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Published: March 10th 2008
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Heading down the highway, looking for adventure, and whatever comes my waaaay, BOOORN TO BE WIIIILD...............
I just bought a motorbike. Well a glorified scooter actually. Is 110cc and has at least 2 horse power. NZ$280 worth of motoring glory. It’s a dream... no really it’s a Dream (Honda). Her name is Lola.
Have done my CPR course and have a free bungalow on the beach for three nights. Going for a deep dive tomorrow to 40m on enriched air. Excellent.
Hot and sunny here.
Must have a beer.
I hate my life.
30th September I got a Thai sim card for my phone, so now you can call and send text messages etc, which I am sure you are all dying to do... Bit weird seeing as I am on a small island in the Gulf of Thailand. Oh, the number is 0066 7 277 8132.
I have been really spoilt here with diving since I got back. Today I went to my favourite dive site and spent about 20mins at 35m watching sharks. They were around 2m and were very close. I don't feel nervous around them, they are so graceful.
I just want to follow them. One passed two feet away from a girl I was diving with, but she was facing the other way!
With my rescue instructor we went into 10mins decompression time. This meant we had to sit at 5m for 10mins to get rid of the nitrogen in our bodies before surfacing. Interesting feeling knowing that you can not ascend to the surface safely if you wanted to...
Tomorrow we are goping on two wreck dives because the viz is so good. Will probably be my deepest dive, then that will be it for going deeper, cant get too much deeper in the gulf of Thailand.
1st October WAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Look at what my Masters supervisor just wrote to me:
"good results for your thesis - all examiners very pleased - you will probably get a first class honours - yippee - I have still got to go through some paperwork but its all sweet."
Cant do better than first class honors, so I am stoked. Awesome!!!!!
Today I went to 51 meters on a wreck, this is deeper than my previous instructor has been. Exciting, darker, no colour really.
Right I’m
"Snorkel test" to celebrate finishing my divemaster
A hip-flask of Thai whiskey, coke, and a couple of shots of whatever the instructors see fit. With a mask on you can not breathe, so you stamp your foot when you want your assistant to momentarily break the seal on the mask. I think this routine gets perpetuated as everyone who has done it wants to ensure the newbies are subjected to it as well. It was novel to get progressively more drunk over the course of a couple of hours, without having to drink! off to party.
Mathew Ward BSc MVS
27th October A couple of people have asked if I am still alive, so thought I would send a quick update.
I have been diving a lot in Ko Tao and finished my divemaster this week. The monsoon has hit Ko Tao so it has been pretty wet there for a week or so. To finish the DM I had to assist on an open water course during a couple of really wet days. The sea was big, and it was cold on the boat in the wind and rain between dives (cold is a sensation that I had forgotten about). I joked with the English students that it was the special UK open water course package.
After spending a couple of days inside watching the DVDs I bought from Vietnam we decided to leave for a warmer climes. I have met a couple of Canadians (Terence and Margarita) who climb, so we are heading to an Island off the west of Thailand near Krabi which has great climbing.
Today was spent heading to Burma so we could get another 30 day tourist visa on re-entry to Thailand. Because
I could not get off Ko Tao for a couple of days I overstayed my last visa, paid a fine, and now have an "overstayer" stamp in my passport. Not that that matters.
I was in Burma for all of 3 minutes. We were in the town at the very southern tip of Burma, not very interesting at all, but saw a tree packed with the biggest bats I have seen, and two eagles circled over our longtail boat on the way back.
Am staying in the town of Ranong for the night, then off to Krabi at 6am.
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