Advanced Open Water Divers now!

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!

Diving @ King Cruiser Wreck & Shark Point

April 4th, 2007

Today, our 2nd optional dive was a Wreck Dive at King Cruiser. Back in ’97, the passenger ferry ‘King Cruiser’ was on a routine run to Phi Phi Island before it hit Anemone Reef and eventually sunk. Shortly after, the very experienced captain was nowhere to be found for questioning or briefing…conspiracy theorists suggest it was all an insurance fraud scam!

Anyways, the wreck was neat; we came across the engine room, bar, tables, stairways and a couple of toilets (with mooray eels poking out!)

Our 3rd optional dive was an introduction to Underwater Photography at Shark Point. For those interested, just remember; no flash, point upwards and get close! (that’s the take home message!)

After a nice dinner at Cosmics (yummy thin crust pizza!) but crappy cockroach lingering by the table, we enjoyed the luminous sunset at the beach.

Wecome to Phi Phi Island

April 3rd 2007

We were transferred to Rassada Pier at 7:30am where we hopped on the very popular Phi Phi Cruiser Executive Yacht. Arriving early was definitely a good idea as many of the outdoor lounge chairs were quickly snabbed by the hurrying passengers. 2 hours later, we arrived to Phi Phi Island where the lame ‘sightseeing portion’ of the cruise was a quick narration and drive by of Phi Phi Ley and some its highlights (Maya Bay, Loh Sama Bay, Phi Leh Cove & Viking Cave…Phi Phi Island actually consists of 2 islands; Koh Phi Phi Don (aka Phi Phi Island) & the unhabited Phi Phi Ley but better known for the filming of ‘The Beach’ with Leo DiCaprio & Co.

Shortly after, we stopped at Coral Bay for some snorkelling. Aside from the many nicks and pinches we received (probably from the tiny jellyfish), this location wasn’t too special…and a GOOD decision not to go diving here for 2200 baht!

For lunch they sat at a round table at Phi Phi Hotel, where we met some people from Holland, Iran, Germany and England (what did I say about the many Europeans here?!?)

We checked in to PP Casita (one of the newest properties in the main town in Ton Sai Bay) and were pleasantly surprised with all the bungalows.

We headed down the paths to PP Scuba Diving Centre (came recommended by our instructor in Cairns) where we quickly learned that our current level of diving experience would only take us as far as the local sites (Bida Islands). However, after some discussion with ‘Maria’ and her ‘lover’ aka John (one of the bosses), we elected to enrol in the ‘reverse’ Advanced Open Water Diver course, which would enable us to do the ‘wreck dive’ and see some of the other more popular dive spots here in Phi Phi Island. Also, the ‘reverse’ order of our dives would allow for enough time to catch the 2:30pm ferry on Thursday.

First thing on tonites agenda was our Night Dive! A little weird and scary at first with no visability outside the beam of your torch, but within minutes the two of us relaxed and observed the aquatic ‘night-life’ of the many creatures down there! (wow, huge lobsters do come out to play at night!!)..it was also interesting chatting with our instructor Marta, who was underwater during the Tsunami, and never noticed a thing…and unfortunately, a bunch of her friends weren’t so lucky….

After a quick dinner at Madame Resto, we headed back to our ‘hut’ to finish off some ‘homework’ aka knowledge reviews.

Patong Beach

April 2nd, 2007

This morning we rented a 115cc Honda Click from our hotel and headed north/west towards Patong Beach. Located about 15kms west of old Phuket Town, Patong IS the centre of all the action in Phuket. Along with the so-so turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea, you’ll find every tourist flavor here; tonnes of street style shopping stands (yes, uhm more bikins, shorts, t-shirts, hand bags for sale!), hawker food stalls, shopping malls, beer gardens & bars, nightclubs…I think you’re getting the idea…!

For many this place seems like the ‘place to be’, but for some its just another beachy area heavily covered with tonnes tourists, many of them Europeans…and with the popularity comes a premium; cabs charge way more++ to take you there, street vendors charge an arm-and-a-leg for fake, low quality shit and refuse to negotiate price, food costs a few more bahts, and many of the above average accommodations never come super cheap. Patong Beach itself is okay, with huge stretches of sands, fully lined with hundreds of beach chairs + umbrellas (apparently a government run operation). I guess I didn’t find anything special with this place, but I can appreciate why young people (& families) love it here.

After woofing down a ‘double filet-O-fish’ (where have you ever seen that???) at McD’s we strolled the streets in search of accommodation on Phi Phi Island for the next 2 nites. It didn’t seem hard as every other stall was either a tour excursion operator or a tourist booth, or a guest house or an internet facility, or etc…..We ended up at Patong Swiss Sea tour with this lady (I thought was a guy) who hooked us up with a decent deal at PP Casita for 2 nites followed by a nite at Baumanburi, just down the block on Rat-U-Thit Road. The only thing that got our attention was how much CHEAPER the Phi Phi Cruiser excursion was going for here in Patong….well, no best deal this time, but a very good lesson for all of us; BOOK ALL TOURS/EXCURSIONS in town where you find the best prices amongst the hundreds of local competitors.

