Since all four of us from the original Open Water course have decided to stay on for our Advanced course we get to keep Mario as our dive instructor!! Even Stephan, who is departing in a couple of days, has decided to stay with us, and we are joined by a new student diver from Japan as well.  The Advanced Open Water PADI certification will take 2 days to complete, includes 5 open water dives, and will allow us to dive to a depth of 30 meters.  There is hardly any classroom learning for this cert, which I think is a relief to us all.  Just a little bit of lecturing from Mario, which is an interesting pleasure, and we are off! On day 1 we complete our deep dive to 30 meters, and our navigation dive, where we learn how to use a compass and computer underwater.  I have to be honest, I had a little bit of trouble with this dive (Thank god for my buddy!) but I found out later that I actually absorbed more than I thought (read on). 

As we came in from our second dive the sky grew dark with clouds and the wind picked up.  It looked like a hell of a storm was brewing, but Mario seemed confident it would pass before our night dive that evening.  It didn't. And to my surprise and horror (which I hid pretty well behind my facade of excitement) we readied ourselves for the night dive anyway.  Really, I was very excited, and I knew  it would be peaceful under the water, no matter what it looked like on the surface, but the ride to and from the dive site terrified me.  Mario handed out pills for the sea sickness we were bound to feel, which I foolishly didn't take because I had no water with me.  Bad call.  By the time we arrived at our dive site, battling 6 foot swells all the way, I was in bad shape.  I knew I had to get into the water to get rid of the pit growing in my stomach, so as soon as we were anchored I threw on my equipment in record time, asked Stephan to quickly buddy check me and into the wild waters I went.  Again, bad call.  Now I was in the water bobbing up and down the swells, in the dark and alone, while the rest of my group was still getting themselves ready on the boat.  And the motion of riding the waves at the surface was just barely better than being on the boat.  So I played the waiting game, and tried to suppress the terror I was feeling at being alone, in the dark, in rough seas.  When everyone joined me and we finally started to descend I could not be more relieved.  Who would have thought that I would be more at ease under the water then above it?! 

The night dive was everything I thought it would be and more.  Everything is pitch black, except for the cylinder of light cast by our flash lights.  A simple flick of the wrist would illuminate a world you had no idea existed only moments before.  Giant barracuda swim right beside you waiting eagerly for you to reveal to them an easy meal.  When your light reflects off of an unsuspecting fish he shoots in for the kill.  At one point we all turned off our lights and watched at the plankton shine like millions of little fireflies at our every movement.  That moment was breathtaking; a magical experience and something I will never forget. Every part of that dive was spectacular and I never wanted it to end. But, end it did, and the storm was waiting for us at the surface.  The entire way back to shore, I starred into the dark horizon, with visions of glowing plankton dancing in my head, keeping me from vomiting all over the ship.  I was glad to finally be on solid land. 

The next day we were able to choose 2 elective dives, the first was a wreck dive and the final dive would be back at Twin Peaks for underwater photography.  I received an underwater camera for both dives.  The wreck was purposely sunk as a dive site but it was pretty cool regardless and a great photo opt.  Mario, who is an accomplished underwater photographer himself gave us great tips on how to get the best underwater shots, and my particular favorite was macro shots.  On the final dive Mario and Stephan never even entered the water.  We were paired up in buddy teams and given compasses and a computer and set off on our own.  This is when I discovered that, wait, I really do know how to navigate.  I got myself and my buddy all around the dive site, and we even found Nemo! 

This entire experience has been more amazing then I even dreamed, and I am totally hooked on diving!  I am already looking for some cool dive sites in Bali, and cannot wait until I get to Australia - Great Barrier Reef here I come!

