Goodbye Thailand and Island Life - time to play catch up

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Bold TextThe Trio Heads North, out of Thailand and into Laos.....

(Hopefully a series of blogs will surface in the next few days to get you caught up on our adventure - sorry for the time in between, I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seats wondering when the next one will be......)

It wasn't easy to leave the beach, but we found ourselves certain to offset other potential travel plans with more days of sun filled sand stuffed toes - it wasn't easy saying goodbye to Ko Tao, but, I wouldn't be surprised if you hear from us again back on the island.

A few words about Ko Tao - basically, it's every postcard of paradise, every picture of the beach on the wall at work, it's really where you want to go when kicking around dream vacations by the ole water cooler at work...(work? what's that?) It's bathtub water on fine sandy beaches, bleached by sunshine and dotted with tan bodies and small boats anchored just past where low tide will stop. Our beach bungalow was just that, a one room hut with a bathroom, a little patio and literally a hop, skip, and a jump away from the beach - and not a Carl Lewis hop, skip, and a jump, but a Homer Simpson, hop, skip and a jump away - it was pretty much on our doorstep.

One of our goals for the trip was to become SCUBA certified - well, as most of you know we were able to check that one off the list and it couldn't have been more worth it. Scuba diving is absolutely awesome - I mean first off, most times, you're not Scuba diving in the mighty Mississippi or the beautiful White River, you're in tropical vacation land so you go that going for you already. Secondly, diving is like meditation - it's quiet, it's peaceful, it's relaxing and it's an experience, a 'nirvana' if you will, that is not reached too often...or at least as often as most people would like. As beautiful as Ko Tao is above the water, below is a heavenly tropical paradise featuring vibrant colors, exotic fish, and that nirvana previously mentioned that none of us has felt before.

It took us four days of a little homework and studying, watching videos, and hanging out with our dive instructor Graham before we became officially certified. It wasn't difficult work, but homework in paradise doesn't feel right....although, let's be honest, homework on a beach patio with a cold adult beverage and the waves gently lapping up on the sand a few feet away isn't really ALL THAT BAD....

The company we went through, New Wave Diving, was great. They provided our 4 day package with beach front accommodation at a great packaged price deal - most, if not all other, dive resorts on the island did not include accommodation with the dive package so an awesome score on our part and New Wave was, again, a great company. Many days we would pop into the shop to grab an ice cold water or quickly get on th internet - great company with great folks, and, according to the ladies, some hot dive instructors. I will also grant bonus points for these guys not just being a pretty face, but actually cool to hang out with.....case in point....our dive instructor Graham......pretty cool guy who was struck with the diving bug at the age of 14....a lot of us guys are dropping our adam's apples and he was dropping 18 meters under the sea. Now 29, he is a well traveled and experienced diver and also a very good, thorough, dive instructor.....

During the day we were instructed on the science of diving, what happens to your body the deeper you go underwater, how to setup our gear, and blah, blah, you need this to survive...In the evening we took it upon ourselves to take advantage of the many Happy Hours offered by the island bars and restaurants. Most of the places provide beach mats and pillows on the sand, sunsets into the water, and music - it's not a hard sell. Our traveling budgets also thanked the establishments for it and we thanked them with our continued and repeated business. Our first night was dinner at an absolutely fantastic restaurant right on the beach, some chairs were pretty much at the waters edge - The King Crab Restaurant was our splurging moment and it was well worth it. However, leading up to that dinner, I was hit by the infamous Chang Beer myth, which I am now a believer in, and so are the girls because of it....but the story goes that Thailand's#1 beer really has no set brew master or rhyme or reason on a set alcohol amount per bottle - one bottle could be 4%!t(MISSING)he next 8%! (MISSING)This results in getting, 'Chang'd' and the next day 'Chang-over' - I'll be honest - I believe I got Chang'd and proved this to the King Crab Restaurant by standing and shouting to everyone - "I LOVE POTATO!" Cut me a little slack here as the potato was buttered to death, right off the grill and truly delicious. The girls will back this up as well as throw me under the bus even more I'm sure of it. Oh the stories to be told later....

They say that diving is the closet we non Neil Armstrong folk can really get to weightlessness and it's incredible to experience. Our first experience underwater had us clearing our masks, taking the regulator out of our mouth, and other skill tests that lead up open water diving at a maximum depth of 18 meters (33 feet my fellow americans) After a couple classes and an open water lesson in about 3 meters of water we got to dive into the deep blue water. It's all quite exciting, somewhat nerve wracking, but, looking back, diving is not that difficult. Upon arriving to your dive site it's all about a simple prep procedure. A nice little acronym we learned:BCWAF - Bangkok (Buoyancy Control Device) Women (Weights) Really (Releases) Are (Air) Fellas (Final Check) gets you ready to plunge overboard. Once in the water, you float at the surface for a moment, give the OK sign to the boat and, when the group is ready, follow the anchor line to the bottom. That first moment of going down beneath the surface is what it's all about.....you slowly sink to the bottom, equalizing your air spaces, calmly breathing in air, and watching the underwater world come slowly in focus and into life in front of you. Jackfish, Groupers, anemonenemoneone's (how do you say and spell that????) Trigger Fish, Butterfly Fish, Blue Spotted Rays, Eels, Bat Fish, and many more that I can't list, spell or remember swim in schools or in and out of the coral and rocks - it was so very, very cool. It really is being apart of your own aquarium. Fortunately for me, it's much cleaner than the one I kept up at 2444 Polk Street in San Francisco. I kept hoping that the lobster and underwater musical crew from "Little Mermaid" would show up and bust out a gangsta version of "Under the Sea" for us but I guess they were touring elsewhere.

Other evenings found us dancing the night away, apparently a tired Anna only needs a single Mai Tai to get her groove back. Another night found us at the local sports bar, Choppers, with the rest of the English blokes, watching sports we have never really watched before, namely Soccer, Cricket and Rugby. You can imagine how enthused Anna and Holli were. We found our dive instructor there on two occasions and he was a good mate to have around...whether he was around because I have two lovely and striking ladies with me, someone do the math, is up for debate. Regardless, from time to time I need some good "Bro-time" and talking with Graham I learned the in's and out's of Cricket. While still quite a boring and slow game, similar to Baseball (the slow part that is), if you know what to look for the game opens up a world of interesting match-ups and excitement.

We have a great video of our underwater adventures and will have it state side soon or when Holli returns. We'll make sure to get it to all the parents and set up some viewing parties, there's some really classic stuff in there and is quite fun to watch.

All said and done Ko Tao is a fantastic place and I'm sure we'll be there again, actually, I know as the girls insist on it, but I'm down for it as well.

Notes for Travellers....
New Wave Dive - check it out
Ko Tao Rocks
1) An overnight train (2nd class with aircon) is well worth the extra baht (usually 200-300 baht more than a bus). "VIP" busses are inconsistent in quality / comfort / ability to sleep. Trains with beds help you arrive much more rested at your next stop. A sleeping mask, earplugs and a little Ambien or Xanax doesn't hurt either. 😉
2) If you find yourself in Bangkok for a day waiting for your connecting bus/train, I HIGHLY recommend The Green House hostel (84 Rambutri, parallel to Kho San Road). You can get a room/shower for the day for about $9 USD and they have the cheapest internet we've found anywhere (20 baht/hour, 35 baht/2 hours).

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Comments

[Momma Coleman]

I'm jealous of the diving experience...know how much I enjoyed snorkling in Florida when I was much younger! I agree with the 'peaceful 'nother world' aura. Can't wait to see the video! I wonder how many times you will say to each other "GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!" Miss you all! :)