the day to hang out and gather other WT friends Zach, Sarah, Ben, and Ben's ferry friend Ranada. TJ was already certified, but he crashed with us for the week too and planned dives with New Way Diving. We also had the day to explore Koh Tao, a tiny gorgeous island that was basically University of Diving.  Everyone was in their 20s. Everyone had incredible travel stories. And everyone was there to dive. It was just an awesome atmosphere to be in.  

That very night we started our course with the required paperwork and video stuff.  The next day was rainy so we spent the entire day in class learning all the things we'd need to know for our first dives. The next morning we suited up in all our gear and hit the pool for a few hours, learning about controlling buoyancy and breathing underwater.  Scuba diving is a weird sensation, and I wanted to just swim around the pool and test things out during breaks, but apparently it wasn’t allowed.  Finally, that afternoon, we hit the boat and headed out into the ocean.

Because of the rain the day before, we were prepared for the fact that our dive would include very low visibility.  I will admit it, I was pretty scared for that first dive.  I had no idea if my ears would equalize or if I would freak out underwater and breath funny (the biggest no-no to scuba diving).  As we descended down the rope and my ears slowly but surely equalized I calmed down and enjoyed the feeling. Rita’s older brother Teddy convinced her to try scuba diving by describing it as “the closest you’ll ever get to flying.” Boy, was he right.  Having snorkeled a number of times and enjoying the underwater world, (not to mention my fascination with becoming a marine biologist) scuba diving turned out to be just about the coolest thing ever.  While we could barely the people only feet away from us, we all were amazed at the feeling and so enthralled with all the life we were able to see.

We came up from that first dive with shouts of “that was freaking awesome,”; “did you see that fish?”; “so cool!” ; and “when can we go back down?” Let’s just say Dave, our island-renowned instructor, could barely help contain our excitement.  He wouldn’t admit it to us, but we know that he loved our wildly enthusiastic group.

The second dive of the afternoon included skills that we had practiced in the pool, like removing/replacing your mask at the bottom of the ocean (scary), and throwing your respirator away and retrieving it (double scary).  It was on this dive, however, that disaster struck:

It was late in the afternoon on a cloudy and drizzly day.  It had rained the day before mixing up the sand and other watery silts.  We could barely see our hands 15 meters deep.  Michelle, my buddy, and I were told to buddy up, and I had to move a little away from the group to get close to her.  As I moved away, Dave gave the signal to follow him – but neither Michelle nor I had seen it.  Before we knew it, we were alone at the bottom of the ocean.  Not daring to move and try to find our friends, we just stayed put and swayed with the current.  We figured that the group was right next to us and Dave had placed us in pairs preparing for our skills test. Knowing Michelle has the propensity to freak out, I did my best to keep signing to her and make sure she was still ok.  We hung out at the bottom of the ocean for a while, not sure what to do.  After a few minutes with no sign of anything whatsoever in the cloudy water, we decided it would be best to surface and head back to the boat. Following PADI rules, we surfaced slowly but surely.  When we reached the surface we were met with a frantic Tom, who had left the rest of the group to search for us.  I know he and Dave were probably nervous and perturbed, but I felt like a pro!  I had reviewed in my head all the protocol for a safe ascent at our depth and nitrogen levels, double and triple checked our depth and air gauges, and lead us up safely. 

Later that evening, Ben and I payed our beer-fines (for putting our masks on our foreheads instead of around our necks) and we hung out in the dive shop for a while.  The next morning we were to be at the shop by 6 am for our final 2 dives, so we packed it in early.

The next two dives were relatively uneventful, finishing the skills we hadn’t had time for the day before, and just exploring the underwater world.  We did have a videographer divemaster with us, so there’s even video proof of our adventure!

We finished our open water diver course by noon on Saturday, but because of our fortunate encounter with Tom, we could stay in our cozy bungalows until Monday. The sun came out and we enjoyed the next two days on the beach and with our new friends from the dive shop.  

Because of the atmosphere of Koh Tao, this was probably my favorite destination overall.  There was adventure, relaxation, and whole lot of fun.  We left sadly on Monday’s overnight ferry, vowing to come back if we couldn’t find a place we liked more than Koh Tao. Little did we know where our expedition would take us next…

On the overnight ferry!

Our Bungalow - right on the beach

Fire Dancers on the Beach

The epitome of life on Koh Tao - hanging out on the beach with a cold Chang and listening to TJ play the ukelele

Rita with team "Lost at Sea"

Approaching a divesite - probably at sunrise on our 2nd day

Pictures are Ready!

It will take me a while to get all caught up with my blogs for the last few weeks, but my pictures are posted and ready for viewing. To take a look go to:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=1755534491279&id=1326450028&aid=2088073&l=ddb8244253