On The Globe Again

Seein' things that I may never see again…

Posts Tagged ‘diving’

Diving and Snorkelling in Aqaba, Jordan

March 27th, 2008

Peaceful beach in Aqaba, Jordan

Jordan lies to the south of Syria, sandwiched between Israel to the west and Saudi Arabia to the east. It has a very small coastline on the southern tip, where the town of Aqaba lies cradled at the northern end of the Red Sea. From its beaches, the observer can see three other countries: Egypt across the water, Israel to the right (west), and Saudi Arabia to the left (east). Strange to think that in 1967 these waters teemed with military craft in a war with Israel (in which Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq fought against Israel). Since this time, however, both Egypt and Jordan have opened up their borders with the latter and enjoy a fairly peaceful relationship with their neighbour.

How did I get here… I found myself in the snow without a coat on Easter Sunday in London, heading towards Heathrow to board a plane to Amman and then Aqaba, on this southern Jordanian coastline. I had an 8-hour overnight layover in the capitol, Amman which became a mini-adventure. An Iraqi sitting next to me on the plane insisted that the Intercontinental hotel lobby would be more comfortable than an airport transit lounge in which to spend the night. It was. Definitely one of those risky stories I don’t like to tell my parents, though…

The Intercontinental Hotel in Amman

First observations of Jordan: everybody smokes like a chimney, it is dry and hot, and the people are quite friendly. Travelling as a woman here is not so bad – I was expecting much more hassling from men. While there are certainly stares and comments to be had, I would put the badgering on par with or even less than the south of France, Italy, and Spain.

Touristy is not a word that comes to mind in Aqaba. Here you see locals living their daily lives and the occasional traveller who clearly enjoys getting off the beaten path, wandering in and among brightly lit shops in the evening. It is definitely a town with tourist potential, but it seems to be overshadowed by their glitzy Israeli neighbour, Eilat. From the serene waterfront, where couples stroll silently in the evening, you can see hotels seemingly stacked one upon the other and looming over the far-side beach. I tend to prefer the quiet realism and organised chaos of places like Aqaba, so I think I made the right choice, although given a bit of extra time I think it would have been worth crossing the border just to check it out.

Evening street scene in Aqaba

Activities in Aqaba revolve mainly around the water, with diving and snorkeling being the main draw. There are 22 dive sites in the area and most are accessible from the beach. I took a pair of dives with Arab Divers, walking in from the beach and swimming to a gigantic wreck off shore, where a Lebanese ship called “Cedar Pride” was scuttled for divers by King Abdullah 23 years ago. Our next dive was in the “Japanese Gardens,” full of fish and coral as any good diving spot would be – I’d say it was on the plus side of average. I’m sure there are better locations, but it certainly was not bad.

Me and my dive buddies/guides from Arab Divers

Overall, I wouldn’t say Arab Divers are the most professional outfit, but it was a good day out nonetheless. If you are new to diving, I would suggest doing some research on the other 10-15 dive operators, but experienced divers would have no problem with Arab divers.

Doing anything during the heat of the day other than diving or snorkeling is not ideal, even in March at a “comfortable” 30-35 degrees. The town livens up considerably in the evening when things cool off – the kebab stalls fire up and you can find a good cold beer at restaurants such as Ali Baba.

Bedouin Garden Village, Aqaba

I stayed at a budget guesthouse called Bedouin Garden Village in a double ensuite room for about 10 GBP per night. There are also communal tents and camping spots available. The site boasts a small pool and lounging areas, and is situated across the street from a prime snorkeling location, “Japanese Gardens,” (the same as mentioned earlier). Drawbacks included: at 12km it is far from town and requires a taxi or hitching to get into Aqaba proper, the food left something to be desired, and the toilets smelled of urine. Overall, however, it was satisfactory and cheap. Has potential to be much more than it is, though.

At just over a four hour flight away, Jordan is far more accessible as a UK city break than most would think, and it takes you worlds away. As a budget option, it isn’t a bad way to go.

This article originally appeared in MSN UK Travel

No comments »

Posted in Middle East

Tags: aqaba arab divers beach bedouin garden village diving jordan scuba

Mafia Island, Tanzania

October 10th, 2007

Before joining the dusty Big Red Truck (BiRT) in Namibia, I decided to take a few days to relax on the remote Mafia Island, off the coast of Tanzania just south of Zanzibar. It is situated in a marine park, so the diving is fantastic and there are less tourists than the neighbouring Zanzibar up north. It was just what I needed after a whirlwind final week in the UK trying to get everything ready. Of all things, I forgot to bring sandals. Nice.

