Thailand: Chapter 1, the first.......and second

So, it has been 3 weeks in sunny Thailand (apart from the tropical downpours), and Mike is well into this lifestyle, thank you.

This was going to be a list of firsts, but following a disaster with the memory card in my camera and time marching on, there are also a lot of seconds.

I lost 75% of my photos, so had to go back to re-take them, hence the sequence is all awry I'm afraid but you'll get the drift - pictures of Kamala Beach (my base), a trip to the neighbouring province of Phang-Nga which are all the shots of island stacks coming out of the sea, caves and fishing village on stilts; and 2 lots of dive days in reverse order.

I have also now bought a new camera (about 15-20% cheaper here against even online sites in UK, 30% on RRP) which also has an underwater case, so the second dive day are photos taken by me - scary taking a new camera 20 metres under relying entirely on a waterproof seal!

Back to the list:

• The first dive day off an island called Racha Yai, south of Phuket island - lionfish, stonefish and moray eels amongst loads
• The first nights at 2 new beach bars, free food! Cheap booze, some homemade plum brandy and all on a beach under the stars - oh all right. just one more
• The first jet ski ride, at least on this trip, jumping the waves was fun
• The first travels with backpack and using public transport (1 GBP for a 1.5 hour bus ride here) to Phang-Nga, just turning up and seeing how far I got that day. Relatively short trip but a learning curve too. Buses in Thailand are pretty good, but timing is on Thai time
• The first whitewater rafting where I reached to Level 4 (serious rapids and drops), a level higher than in Peru
• The first motorbike ride for many years - rented one for a day to get to far end of island, not my idea of fun though, so may stick to cars if I ever need to do that again. My sense of balance is pretty crap and the traffic here has its own rules. Using motorbike taxis though
• The first longtail boat trip through mangrove swamps and around the Phang-Nga islands, including the "James Bond island" where a couple of those films have been shot - badly ruined by tourism now, but the rest of the islands are still untouched
• The first overnight stay in a Muslim community (Koh Panyee fishing village) - no alcohol for an entire day and night! No running water either after the pipes burst and a mossie net full of holes
• The second photo shoot of Kamala beach and neighbouring Laem Singh cove
• The second trip to Phang-Nga islands to re-take all the lost photos, as I thought the place was worth it (40 GBP for a speedboat day trip when the entire 3 day first trip cost less!)
• The second dive day at Anenome Reef and Shark Point (my photos and the first ones you'll see!). Still too nervous, using my air up too quickly (40 minutes max for a whole tank, others getting an hour out of one) but hopefully practice will fix that.

Now planning for Stage 2 in northern Thailand, trekking in the rainforests, temples and lots of earliest Thai culture. Got a contact from a UK couple just come down from there so trying to fix up with them, and base myself in Chiang Mai until 29/12 when I have to leave Thailand as my first entry (60 days per entry) on my visa expires, so Laos for New Year!

But the next event is a 3 day diving trip, living on board the dive boat (23-25 Nov) to a couple of rocks about 60km south of Phuket island (Hin Dang and Hin Mueang) as a practice for the 8 day trip (including sitting my Advanced PADI exam) from 1 Dec to Similan and Surin islands off the west coast and (unofficially as no visa stamping done, just some money changes hands with the Burmese Coastguard apparently!) into Burma. Then trekking for a couple of days up the west coast from here.

Photo link is: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/laurentmik/Thailand_2007_Chapter_1 Sorry, quite a few as diving and the coast here is pretty spectacular. I'll try to keep to more regular posts and so smaller photo links in the future, honest.

Cheers!

Mike

Welcome to Thailand

It's been a week, so I thought I would get a first post up for this trip as an introduction. By the way, this is not going to be a Judith Chalmers or a David Bellamy travelogue but more my experiences and my usual warped views.

Uneventful flights all on time, so got to Kamala Beach on Phuket island early afternoon. Watched Pirates of C. 3 film - brilliant piece of overacting by all!

Staying at PapaCrab Guesthouse about 1 minute from beach, this is right at start of season so all the beach bars are just being built and restaurants gearing up.

First night's sleep was interesting: right next to Bob's Reggae bar (hate reggae), down the road from a club, fighting the mozzies, then at 4 am the sound of stilleto heels on walkway outside and my neighbour enjoys what I shall politely call a bit of slap and tickle (literally) until 5 am, just in time for the Mullah at the mosque down the road to blast the town with loudspeaker-driven 5 am call to prayers! Not finished yet, at 7 am next door other side is a large school and they start at 7 am with outdoor assembly conducted over loudspeakers complete with music and drum rolls - fantastic!

So, exploring beach and town for first few days. Managed to fall into "Sports Bar" where only sports were ladies and "lady boys", got invited to their grand opening night by Evie, a lady (no adam's apple) who is my size and height, so I didn't argue! Escaped intact and avoided the place on Opening Night only to be spotted by Evie who came stomping down the road after me! Anyway, managed to get out of it and we are still talking (Dodgy Uncle Mike strikes again, and NO, Lindie, I still don't want to buy those - in joke, ask her, but you can guess I expect).

Kinger, if you are reading this, you were right of course, a bloke on his own here stands out somewhat - unless you then have a Thai lady (or lady boy) on your arm, which so many of the older ones do, thankfully I'm not old yet (mentally, anyway)!

Went to Kata and Patong to see what they are like, very large, very crowded and all the lady bars you could possibly want! I'll stick to Kamala. Met with the Dive team and firmed up all dive dates, so that starts from 10/11 and finishes with a week aboard a dive boat in Similan and Surin Islands plus going into Burma to Mergeuil banks, doing my Advanced PADI at same time, firsat week of December - at least that's the plan.

Living here is so good, get up for walk on beach, breakfast at beach bar, laze on beach (when not raining, still end of rainy season) cruise the bars for the evening and eat at seafood and Thai restaurants. A dinner with a Singha beer costs about 3.75GBP, a beer or a Thai (Mehkong) whisky is about 85p!

Anyway, getting known around town now - even the Indian tailors are starting to give up, and the ladies just shout and wave. Really friendly people particularly if you try a little Thai speaking.

Finding my way around the island using the local buses (not tuk-tuk's), 40p for about a 1 hour journey (tuk-tuk is about 5GBP for same trip as I can't divide the cost with anyone here), if you don't mind sitting with chickens, sacks of rice and all sorts of locals.

Off to Phang Nga, neighbouring province, for a few days next week - island stacks out of the sea, James Bond film-style, caves, temples and nature reserves plus sea kayaking and rafting, I hope. Catch the bus there and see!

Cheers!

Mike / Mick