Diving head to head

Koh Tao is great diving for coral reefs, wildlife and a great first experience.  Pattaya is very different.  I would've hated the place if I hadn't been diving.

Pattaya is one of the original places in Thailand for sex tourists.  There were lots of bars that were full of single women at each table, waiting for men to come in "looking for company".  There weren't as many girly bars - topless, strip clubs, etc-as in Phuket. But the men were older, more desperate, creepier. There were men traveling in twos or threes picking up girls who looked young enough to be their granddaughters, although it's hard to estimate age in Asian women. Aside from my first part of a day walking around, I spent every other day I was there out on the boat.  That's the best way to pass time in Pattaya.

The best diving in Pattaya is the wreck diving.  There are three wrecks, two intentional sinkings that are mast upright and nearly identical except one has been down eight years and one has been down five. The third is a ship that was used as a cargo ship in World War Two after the Japanese took over Thailand. It's been down since 1945. It is on it's side with cargo spilled, holes cut in the hull when they salvaged the engines and oil barrels, and it's covered in sea life. After doing two wreck dives the first day I decided I might as well get my Wreck Specialty certification.  I spent two days doing four dives on the Hardeep, the WWII wreck. I mapped it, lined in and out and in general, thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Pattaya beach

Good eats at the night market.  And pork to boot!

Our departure point for diving

Hardeep wreck info

After Pattaya I headed to Aryutthaya, a city that used to be a royal capital.  It's a small city just north of Bangkok that is an island of sorts.  It's a couple square miles of land completely surrounded by rivers. It has more temples per square inch than anywhere I've ever seen. They're gorgeous. I took a riverboat ride at sunset that showcased three of the oldest and most beautiful. I stayed three nights, but didn't get as much time in town since it took me almost a full day to get there even though it's not far from Pattaya.

Temple from the river at sunset

Very old temple in a park

My least port of call in Thailand was Bangkok.  I didn't see much of the city.  By that point my ankle was still swollen and very painful.  It was limiting my mobility.  I even made an appointment with the doc from Thailand for the day I got back.  The cut on my left foot that I mentioned previously? It was infected.  I'd sought assistance at a pharmacy in Pattaya but with all the time in the ocean I think it never dried or I got a bug from the sea in it.  I was almost as painful as the ankle.  I was exhausted mentally and physically so stayed pretty close to my hotel.  Consequently I only saw two markets and a mall.  Two of the three were straight across the street from where I was staying. I did get to see some pretty great public art.

Street art.  This is one of three giant tigers

Happy year of the water dragon

Treasure is where you find it.

I arrived in Jakarta at 1am, picked up a key to my friends place from her at a bar, and collapsed into her guest room. The weekend led to a debridement of my cut, a wrapping of my ankle and then just rest.

Thailand returns and the diving begins

I'm still trying to find my rhythm here in Seattle. Hence tomorrow being today which was actually six days later.

I left off at my arrival in Koh Tao. I showed up with a busted ankle but otherwise ready to get my Open Water (OWD) scuba certification. Koh Tao is a tiny island that is a diving mecca.  It's reputed to be the cheapest place in the world to get certified.  Koh Tao is the most northern of the three islands off the east coast of Thailand and the hardest to get to.  It has over 25 dive shops and more than a dozen dive sites.

Phoenix Divers shop patio

The pink beast

After talking to the shop I wanted  to do my cert with, we decided I'd wait a day to start.  Tuesday was a rest day, and most of it in a restaurant or in my hut to stay off my feet.  The dive shops are competitive and offer great packages. With my OWD I got four free nights lodging in a little hut.  Nothing fancy but enough room to spread out.  The fan was enough and the mozzie net greatly appreciated. The course was a half day the first day, all classroom work watching videos and doing worksheets. Day two was coursework in the morning and pool "diving" in the afternoon.  Its the first time we gear up and practice the required skills. Day three is the written test and afternoon dive in the ocean while completing skills.  Day four was a morning dive and then we were finished. There were only three of us in my class and Al, our instructor, said we were the easiest class he'd had in a long time.  No one failed their test or skills and we had a good time along the way.

Outside my hut

I was hooked from the first dive.  I grew up a pool rat, starting on swim team at age six and working as a lifeguard and swim instructor for nearly nine years.  If I'd grown up in a warmer climate I guarantee I would have gotten my certificate much sooner. The only downside, something learned since Koh Tao, is that the diving SO good that it makes everything else pale in comparison.

Last dive for OWD!!

I finished my OWD and the two guys in my course both left the island.  I took a day off and then went straight into AWD, Advanced Open Water Diver. No one else signed up so it was just Al and I.  No jump in price even though it was a private class, AND because it was my second course with them I got a discount. I'm now cleared to dive up to thirty meters, in low visibility/at night, using navigation techniques and a dive computer and I have perfect buoyancy. I also managed to put a gash in the outside of my left foot too.  Remember that for later.