View Larger Map

Getting there was quite the adventure. My flight went through Dubai, where I was treated to a 7 hour layover. I highly recommend the ‘Quiet Lounge’ for those of us who aren’t gold-star members in an elite mileage program. Sleep was the mode du jour. Finally, an airport that caters to napping! The shopping was great as well, of course, it being Dubai. I treated myself to a digital point-and-shoot camera. Overall, one of my favourite airports to date. (For other good sleeping-in-airport information, I recommend The Budget Traveller’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports. A must try!)

My flight from Dar Es Salaam to Mafia Island was a little more adventurous. You know you are out of the usual airport scene when the safety instructions consist of the pilot shouting over his shoulder to tell you where your lifejacket is. Even better, when you get to sit in the co-pilot seat! Now, THAT is an upgrade. We landed on a tiny strip of dirt barely wide enough for a car, after which I was shepherded into a giant jeep which crossed Mafia island. I felt like a superstar – every child who caught site of the car jumped up and down squealing with joy and waving.

An amazing view from the plane. Below is a Dhow.

That strip of dirt is Mafia Island's runway

Upgraded to Co-Pilot on the return flight

There are only a handful of hotels on the island: Pole Pole (about US$200/night and the token “fancy hotel”), Mafia Island Lodge (about US$100/night, but beware there are quite a few add-ons, so ask before agreeing to anything), and Chole Mjini Eco Lodge (on another island just across the bay). The latter consists of tree houses, which sounds like fun, but overall I think I made the right choice. Being alone, it was easier to meet people at Mafia Island Lodge and the owners of Chole didn’t seem so nice, according to other guests.

The lodge is basic and comfortable. I’m not quite sure what the difference is between the ‘superior’ rooms and the ‘standard’ rooms, though. It seems the standard rooms have much better views of the bay, which is what I imagined the superior rooms to have. My ‘superior’ view consisted mainly of trees, but I didn’t mind as I was hardly ever in the room. The showers have pretty low water pressure. When the lodge was full, there was but a trickle coming out of the showerhead at peak shower time. The best part is the staff – they are so incredibly friendly and interact a lot with the guests. I had free Kiswahili lessons during my entire stay.

Mafia Island Lodge

Diving: the first day was what I would consider average coral reef diving. The visibility wasn’t spectacular; there was quite a bit of sand floating around. I learned later that this was due to diving during low tide. Day 2 was much better – we went farther out, and during high tide. I do recommend it as a good place to dive, just make sure to get out of the bay itself. I met some other tourists who had been diving off of Pemba Island further north, and they had some amazing photos from underwater. Next time, I’d like to check that out.

The dive crew. I was the only client. :) These guys were a lot of fun!

Fishing boats on Mafia Island

All in all it was a very relaxing few days and I’m happy to have had time there before heading out to meet BiRT. I am a believer in soft landings for budget travellers. Organise a nice hotel for the first day or two, and then go for the hostels and budget lodgings. It’s a good way to get your travelling feet under you, to get used to the climate, the lingo, the money, and generally living out of a backpack. In other words, you can relax a little and drift into it.

For the full set of potos, click here.

This article originally appeared on MSN UK Travel.

No comments »

Posted in Africa, Travel Advice

Tags: Africa airport beach dhow diving mafia island plane

Cat Fights, Dog Fights, Stick Fights, and Stupid Poultry

September 15th, 2005

In Malaysia, it’s cats. In Indonesia, it’s roosters. And on the east coast of Thailand, it’s packs of wild beach-dogs. There’s always something making a racket at odd hours of the night and early morning. Organic “Free Range” chicken has a new meaning… your dinner is running under the table!

I last left you in Malacca, the stately Malaysian town. Since then I’ve shopped in Kuala Lumpur, scurried through Bali and Lombok islands in Indonesia, and finally ended up back in Thailand. That’s the short version.

Petronas (Twin) Towers, Kuala Lumpur

I travelled with a Kiwi bloke named Shea and an English Gap Year Kid named Dom, who happens to be a Harry Potter look-alike, for about 6 weeks. Indonesia is a good place to have guys along; being a girl solo here would have been a bit more annoying, I think. When you see women going fully clothed into the water, you know things are conservative.