I cannot thank Mario and Stephan enough for their guidance on this journey, and I would of course highly recommend Ban's Diving Resort to anyone looking to get their diving certification in Thailand.

wreck dive

These are some of my favorite macro shots

I arrived in the port of Koh Tao a little later then expected since my train from Bangkok was an hour late getting into Chumphon and I missed the morning ferry.  It was annoying at first because we were stuck for 3 hours at the train station in the heat with little to do but wait.  But once we boarded our air-conditioned bus for the port things started looking up.  We had to wait another 3 hours for the ferry, but at least this time we were waiting at the docks with the beach, a comfy chair and an ice cold watermelon smoothie. The ferry was another 2-3 hours to Koh Tao, which was not a bad ride until the very end when the stopped to pick people up at a nearby island, Koh Nang Yuan, and filled our boat way past capacity with loud Asian tourists.  Luckily it was only another 10-20 minutes to the port at Koh Tao.

Ban's Diving Resort, where I booked my stay based on a recommendation by a friend in NYC (Thanks, Sully!), was at the dock to pick me up and before long I was in the back of their pickup truck, letting my worries roll off my shoulders with the cool island breeze.  Check-in was seamless and in no time I was resting in my fan-cooled room off of the diving pool, included when you sign up for one of their diving courses.  I was already booked for the Open Water Diving course which takes 4 days and includes 4 open water dives.  My orientation was that evening, so I only had time for a quick dinner before I rushed off the classroom to meet my instructor. 

(I should mention now - My friend in NYC who recommended Ban's told me that his friend was a dive instructor there, but after a few days of asking around I still have not met the infamous Kevin Laughlin, and no one seem to know who he is??  Regardless, I am glad that I ended up at Ban's and could not be happier with the instructors I ended up with Mario and Stephan.)

My diving group is quite small since it is only a day or so before the wild FullMoon Party on Koh Phangan and most people are gearing up for the all night bash, just 2 Russian born Canadians and another girl from Poland.  Mario is our lead instructor and he has been with Ban's for 17 years! When he speaks you can tell how knowledgeable and passionate he is about diving, and I consider myself extremely lucky to be his student. Stephan is a new instructor, serving an internship at Ban's, and is also very passionate about the sport.  Our first evening is interesting but laborious.  The best part is Mario's lecture, then we have to watch 3 video lessons back to back until about 9PM. 

The following morning we meet at 7:30AM, collect our gear and head to the pool, where Mario and Stephan teach us how to prepare for a dive and do a gear check - BWRAF (Bruce Willis Rules All Films) or BCD, Weights, Releases, Air and Final check.  Before we know it we are in the pool learning the basics of diving and all catching on pretty quickly.  We get only an hour or so to ourselves in the afternoon before it is back to the classroom to finish our studies and videos. Tomorrow we get to start our open water dives!

The next two days we get to do 2 dives a day to a depth of  no more then 18 meters.  The dive sites of Twin Peaks and White Rock are spectacular, and full of life.  We first have to practice our skills, but are usually left with at least 20 minutes to explore the underwater worlds.  It is hard to describe how peaceful it is under the waves.  Being in an alien world, so strange and unfamiliar, your senses are automatically at high alert.  The only sound you hear at first is your steady breadth, in and out, but then you discover the amplified clicking and buzzing from the sea life around you.  The shapes,colors, and movement of the coral and plant life are mesmerizing and the plethora of fish life is astounding.  Immediately I am hooked.  I will never be the same.

We all pass the final exam with flying colors and at first I think I am the only one interested in continuing on with the Advanced Open Water certification, but I am wrong.  As I start asking questions, and Mario answers enthusiastically and passionately, everyone is hooked.  By the end of our final evening all 4 of us are signing up for the additional 2 day advanced course, where we will be certified to dive up to 30 meters, opening up an whole new world of dive sites all around the globe.  I am ecstatic, bring it on!

To be continued...

Such a short visit to Cambodia and I am on my way back to Thailand, first to Bangkok, then directly down to the Island of Koh Tao, where I will spend days diving in crystal clear waters to earn my PADI certification.  I know - it's a hard life I lead. 

I traveled back from Siem Reap with my new friends Chris and Lorraine.  We shared a cab to the boarder at Poipet (only $25), which took about 2 hours.  I spent the time taking pictures of Cambodians on bikes, and boy did I get some doozies.  It amazes me how many people they can cram onto a tiny bike...seriously its like a circus show...spectacular but also terrifying.