After veggeing at the beach with some coconut juice and some Singha, aC decided to fulfill one of her many things on the ‘to-do’ list, parasailing. For about $20, she got a 2-minute ride in the air with this dude kneeling above her shoulders, twisting and leaning between the lines while guiding the parachute through its course.

We ended the day at Jungcylon, Patong’s newest shopping complex. Sports World (aka Sporting Life/Sport Check of Thailand) ate up most of our time as we made a few purchases (thanx to the ‘grand opening sale’ + the VAT tourist refund)…and we even got a few free bottles of water & baseball cap for being such big spenders!!!

The ride home was quite the experience as local traffic along Thaweewong Road (main beachfront boulevard) was getting busy. Lets just say that I’m quite the expert now at starting and stopping a scooter without intruding on the space of the many other weaving-in-and-out/passing riders)

Welcome to Phuket!

April 1st, 2007

The airport in Koh Samui was one of a kind; probably one of the few where the baggage claim, check-in counters, baggage trucks and boutique lounge are all under 1 large hut. After the 45minute flight, we quickly arrived in Phuket, Thailands largest and most visited Island on the Adaman Sea

Dodging all the ‘you need taxi?’ dudes was work at 1st, but once we figured out that metered-taxi was the way to go, we had our eyes set on the yellow and black signs. Our hour long ride took us down to the southern part of the island near Cape Panwa. We checked into the Novatel Panwa Beach Resort and quickly made our game plan for day.

We took the 50 baht hotel shuttle to the old town of Phuket, but to aC’s dismay, many of the local shops and street venders were closed on this late Sunday afternoon. Our driver was quick to notice our concern and quickly offered to show us the Phi Phi Island bound ferry terminal @ Rassada Pier (we mentioned earlier that we were looking for ferry tickets). At the terminal, he hooked us up with this lady selling ferry tickets, but also day trip excursions to Phi Phi Island on the Phi Phi Cruiser. For 1200 Baht/person, we chose the latter and figured even if we did’t have confirmed accommodations yet, we could still enjoy a full day tour for just a few more Bahts….(a we hope this works out).

Mr. Driver then dropped us off at Central Festival, Phuket's premier shopping mall about 20 minutes from our hotel near Cape Panwa. We quickly ran through the 3 floors before making pit stops at Pizza Hut and Tops Market. Yay….finally Pizza, after 2 months of chopsticks pride and noodle/rice fever!!!...and a couple more 6 pax of Singha for 150baht each!

Chewang Beach & scooter tour

March 31st, 2007

This morning we discovered the ‘free’ internet in the business center…okay, this is the 1st time on this trip where anything at the hotel was free….we felt as if we had struck gold, and sadly enough the 2 of us were quickly attached to the computer screens!

We shuttled back to Nathon where we rented a 115cc Yamaha Mio Scooter for the day. At $5, this was a steal..and gas to get us around the 60km long island wound up costing only $1.50. Many of the locals here travel via motorcycle or moped so it didn’t take us long to figure out the rules and etiquette of the road (re; stay left in the ‘bikers’ lane, and do NOT attempt to pass on the right as many other bikers and vehicles may be close by!)

Our 1st stop was Chewang Beach, Samui’s largest and most popular beach on the east coast. Once the ‘wow-factor’ wore off, Hat Chewang was just like the many busy large beaches we’ve been too; nice turquoise warm waters, sea doos busting the waves, topless bathers and several beach side bars/restaurants. We parked ourselves for a couple of hours, got in some sun rays and enjoyed some dessert before we continued our way south back towards Nathon.

Our last stop was to view the famous ‘grandfather/grandmother’ rocks aka Hin Da & Hin Yai. Apparently these 2 rocks have been slowly chiseled by the sea, wind and rain into somewhat accurate representations of male and female genitalia. After closer look, these things are hilarious….(I’m thinking about sending my pix to Maxim Magazine with my captions)

We concluded the evening with a quick eat at Coffee Island, a cheap café just across the street from the tour-operator office.

Diving at Sail-Rock

March 30th, 2007

After being picked up at 6:45am, we were then transferred along with 3 others to the pier. Our divemaster guide ‘Clive’, was this very laid-back pot head originally from the UK, who eventually moved over to Thailand in order for a ‘change of pace’. The 2+hour boat ride towards ‘sail rock’ was bumpy as ever, and I thought it was going to be yak time again….BUT, thanx to my 2 doses of gravol last nite and this am, I was able to ‘keep it all in’, although I was really hurting as we entered the choppy waters. Despite all the nausea and shitty feelings of wanting to puke, the 2 dives here were great; water temperatures about 31’, visibility about 25 meters, very little people around and we had the opportunity to swim through the ‘chimney’, a 6 meter, sectioned off vertical tunnel at 18 meters.

After a long and exhausting day, we enjoyed a nice dinner at the Promenade, the beach side restaurant at our resort…(and no we took a break from good ol thai food!)