Swimsuit not needed

Stick Fighting

So what’d we do? We went to Gili Trawangan, an island with no motor vehicles (notice the garbage buggy below) and very loud roosters that never learned that you’re only supposed to crow in the morning. Overall, it was a nice island, but I was ready for more adventure and a break from the beach. So we went off to climb a 3,726m volcano (Indonesia’s second highest) housing a deep blue lake in its crater – Gunung Rinjani.

Garbage Buggy

The walk lasted 3 days, up and over the mountain, and we all underestimated the climb. Of course, the porters did the whole thing wearing flip-flops or barefoot! Check out the terrain in the pictures and you’ll see how impressive that is. Harry and Shea wanted to kill me for dragging them up the mountain. I’m not kidding, they were actually brainstorming various methods of torture for me as they walked, and this disturbingly seemed to give them renewed strength to continue onward. Hm. Unfortunately Shea didn’t make it to the top, but Harry pushed through and we shared some summit time and spectacular views.

Shea and Harry (Dom) plotting to kill

Me and our tiny little guide, with Kiwi Dan in between, on the summit

Token monkey shot

Next was a surfing adventure in Kuta, Lombok. We took lessons from an “instructor” who said such helpful things as: “There’s a wave! Go! Go! Go! Now AHHHHHHHH!!!!” while waving his arms and pointing frantically. Meanwhile the wave would appear suddenly crash down on you and you tumble in a giant, natural washing machine. Funny thing is, that’s actually what you do. You see a wave, and dammit you GOOOO!! Hm.

Surf's up!

Following this, our waterlogged selves made it to the artsy town of Ubud, back on Bali Island. We stayed there about a week, where I got a crash course in chess. We randomly went on a MISSION to find a hand-carved wooden chess set for Shea, who taught me how to play. It took me four weeks to finally beat him. Now I’m addicted and am carrying a chess set with me everywhere, hoping I can find people who play. Maybe I should just stamp “geek” on my forehead? One thing I really like about the game is that it passes all language barriers – you can play with anyone, even if you can’t speak to them! The body language during the game is entertainment enough.

Learning to play chess

The last stop in Indonesia was Legian, Bali. This is near where the Bali bomb went off four years ago. We surfed again (read: got pummelled) and visited a western-style theme park called “Water Bomb” where I felt like I was back in the States or Australia. It was a little disturbing actually.

Don't ask what I'm thinking here... clearly, I'm not!

After Indonesia, I headed back to Thailand. Ended up on the east islands, namely Ko Pha Ngan, the island famed for its “full-moon parties”… which are basically a brilliantly marketed way to get thousands of people to visit the island once a month. I dutifully avoided the full moon so it was a lot quieter than it is reputed to be.

Sunset in Kho Pha Ngan

Ko Tao was the last island stop, famous for its diving and snorkeling. I went on two dives and on the first there must have been 75 other people in the water. It was ridiculous – of course I didn’t see many fish! Not to mention our useless divemaster – he actually RAN OUT OF AIR before his 2 clients, on a 45 minute dive, and had to use my octopus on our ascent! wtf. The snorkeling was phenomenal though, and free. I wish I had an underwater camera casing so I could show you how amazing it was. I even came across a shipwreck – SNORKELING!

Now I’m on my own again and heading north. I’d still like to see Chiang Mai but I hear it’s flooded at the moment, so I’m once again in Bangkok trying to figure out what’s next. Maybe I should go to New Orleans!

Slideshows:

No comments »

Posted in South East Asia

Tags: bali chess climbing diving gili trawangan gunung rinjani hiking indonesia ko pha ngan ko tao kuta lombok legian monkey snorkelling stick fighting surf volcano

Tsunami Dive Camp

June 24th, 2005

Things continue to go well out here. Let me dust off the cobwebs in my brain and search back through the few weeks since I last wrote to see what is new….

We took off for Ao Ton Sai (i.e. “climbing mecca”) to do some, you guessed it – climbing. Or so we thought. Being monsoon season, we picked a bad few days. It rained a LOT and there is not much to do at Ton Sai if you’re not climbing. I might have been happy reading in a hammock and listening to the rain, but Jaime had quite a lot on her mind, so we decided to take her to Phi Phi where there is more to do and less to think about. ;) Pictures of the climbing trip as well as a trip out to Maya Bay on Phi Phi Ley (where “The Beach” was filmed) are here.

Climbing at Ao Ton Sai

So now I have a roommate! This makes lodging all that much cheaper. For the days that I dive, I get help with the cost of lodging. The reason they do this is that they are so short of divers that they are giving the long-term folks an incentive to stay longer. It’s working. ;) On the days that I don’t dive, I’m paying half of what I was due to the split cost with Jaime (so now it’s about $3 a day or something close to that). =) Life is good.