We crossed into Thailand by foot, about an hour long process, and then grabbed a tuktuk for 150Bt to the local train station in Aranyaprathet to catch the train into Bangkok.  It is third-class seating only in an open air car and takes about 7 hours, but it only costs 48Bt - about $1.60.  It was actually an enjoyable ride, with the wind blowing through the car and the beautiful scenery.  Only in the last few hours did my butt go numb from sitting on the hard, wooden seats and I got a little restless.  We were the only westerners (aka white people) on the train, which made the trip all the more special and interesting.  Thanks again to seat61.com for the tip on this cheap and unique form of travel.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I randomly ran into the Canadian couple, Chris and Lorraine, that I traveled into Laos with a couple weeks earlier, while I was in Cambodia.  They are such a fun couple and so sweet.  They became like my travel parents for a few days!  I visited the Landmine museum with Chis, and joined both of them for an adventurous dinner on Pub Street, where Lorraine and I enjoyed a delicious BBQ treat of Ostrich, Kangaroo, Frog Legs, Crocodile, and Snake.  Chris played it safe with plain old BBQ ribs ;)

They set up a little grill on the table and brought each one of the delicacies out raw, on individual plates. The grill had a little moat around it where we could stew noodles and veggies - delicious!  One by one, we added each meat to the grill.  They were sliced very finely, so it didn't take more than a few minutes to cook. Ostrich surprisingly tasted more gamey, almost like venison than bird. Pretty good.  Kangaroo was the same, good but gamey.  The frog legs tasted like chicken for the most part, but I had a hard time getting past the fact that it was frog.  Not sure if it was just in my head, but it just tasted slimy. The Snake was the worst of the bunch, not because it tasted bad, just that it was really tough and chewy.  I would sit chewing it for 10 minutes and still just have to swallow the piece whole.  Crocodile was the best and Lorraine ordered a second helping of it, which I didn't mind in the least.  It reminded me of tender pork.

All in all I was very happy with the meal and proud of myself for trying something so new and different.  I'll tell you one thing, I will be trying the alligator next when I finally land home in Florida in October :)  Oh, and the 0.50 cent beers that came with our meal were thoroughly enjoyed as well!

Chris and Lorraine, this is for you...My doors have all locked since I've left you ;-)

I only planned to stay in Cambodia for 4 days, well 5 days (read my previous post), but it ended up being 4, so I decided to spend my time exploring the city of Siem Reap, the home of the famed Angkor Wat.  The town itself is quaint and lovely, mainly dominated by Pub Street (Cambodia's version on Bangkok's Khao San Rd), and several local and tourist markets, including 2 night markets.  I could only spend so much time wandering around the markets, because lets be honest, I can only handle being called 'lady' so many times. "Hey Lady, you just look" "hello lady, I give you good price" "lady, you buy something...no money no honey lady." It's exhausting!  I should note though, that shopping was made easy since they use USD pretty much for their main form of currency.  I had a hard time even spending the Riels I got exchanged at the boarder.

Similarly to everywhere else in SE Asia, everyone's home has some sort of store front, either a restaurant, laundry mat, guest house or massage parlor.  I've learned that it is pretty prestigious to own one of these little businesses, even just selling water out of a cooler in front of your home.  It could mean the difference between a roof over your head or utter poverty.  There is also quite a bit of filth and poverty in the city if you so choose to dwell on that aspect.  There is a lot to be said about the politics and corruption in this tiny country, but I've never really been one for politics. I personally tried to look beyond the poverty, without completely ignoring it, to the finer qualities of this beautiful place.  Beautiful and HOT.  Seriously, it had to be over 100 degrees every day.  