In all I was on Koh Tao about ten days and was hard pressed to leave.  I didn't see much of the island except what was in walking distance of Phoenix Divers and I didn't mind. The food was close and good, or good enough.  At night the vibe was mellow.  There was a bar with a great fireshow, even better than Koh Phi-Phi.  And here's the kicker.  The performers are under 15 years old. Next time I'll rent a motorbike and see the peaks and other coves on the island. From Koh Tao I could have taken two boats to a bus or train to Bangkok.  Instead I spent a little more and saved myself a day of travel.  I took the local boat to Koh Samui, spent the night and then flew out to Pattaya in the morning.  Bangkok Airways gets a big gold star from me.  Free deli snacks and beverages at the airport, food on the plane, nice attendants and all for a flight that was just over an hour.

I'd booked a bed in a eight person room in Pattaya.  I got in and found Mermaid Divers on my first afternoon. After walking around the city for an estimated five miles and seven hours, I went back and found I'd lucked. I was the only one in my room. Mermaids picked me up in the morning and we went out diving.

An outline of diving in Pattaya and contrasting it with Koh Tao, Bangkok, Arutthaya and (hopefully) a wrap up of Thailand tomorrow.

Thailandia

Knowing that I was leaving Indonesia, I took full advantage of my last school holiday with a trip to Thailand. Luckily my friend Donna was also on holiday and decided to join me.  We flew to Penang, Malaysia on Christmas.  It was a very, very early flight and we'd both been up all night. I spent Christmas eve in a bar on the scrungy backpacker street in Jakarta surrounded by friends. It was a great night despite recovering from a stomach bug. Donna and I spent the morning of the 26th enjoying Penang and then caught a quick flight up to Phuket.

Phuket is one of the two big ports in Thailand. It's a large island off the west coast ringed with beautiful beaches. We elected to stay in Phuket town as opposed to the tourist strip.  I really liked Phuket town.  It has the feel of an artist community.  It has a smaller, quieter feel. We made the bus ride to "downtown" for a "transvestite extravaganza".  The ladyboys and shows are a big draw in Phuket.  It was fantastic.  The ladies were all so beautiful and the performance mesmerizing. The night life in general was completely a different world from Jakarta or anywhere else. We went to a ping-pong show.  Modesty and potential embarrassment prohibit me from explaining exactly what that was but I'm sure google will help you.A day boat trip to James Bond island was a nice day activity.

From Phuket we went to Koh Phi-Phi (pronounced pee-pee).  Koh is Thai for island. It is a party center for gap year kids with time and liver cells to burn. We were only there for two night but one of them happened to be New Year's Eve. We did drink and carry on but not nearly as long as some of the kids. We also got out on a longtail boat for a snorkel trip and saw turtles!

Reilay, near Krabi, would be the last place Donna and I visited together.  It's a small town that's a rock climbing mecca. The beaches are short and rocky for the most part, although there is a beautiful sandy beach surrounded by limestone boulders/cliffs. Unfortunately a good part of our time there was eaten up checking on bus and train availability.  After Donna left, I went for a half day rock climbing trip.  The rocks were busy but the belaying lesson went well.  I was the first one to go up.  Our course wasn't set for beginners as it zig-zagged up.  I was about a quarter of the way up went I had some trouble finding a handhold.  I slipped three times before I found my way.  The first slip was a big one.  The guide hadn't taken enough line in and I dropped about two or three meters (I was told) and whacked my right foot. I made it to the top  but when I got down and the adrenaline wore off I realized how bad my ankle was. It swelled up a lot very quickly and I had to call off any further climbs.  It made the transportation day I had planned seem long.

My next stop was Koh Tao.  It's the northern most of a three island cluster off the east coast. It's not an easy trip from Reilay to Koh Tao and mine was less easy than I'd hoped.  A longtail boat to Krabi, a van, a bus.  Upon reaching Surat Thani on the east coast I found out that the overnight boat to Koh Tao wasn't running due to weather.  I met Francesca who was in the same boat.  We elected to stay the night and catch the morning boat.  The bus picked us up in the morning for an hour ride to the port.  The boat was actually two. One that made a stop in Koh Samui and went on to Koh Phangan, then a change for the last boat to Koh Tao.  A day and a half later, I limped in to Koh Tao.

More tomorrow!

Away again

As you might have guessed by my lack of blogs recently, I'm traveling again.  This time it's Thailand.  I'm taking advantage of my last big holiday break before I leave SE Asia.  I'll be on the road for nearly a month, all in Thailand.  The first week and a half I'll have Donna, a great friend from Jakarta, along as a traveling companion.  Then I'm flying solo.  I arrived in Phuket two days ago and have been packing the days full so far.

I don't know if I'll get any blogs up while I'm on the road but I'll definitely pick up again when I get back.  I do apologize for the lack of blogs before holiday.  That was a combination of busy life and lack of interesting writing topics.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice/other and Enjoys ringing in the New Year with someone they love. Catch you in 2012!