Dive Camp

Jaime fell right in step with the Phi Phi life. We took a rescue dive course together, which was a lot of fun. Jaime is very good at playing a panicked diver and I must say I have quite a talent for being unconscious. ;) There was loads of laughter while we did the rescue scenarios, which sometimes confused innocent “bystanders” (i.e. snorkelers out for a day’s snorkeling) who didn’t always realize were were all in good fun.

As far as dive cleanup goes, we’ve moved into a new area that has even worse visibility than the area we were in before. There have been times where I’ve nearly run right into other divers – not seeing them until they were about a foot in front of my face. Did that once with a lionfish too!! Swimming along, oh hellooooo Mr Lionfish. Let me back away slowly… Anyway, there’s a load of garbage where we are at now. Lots of big stuff. Some divers found an entire bungalow – but I’ve mainly been picking up corrugated metal roofing which has been fairly tough, as most of it is buried under a good deal of sand by now, making it extremely difficult to remove. It also contributes to the poor visibility.

One of our divers got hit by an anchor as it came down from an overhead boat. The scene was pretty intense. We do use safety buoys and the like, but I think some of the local boats aim for them… So this guy was swimming along the bottom minding his own business, and a catamaran came over above him and dropped anchor. It’s unclear whether it was dragging along and hit him or if it dropped right on him, but regardless, it hit his leg. Startled, he shot to the surface. That night he began to get symptoms of the bends. Next morning he was off to Phuket and the decompression chamber. He had 14 hours of chamber time over three days. He seems to be doing quite well now, thankfully.

Dive conditions - lots of boats around our sites

My regulator was stolen which was disappointing. I had left it outside my bungalow to dry and forgot to put it back in the room before playing Ultimate Frisbee at sunset. This is a shame as I’ve left stuff out like that before, even overnight and intentionally, with nothing being taken. (sigh) Oh well. What can ya do. At least I didn’t get hit by an anchor today.

Divers during a lunch break

I went on my first visa run on June 8th which was pretty fun actually. There were about 20 of us from Phi Phi. We had two vans with 10 people each, air conditioning and a TV screen for watching VCDs. Very good. Only problem was that 10 was probably a little much for the van. It’s an 8 hour round trip to Malaysia and there was no, I repeat no, wiggle room. I organized the trip and somehow ended up with no real seat. We spent all of 20 minutes in Malaysia and then came right back. Interesting road trip. :) I’ll be due again for another visa run in a week or so. This time I’ll make sure to spread the vans out a little more!

Another friend of mine, Corinne, and her friend Monica came to visit for a couple of weeks. I think they had a pretty good time. :) We went to Maya Bay, where the film “The Beach” took place and did some climbing. They also they put in some volunteer time. I’ve been fairly lazy the past 2 weeks with volunteering, what with all the visitors and then just being lazy the rest of the time. Hung out with a crazy Kiwi for a few days, a crazy French girl, and a bunch of other crazy people. I’m finding lots of people with similarities to me out here! ;) It’s distracting me from diving though – I’m looking forward to getting back to it.

Maya Beach Koh Phi Phi Ley

Sunset on Koh Phi Phi

For the past few days I’ve been climbing at Ao Ton Sai again, just to close this loop. :) It’s been a GOOD time this time around. For the first couple of days I climbed with Corinne, Monica, and another friend from back home – Kevin. Loads of visitors! Pictures of climbing are here. Then the three of them left and I spent the last day on my own. It was actually a welcome change as I do like travelling alone because you meet so many people. And guess what – I met some really cool people. Ended up climbing with about 6 others and even went to a beach called Ao Nang with three of them. That is where I’m writing this mail. All of us are typing away. Pictures of Ao Nang and us hanging out are here. Some of these guys are very good climbers, so it was great to try and follow some of their routes. My arms are feeling it today. ;)

Abseiling off the legendary "Groove Tube"

I’ll be on a boat back to Phi Phi this afternoon. We are close to the 6 month anniversary of the tsunami, so there will be a celebration on the island tonight… A celebration of its rebirth, in a way. Tomorrow I expect to be back in the water and diving again for a good week or two straight. I’m not sure what’s in the plans following that. I’d like to take off for a bit and travel around the area and then return to Phi Phi I think. We’ll see what happens. The other alternative is to head immediately up to Mongolia which is more what I had originally planned. Hmm… :) That sounds good too…

Fire Show

I have to run and catch a bus so I must cut it off here.