On my second day I visited the Angkor Wat temples.  I paid roughly $40 for the entrance fee, a tuktuk/driver and a personal tour guide for the full day.  Not bad I think.  I decided to get up at the crack of dawn to catch the sunrise, and let me tell you, it was well worth waking up at 4:30 in the morning.  Absolutely stunning!  In fact, the entire day, the entire complex of temples was spectacular.  The details in the stone carvings and the sheer size of the ancient city was amazing, and so far beyond comprehension.  It almost has a magical quality to it.  Although I've never seen the great pyramids of Egypt, I liken Angkor Wat to their majesty and mystical origin.  How is it that these places came to exist in all their splendor and perfection?   Some people believe that aliens helped create these structures, which I can't completely deny, I would just rather believe that the ingenuity and imagination of these ancient people very well could have been honed and harnessed in the absence of technology, which I find in many ways hinders our imagination today.  Without our technology we would not know where to begin in creating structures such as these, which have and will last for ages. 

I've heard people say that you need several days to really explore Angkor Wat fully, I would say 2 days is plenty, unless you are really slow and meticulous, which I would not blame you for; Its certainly well worth the attention and time.  I only did the one day and saw most of the temples, but I would have liked to do one more day on my own, without the guide, because I felt like sometimes he was rushing through certain parts to stay on some made up schedule so he would only work 8 hours.  I don't really blame him, I wouldn't want to work more than 8 hours either, in that heat, for what he was making.  I didn't do another day though, since I would have to pay another $20 entrance fee.  If you do 3 days, they waive the third days fee, so maybe that is worth it, I just didn't have the time.  Oh well.  Instead, I visited a small museum not far past the temples called the Landmine Museum.  It was started by a man who was once a child soldier and planted many landmines which now plague the people of Cambodia.  He has made it his mission to find and dismantle as many of them as possible, and he uses the museum to raise funds and educate the public on the grave issue.  It was really interesting to learn the morbid and tragic, violent history of this country.  

Besides all of my touring I also just did a lot of relaxing.  I randomly met up with the Canadian couple that I originally traveled with into Laos, and was able to go out to a lovely dinner with them, and enjoy their really nice hotel pool!  

Cambodia was a really amazing and beautiful country to visit.  The people were really friendly for the most part and many spoke decent English  which made it really easy to make my way around.  I would definitely like to come back for a longer visit.  Maybe to Phnom Penh and the North and East.  I love finding reasons to have to come back to these amazing places I am visiting :)

After a minor set back that made me have to spend one more night in Bangkok, I have finally made it to Cambodia! What an ordeal it was to get here. My overnight bus from Chiang Mai was over an hour late getting into Bangkok, so I missed my transfer that was supposed to take me to Cambodia, but that's not the half of it. I was told, no matter how many times I asked and reconfirmed with my travel booking agency, that they had my name down for the transfer, that someone would be there to take me from one bus to the other, and that the same bus company ran both leggs of the journey so there would be no way they would leave me behind. In hindsight these promises are laughable...I should have known better. But, surprise surprise, the bus was late, the woman who ran the first leg knew nothing about my transfer, and I was just dropped off in the middle of nowhere in Bangkok with a crappy hand-drawn map of how to get to some travel agency where I was meant to catch my transfer. The transfer that I was already late for. And I know that the map was crappy because that is exactly what the VERY kind people at the bank I dipped into said when I showed it to them and asked (rather desperately) for their help. They must have seen the desperation in my eyes because instead of simply pointing me in the right direction and wishing me luck, (kind of what I was expecting to be honest) two of them actually squeezed into a tuktuk with me and my bags and they saw me right to the door of the travel agency. They even paid for the tuktuk and I could not have been more grateful.

Now I am at the agency finding out that I did in fact miss the bus to Cambodia, which only runs once a day. So I borrow the guys cell phone and call my travel agency in Chiang Mai and raise a little hell. She tries to tell me that it was not her fault that the bus was late, which I completely agree, but then I remind her of how she sold me the travel package and made all those promises and she crumbles. First she offers to book me on the next days bus, which I decline because A - On her advice, I already had the night booked at a hotel in Cambodia which I was likely going to lose since they had a 3 day cancellation policy, plus I was going to need to pay an extra night in Bangkok and they weren't offering to cover any if it, and B- I just flat didn't trust her or this other agency that I was now sitting at for over an hour. So, in the end I accepted 1000Bt refund on the 1800Bt I paid for the trip from Chiang Mai to Siem Reap. I still think I overpaid, but it wasn't worth spending even 10 more minutes arguing about. Instead I found a hostel on Rambuttri Street with AC (I decided to treat myself) for 420Bt, booked a bus to Siem Reap for the next morning for only 350Bt, and was able to call my hotel in Siem Reap and push my booking a day with no penalty. All was on track again and I paid less then the 1000Bt I was refunded...damn, they were really taking me for a ride.

