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Published: October 4th 2005
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Pokhara Nepal
Pokhara Lakeside Its no surprise to me that on my last day in Thailand after an epic final 3 weeks I'm hungover again and only now completing this bloggy. I therefore apologise in advance for any ravings and poor blogginess reporting as I am not together at all. Also note that theres no spell check on this P.C so you will see the extent of my literacy.
It was never my intention to go out last night as this place (Koh San whatisname) sucks normally, but it was actually a really funny night. Drank with some random funny people from all corners of the globe.
I should be harder on myself. I think its over 2 months since my last entry ... shame shame shame. It started with constant problems in getting pictures downloaded and as I know how much you all like the pictures ....... well, my words couldn't surfice without them. So, recap. What the hell have I been up to since then.
Pokhara Nepal, seems so long ago now but was one of the most dreamy stops you could ever want in a trip. The lakeside was on our eye every morning and after 10 am coffee
Pokhara Nepal
Pokhara - Big Valley other side of Pokhara Dam & World Peace Pogoda at Davids AM/PM coffee house along with a choc brownie we would , well .... indulge. I can't remember ever having the gumption to sit through so many games of test match cricket. The committment and resolve should not be dismissed. When the time to start our Annapurna Circuit trek rolled around there where casualties, namely our esteemed college Stewarts (English backpacker we met on a late night looking for something to do in Kathmandu who hates Mel Gibson but loves Mr T) liver. Poor thing was literally cured, and Waz was not exactly in the best shape if climbing big sweaty hills is on the drawcards. So Stewy had to sit it out for a bit till the hospital test where cleared, while Warren had to sweat it out ... which he did passionately.
The trek climbed up for the first six days till our crew eventually found themselves upon the Throng-La Pass all 5416m of it. So we managed to get higher than the trek in Tibet if heights do it for you. On the way down the other side (a one day decent of 1600m which tests the knees) we found Jomson. This larger settlement that
Drinking in Pokhara
Stewart, Waz & Ronnin ... all mangled or was that me ? we passed through took us my surprise and we stayed and ate. The apple crumble will long be remembered as will the entire Godfather Trilogy that gave us planty of trek quotes for the remainder of the walk. Anyway, we soon returned to Pokhara in time of course for the last test match and decider. Drinking continued unabashed before I soon picked up and returned to Kathmandu for my return to Thailand and searched for a little sun, sand and whatever else I could dabble with... like diving.
I should highlight here that somewhere in Nepal I decided against travelling through India. While I appreciate that as far as the Asian travel experience goes it needs to be visted at least once, I could'nt bring to put myself through the day to day quibbling that would have tested my patience. In other words, it sounded like hard work and for what time I had left I wanted to relax doing what I wanted. India will have to wait for another trip. Very soft I know .... but Koh Phi Phi kicks ! (to quote Liam).
This place will forever be in our minds due to the terrible Tsunami
Pokhara Nepal
Beautiful Machpuchwhatiscalled .... of last Christmas. Its still incrediably beautiful but the scars are still present. Big holes stand out from the shoreline as you approach from Krabi and onshore the construction is active. A view from the lookout gives you a much better perspective to how the island is making headway. Most of the damage was on the northern side of the Island where a 10m wave crashed through Lo Dalam Bay destroying all but the largest, strongest structures. It hard to imargine as you walk through the streets how the entire area could be under 2 m plus of water and the violence it caused. Many stories of survival as in all natural disasters came to ear with a Thai telling me how he saw the wave coming in time to climb up a strong Palm tree, while others where literally tossed onto rooftops by the water. More interesting is to know whether the Thai authorities are putting in place the early warning systems which where talked about immediately after the event.
I first dived back in NZ a long time ago and was wanting to have another crack esp as its a lot cheaper in Thailand. After failing to
Thailand - Koh Phi Phi
View from lookout over Phi Phi 10 months after Tsunami. Still beautiful. make up some dives in Koh Chang I was determined to give Phi Phi a try. A good source put me in contact with Liam, the Galswegian Diver and U2 fanatic and I was soon back in the water with Hippo Divers doing a refresher course and certifying myself to Advanced Open Water (PADI), which means I can pretty much dive where I want without restrictions. Liam, (doing his Divemaster certification) soon found himself in the akward position of having to dive with hangovers which is not recommended by myself either. Diving became quite addictive after the certification of 5 dives I think I racked up a further 12-15 in the pursuit of chasing fish. There was plenty to see , and heaps of colour. However, most are interested in seeing sharks and turtles in the Andaman sea. Leopard Sharks, so named for their appearence and not nature tend to sleep during the day. Normally hard to spot in the sand we got lucky a couple of times finding a few lying like big cats on the bottom. Turtles made the odd appearance and are very very cool. While they are the fish of the moment, Clown fish or Little
Thailand - Koh Phi Phi Ley
Maya Beach where they filmed "The Beach" ... looks just like a beach only filthy. Nemo's to most people are the funniest by far and very curious. Am I starting to sound like a fish geek ?????
Anyway, thats all the diving I'll be doing for sometime right ... wrong. I have been led to believe that the diving around the coast of Ireland and Scotland is exceptional. Might have to wait till warms a bit. As it stands I am travelling from 30 degrees here in Bangkok to 12 in Dublin. Its only just starting to sink in. Harry and Dave can stop laughing right this minute. I'm actually looking forward to a game of rubgy and the pub nights.
You soon realise on Koh Phi Phi that unless your working or diving or socializing till you drop theres not much else to do. The firedancing is cool for the first time, but not so cool for the 18 th. A snorkel trip gets you around the beaches and a few places you might not know about. I was soon tiring ( HA ! ) of the existence 😊 till I walked back to my Guest House one morning to find Emma from Kathmandu (Daddy, I want another Pony !) sitting out
Thailand - Koh Phi Phi Don
Fire-dancing Hippies Bar ... don't try this when your drinking kids. the front. I spent time in Nepal at Emma's Orhanage and when I returned to Kathmandu was told that she had been forced to leave due to Visa issues. Six weeks later and poor Emma was still having Visa issues and so just had to stay in Thailand. Emma forced me to go diving with her since there was nothing else to do. I didn't think it was possible to laugh underwater and not drown yourself, but it was the funniest diving with shadow boxing, dog tricks (ie shooting each other and playing dead) forward rolls , backward rolls competitions and the infamous upside down genie. The final dive of the day took us through swimthrough, which are just small underwater caves. They're good fun untill you feel yourself getting stuck. Nothing like the sound of you tank being scraped against rock to get the blood up. No Emma, not funny !
So this afternoon I fly out to Ireland to find the residence of Jac Kearns and Co. Its a great feeling knowing that while I'm leaving I'm still travelling with plenty more good times ahead of me. No regrets of course, just that I can't be at
Thailand - Koh Phi Phi Don
Fire-dancing Hippies Bar ... more of. home with my family during this special time. Thoughts are with both Rose and Kristin as hopefully I'm an uncle again. More thoughts go to my Mum whos the strongest women I've ever known. Keep going Mum, proud of you and love you heaps.
Big Hello to all back in Sydney, Tigers and Swan's eh - wonder what that paid ?. Remember to let me know if your in my region for a pint or two.
Its just started to piss it down outside ...
Onwards ...
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Sarah
non-member comment
Wow
Hi babe, It all sounds really really incredible. Like a dream! You sound like you're safe and well too which is a relief. Are your family o.k? It sounds serious.... Can't wait to hear all about Ireland. Sarahx