Introduction to Koh Phi Phi

May 25th, 2005

Slideshow: Cleaning up Koh Phi Phi Don

It’s been almost 2 weeks since I arrived in Koh Phi Phi. Time has truly flown and it’s amazing how busy one can be in “paradise.” ;) Here I thought I was going to have all this time to read and relax.. NOT! Haven’t even opened my book yet! People are working HARD here, and it’s fantastic.

I’ve been doing the Phi Phi “Dive Camp” – diving for a few days at a time, 3 dives a day. It has been very interesting, and I’ve actually learned a lot about underwater navigation! This is not your typical “fun dive” in beautiful clear water with lots of colorful fishies everywhere. I actually haven’t gone on one of those yet. This is TRASH diving. We jump from the town pier into water that also acts as the island’s sewage disposal system. We swim out among ferries and long-tail boats, taking big nets with us. When we descend (averaging only about 30 feet down), we stretch out the nets on the sea floor and commence to swim around looking for garbage. It doesn’t take long for loads of sand to get kicked up and the water to get very murky. At times you can only see a foot or so in front of your face, but that’s only when it’s really bad. Typically it just reminds me of diving out in Edmonds dive park. ;)

When the nets are full, we tie them up and put “lift bags” on them. These are basically big plastic bags that we fill with air and act as super-bubbles… they float the garbage to the surface. Longtail boats drag the filled nets to shore and snorkelers empty them out into a giant pile of garbage on the shore. We are still waiting for the Thai government to come with a garbage boat to take it all off the island, but that hasn’t happened yet (well, it did a long time ago, once, I think) and there is no idea on when it will. For now they are burning anything wooden and the rest just sits in a giant stinkpile waiting for a boat.

On the way out for a dive

Lift bags - just under the surface is a big, full, net of rubbish

The dive crew seems to attract quite a bit of attention, because we are going down where no one has looked yet. Certain areas are still relatively untouched after the tsunami, and we are finding every imaginable object. We’ve had at least 3 TV crews out here filming since I’ve been here. The most popular question is: “What do you find down there?” Well, to answer the unasked underlying question there, I haven’t actually found any human remains yet. There have only been 2 that have been found in the last couple of months, so it’s extremely rare. (Though, as a side note, I should comment that today I had a scare – I thought I saw the bones of a hand sticking out of the sand. My stomach sank and I swallowed hard as I started to move the sand off of it. Luckily it was only a stick. Odd feeling though.) I keep thinking I might find something; it’s a possibility and I need to prepare myself for it just in case. Anyway, back to the original question of what typical items are… well, among other things, a whole 7-11 washed into the ocean so there are a lot of coke cans, liquor bottles (some of which are still good and therefore a very popular find). ;) Oddly, lots of CDs & DVDs (probably from street vendors), some of which still work, books which are falling apart, pamphlets, signs, mannequins from shops, even a bikini STILL ON THE HANGER! Both the top and bottom! Unbelievable. I’ve also found some flowers (fake obviously), but it was odd to go along the sandy sea bottom and pick up a rose. Toys are fairly heartbreaking, as are Christmas presents (remember it happened the day after xmas). Shoes, masks/snorkels/fins, lots of clothing, metal roofing, large boards, palm trees (these can damage the reef and there are lots of them down there), etc. etc. Some of it is nearly impossible to take out now as it’s completely covered in sand, which when wet and underwater can be very heavy.

This pile of rubbish all came from the sea

Some of the things we find can be resold

Wildlife? Well, sometimes you see some cute little nemo fishies swimming in a glorious anemone, perched atop a blanket from someone’s bed that became the anemone’s home. (Nemo is very curious, btw). But usually we find lionfish, angry crab (as we tend to take away their hiding place), etc. There are some bright fish that swim by now and then. But we have to be very careful about the lionfish! Today when I came out of the water I had a huge sea cucumber that had somehow hitched a ride on my BCD. It was hilariously disgusting. When they get stressed out, they basically vomit their intestines to make fish think they are dead (this seems like the most ridiculous defense mechanism EVER). So when I got out of the water, I had a slimy, pulsing goo that people were seeing on my backside and they started yelling and pointing and going “ewwww! grosssss!!! accckkk!!” as someone ran up to me and started beating me with a stick. And I had NO idea what the heck was going on! Not a good feeling to have everyone screaming and pointing at you with not a clue as to why! ;)

Style points for water entry

Underwater, I take a stick with me and poke everything before lifting anything, just to make sure there are no sting rays, stone fish, or crab around. And I look very carefully at all times at a site before starting to work on it, looking for lionfish – they are very placid and not agressive at all, but they also tend to hang out and not move even with everyone moving around, so it’s important to be aware if there’s one near the net! These fish get your nervous system if they sting you. It can be really bad.