If there is anything I have learned from this trip it is to DO NOT USE TRAVEL AGENCIES! 9 times out of 10 they are scamming you and you will highly overpay. Up to this point I had had trouble with just about every travel booking I made while in SE Asia. After this instance I started planning my own travel using www.seat61.com (the travel advice I've gotten from this site has been dead on every time) and actually going to train or bus stations to purchase my tickets, and things have gone much more smoothly. Much more! Not to mention its been more fun and a more exciting and rewarding experience.

Back to Cambodia though, the boarder crossing was interesting to say the least. The mini bus took me and a group of about 12 to the boarder of Thailand and Cambodia, but just as I read on seat61, it was not actually the boarder, it was actually a travel agency where they over-charge you for the Visa process (1200Bt ($41) if you pay in Baht, $35 if you pay in USD, or $20 if you skip the agency and wait in line at the actual govt run boarder). So on the advice of seat61 I request they drop me off at the boarder, which he does with the warning that I have only 2 hours to get through the visa process because if he doesn't find me waiting when he comes through with the rest of the group I will get left behind and will have to find and pay for my own transport from the boarder to Siem Reap (about a 2-3 hr drive). Uh...ok...grumpy. He dropped me without another word in Poipet, the boarder town which was teeming and literally buzzing with activity. There were absolutely no signs telling you where to go so I just followed the other backpacks. They charged me $20 and 100Bt for the visa, which I found strange but was not going to fight for $3. At customs they actually took fingertip scans, which I thought interesting for a "3rd world" country. To make what is already a long story short, I made it through visa and customs and walked myself over the boarder in plenty of time to catch the bus to Siem Reap. 

I made it!

I have decided to collect a bracelet from each country I visit. It's a nice way to take a momento from each place without having to carry anything extra on my back. I'll continue to post updates as i collect more.

So, from left to right....

1) was given to me by a monk in the market in Chiang Mai
2) also from Thailand bought from a child of the Karen hill tribes and gifted to me by my new French friend, David.
3) I brought this one from home
4) given to me by Peggy in Nepal after she accidentally took it from the traditional dress shop ;-)
5) also from Nepal bought from a Tibetan woman along the Annapurna Circuit
6) from Louang Prabang, Laos

One more thing to check off of the bucket list! Over the past 4 days (April 12-15) I actively participated, whether I wanted to or not, in the 2013 Thai New Years celebration in Chiang Mai, also known as the Songkran, the Water Festival. What a blast!

On Day 1 I arrived from Laos and with all luck made it to my hostel without getting wet. I immediately proceeded to the nearest vendor to buy my trusty angry bird themed water gun and headed out into the city. I did not get more than a few feet before I was attacked, my measly little pistol doing nothing against the buckets and super-soakers that the veteran locals were wielding against me. As I followed the canal along the edge of the old town towards the Thapae Gate the party just intensified. Make-shift stages with music and performances, misters and full on hoses spaying the dancing, soaking crowd. People just lined every street so that you could not go anywhere without being soaked to the bone. Some people were sweet and joyous about throwing water on you, while others were downright evil about it. All through the day and late into the evening you could not expect to venture from the hostel with any hopes of remaining dry. Even people in taxis and tuktuks were not safe as revelers would stick their guns through windows to soak the people inside, laughing with delight. The first 2 days of this were amazing and so much fun.

