April 5th, 2007
Today’s Deep Dive was at Bida Nok where we descended to about the 30meter mark. At these depths we experienced what pressure does to an egg yolk and how hand-eye coordination somehow deteriorates. Damn it was wavy on the ascent, and it only got worse as we returned to the boat. After about an hour & half of enduring my classic ‘post dive’ feeling shitty routine aka (not talking to aC while experiencing ‘hung-over’-like symptoms), I was ready for our Navigational Dive at Maya Bay. Both of us completed the compass skills rather quickly and enjoyed the rest of dive at leisure.
…yippee…we are now certified as ‘Advanced Open Water Divers’….whatever that means, we’re both still very inexperienced but looking forward to more deep & wreck dives!
We made it back to the island just in time to catch our ferry ride back to Phuket…
Upon return to Rassada Pier we encountered yet another disappointment with the tour operator who arranged our Phi Phi Cruiser Tour; the lady aka Bitch at the desk refused to provide us the transfer back to our hotel (which we were originally told was included). To make matters worse, Mr. ‘Chart’ was this guy working for the tour who literally told one thing the previous day, then went another way the next day. After confirming for us he’d transfer us with no charge and no problems prior to departure, he now was saying we didn’t understand the ‘rules of the tour’…What an asshole??!?!
..I was quite worked up at this point and began to yell out at the lady…she yelled back in defense said ‘never this way for tour, for any people, for any tour’…and in classic thai fashion suggested that we take her taxi service for 600 baht. I answered her by taking her business card while suggesting that I give her boss a call (not that in Thailand, that would mean anything..)..but hay, she did feel threatened as she said ‘give me back’ and shouted out shit like ‘I call police..you on way back!!’…
We ended up taking an offer by this dude who was trying to assist us in the situation, but was not affiliated with Mr. ‘Chart’ or Ms. Bitch. In the end, just another lesson to be learned…NEVER TRUST ANYONE in Thailand, expect the unexpected when in doubt and only book things with people who speak good English.
After this minor ordeal, we arrived at the Baumanburri Spa & Resort back in Patong Beach. We enjoyed some hawker food at Jungcylon before strolling the streets one last time.
Wow..our time in Thailand has come to an end, and it’s been the most pleasurable time for the both of us! With all the different cultural experiences, decent beaches and variety of islands (Phi Phi definitely a thumbs up!), nice dive sites, tasty/cheap food, affordable accommodations and variety of shopping avenues, we’re so glad we chose this place as one of our stops! Thailand definitely should be on everyone’s list of places to see, whether all of the above interests you or not!
…lets see what holds in Vietnam next!
Today’s Deep Dive was at Bida Nok where we descended to about the 30meter mark. At these depths we experienced what pressure does to an egg yolk and how hand-eye coordination somehow deteriorates. Damn it was wavy on the ascent, and it only got worse as we returned to the boat. After about an hour & half of enduring my classic ‘post dive’ feeling shitty routine aka (not talking to aC while experiencing ‘hung-over’-like symptoms), I was ready for our Navigational Dive at Maya Bay. Both of us completed the compass skills rather quickly and enjoyed the rest of dive at leisure.
…yippee…we are now certified as ‘Advanced Open Water Divers’….whatever that means, we’re both still very inexperienced but looking forward to more deep & wreck dives!
We made it back to the island just in time to catch our ferry ride back to Phuket…
Upon return to Rassada Pier we encountered yet another disappointment with the tour operator who arranged our Phi Phi Cruiser Tour; the lady aka Bitch at the desk refused to provide us the transfer back to our hotel (which we were originally told was included). To make matters worse, Mr. ‘Chart’ was this guy working for the tour who literally told one thing the previous day, then went another way the next day. After confirming for us he’d transfer us with no charge and no problems prior to departure, he now was saying we didn’t understand the ‘rules of the tour’…What an asshole??!?!
..I was quite worked up at this point and began to yell out at the lady…she yelled back in defense said ‘never this way for tour, for any people, for any tour’…and in classic thai fashion suggested that we take her taxi service for 600 baht. I answered her by taking her business card while suggesting that I give her boss a call (not that in Thailand, that would mean anything..)..but hay, she did feel threatened as she said ‘give me back’ and shouted out shit like ‘I call police..you on way back!!’…
We ended up taking an offer by this dude who was trying to assist us in the situation, but was not affiliated with Mr. ‘Chart’ or Ms. Bitch. In the end, just another lesson to be learned…NEVER TRUST ANYONE in Thailand, expect the unexpected when in doubt and only book things with people who speak good English.
After this minor ordeal, we arrived at the Baumanburri Spa & Resort back in Patong Beach. We enjoyed some hawker food at Jungcylon before strolling the streets one last time.
Wow..our time in Thailand has come to an end, and it’s been the most pleasurable time for the both of us! With all the different cultural experiences, decent beaches and variety of islands (Phi Phi definitely a thumbs up!), nice dive sites, tasty/cheap food, affordable accommodations and variety of shopping avenues, we’re so glad we chose this place as one of our stops! Thailand definitely should be on everyone’s list of places to see, whether all of the above interests you or not!
…lets see what holds in Vietnam next!
No comments:
Post a Comment