Andrew (the man responsible for the Dive Camp), me, and Karin

Anyway, let’s see, what else has been going on… I’ve settled into a kind of routine – it’s actually a healthier routine than the one I had when working at home! I wake up around 7:30am, by 8:30am I’m at the dive shop and getting all geared up. In the water by 9 or 9:30, do two dives, out around noon for lunch (provided to the volunteers free), then back in the water for one last afternoon dive. Walk back to the dive shop through town, dripping wet with dive gear still on and lots of people watching, return borrowed gear to shop, go home, shower, tend to small scratches (infection is rampant on the island so I’m treating every minor nick and scratch like a high risk wound – this is working very well actually). Go to a thai lesson for an hour (skipping that today to write this mail) ;) then dinner (you get a 60 baht coupon for dinner, like $1.50, for every day that you dive – you pay the difference), a drink, and bed by 11pm. Do it all over again the next day…. for variety, I’ll take an afternoon off and go rock climbing. I’ve gone several times already and it’s VERY fun here. I love the rock in the south of thailand. Luckily there are a few other climbers here so I haven’t had any trouble getting people to go with me. I think I’ll go tomorrow actually… ;)

People (volunteers) typically only take one day off a week. Friday. I’ve taken a couple more here and there just to let myself dry out. I don’t want to get an ear infection or something from being permanently wet. Plus it’s nice to get some sun now and then. I’m not all that tan as I’m always in a full rash suit. Just now starting to get a little more tan. :) Anyway, it’s interesting because you actually feel guilty for taking time off, because EVERYONE on the island is toiling away! It’s an amazing environment. It’s unfortunate that it takes a disaster to bring people together like this. We saw it in NYC after 9/11, and we’re seeing it here too. It’s amazing. Thai and farang (foreigners) are working together and interacting like they never did before. It’s really, really cool. :) The people are amazing and it really does seem like paradise, even with the rubble everywhere.

Girl toiling away in the heat

I’ve been eating really well. I rarely have breakfast, but if I do, you can get either a nice big “western” breakfast or go to the local “western” bakery and get some nice pastries. For lunch, we get rice and these little single-serving size bags with curries or vegetable mixes to put on the rice. At some point a short little old lady comes by with baskets of fruit. She is VERY popular among the volunteers and probably makes a killing! :) I like to eat pineapple after lunch. Sometimes I’ll get a banana-mango shake instead before heading back to the water. mmmm. Dinner – quite a variety here actually. Either thai or italian. It’s nice to have the Italian there for those days when you crave home food. There are also food stands around that serve sandwiches (like burgers sort of) and thai pancakes (very good, but sweet). So I think I’ve lost some weight as the food is very healthy and I’m exercising quite a bit. That’s nice – it feels really good to be moving around! :D

Lunch consists of bags of curry and a big pot of rice

My friend Jaime from home is coming in a few days! I’m very excited to see her. She is also traveling the world and is, oh, about 8 months in I think? (not sure). It will be really fun to have someone here from home. :) We may go to Krabi (a 1.5 hour ferry ride) and head to Ton Sai for some climbing.

In the beginning of June I need to head down to Malaysia really quick for what’s popularly known as a “visa run.” You jump down to the border and come right back to get a new 30-day visa stamp in your passport. I can’t remember if I mentioned in my earlier mail but I think they made a mistake in the airport and I’m stamped through June 8 2015 instead of 2005! haha! However I’ve been told they register everyone in a computer so they’d know I overstayed even if my stamp says otherwise. I’d rathe not risk it – will play by the rules. :)

Other than that not much else new really. Look at the pictures, that explains a lot more than I ever could. :) They took forever to upload so please do check them out! ;) This set is all about the island and how completely destructed it is. It’s a complete mess. And supposedly it’s a LOT better than it was. I’ve met a few people who survived the tsunami and they are very interesting to talk to. One was scuba diving when it happened. He said there was just a really strong current suddenly. Apparently it was one of the safer places to be, because the wave hadn’t broken and was barely noticeable except for the current.