The next 2 days I spent trying, unsuccessfully in most cases to avoid getting soaked. One day a friend I met at my hostel and I managed to escape with only a few squirts if water to a nearby mall where we saw a movie for only $5...beats the $12 I would pay at home! Even on the last day of the festival when I thought I had made it through the day without getting too wet I got soaked by a rouge local at 10pm on my way home from the night market - long after most people had gone home for the night. Oh well...Songkran was still such a blast and an amazing experience that I may just try to bring back to the states. Too cold in January for New Years, but maybe for 4th of July??? Who's with me!?!

After my debit card came in I decided to take a week long trip to Laos. I started with a long and winding road trip from Chiang Mai to the Lao boarder, where I had a scare when neither I or the boarder guide could find the Thai entry stamp in my passport. I was seriously thinking my trip to Laos had ended before it began and they would send my back to Bangkok to get the situation worked out, but luckily the stamp was found, hidden blue ink on the blue ocean on one of the pages of the passport. Then at the Laos boarder the guards gave me a hard time because I didn't have exact change to give them for the $35 visa fee, I only had 2 $20 bills. After making me fumble around with my dollars and baht for about 19 minutes, trying to come up with the exact amount, somehow they magically pulled out a $5 bill from a safe full of American money. Jerks.

We stayed just over the boarder for the night in a rickety little hut, where I got no sleep due in part by the strange noises all around my hut, but also because we were literally in the middle of nowhere and I could not figure out how to securely lock my door. Just got all up in my head and freaked myself out.

The next morning we boarded a long boat to travel down the Mekong River. This was really cool, and beautiful, especially for the first 3-4 hours. After that the boat just got really crowded with both tourists and locals, squeezing mire and more people onto the boat until in places we were scraping the bottom of the river due to the excessive weight. Bags were eventually moved to the roof of the boat and people were sitting on the floor in the engine room. I was just waiting for them to start boarding livestock next. For 9 hours we were on the slow long boat, until at around 6pm we landed in Louang Prabang.

The town was picturesque and peaceful from the moment I arrived. It is a bit touristy, but not overwhelmingly so. I stayed at Sakura Guesthouse which was nestled on a quiet little street about a 10 minute walk away from the night market. I found that most people spoke decent English and it was easy to get by day to day. The only problem, which was hardly a problem at all, was that I picked the wrong month to visit. In April the farmers are biting their fields so the sky is always smokey and cloudy. Really not too bad in the city though. I think October would be a nicer time to visit.

I should mention that at this point I have decided that I need to stop acting so much like a tourist and biting my precious funds on excursion after excursion, so most of my days in Laos were spent simply exploring the city and reading. It was really a wonderful experience, and if I haven't already planned my trip back to Chiang Mai for the Songkran Festival I would have gladly extended my stay. The only excursion I did plan was a day trip to the Pak Ou Cave and Kuang Si Waterfall. The Pak Ou Cave was cool, but honestly is hardly worth the entrance fee. It consists of 2 caves in the rock face along the Mekong River. Each cave is filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands of Buddha statues. The Kuang Si Falls, which are only about 45 drive outside of the city are much, much more worth the trip and the equal entrance fee. The falls consist of 1 giant waterfall and countless smaller falls, all collecting into pristine, cool, clear blue pools. There is a main pool where most visitors hang out that has a rope swing and where you can jump from one waterfall into a deep pool below, but if you want you can also easily find your own peaceful, secluded pool. There is even a little trekking path that takes about 15 minutes to walk that takes you trough the jungle, around the falls. You would think this place would be packed with tourists but its really not too bad. If I ever come back to Louang Prabang I will definitely be spending an entire day chilling out at there falls.

I was really sad to be leaving Laos after my short, 6 day stay. If I am ever back in this region, and I plan to eventually come back to visit Vietnam, I will definitely plan to spend more time in this beautiful country.

At the Chiang Mai night bazaar there is a free lady-boy drag show that I would highly recommend if you are in the area. It is free, aside from the required $3 drink they ask you to buy. I have seriously never laughed so hard in my life, and some of the performances were actually pretty impressive. The pictures below will give you an idea..my only question is...Where is the penis?!