Thailand. I can't remember ever feeling so relaxed amongst organized chaos. Things just seem to work themselves out. We've been here a little over a week, and all the knots in my back are gone. Maybe its all the smiling, the sunshine, the time in the water. Maybe its the crazy contortion our Thai Masseuse put us through (one moment she's massaging my back, the next she has me in a backwards pretzel, her feet next to my crotch, somehow using her tiny body to crack every vertebrate I own). The openness of Thailand may be best summed up by the Thai woman who runs the breakfast shop next to our dive shop. At 8am, she greets everyone with the same enthusiastic smile as she does at 10pm at night. Happiness seeps out of her pores, and it is incredibly contagious.
When we arrived on Kao Phangnyan (the island we are currently on), we thought we would have to figure out what beach to go to to find accommodation. Not so. As soon as we got off the boat, swarms of offers engulfed us. One man came over, showed some rooms in the $30/night range (much to much for our taste). I told him "no thanks, we're looking for something cheaper". Immediately, he raises his hand and yells out "Cheap!!!". Within seconds, three women are surrounding me calmly offering rooms for $9 to $15 per night. Next we thing know, we're on a cheap taxi heading to a beautiful resort where we end up with air conditioning and a hot water shower (Jenn and I were beside ourselves with excitement). Thailand is amazing. Everything really does work itself out, although we're still not getting on the back of a motorcycle.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
You Tube Channel, Up and Running
Alright Team. We haven't been great about writing, but we have been taking some short videos of our experiences.
We'll post a video from time to time, but most of them will just be loaded onto our YouTube channel (it's crazy that anyone can have our own channel). So, if you'd like to check those out, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jennandtyson
In the meantime, here is a video of our dive boat (we are now officially Advanced Divers....it was awesome! We saw phytoplankton at night; it was like a fireworks show underwater). We loved our instructor, got really comfortable underwater, became "narked" at 30 meters depth; it was an all over great experience to share.
We'll post a video from time to time, but most of them will just be loaded onto our YouTube channel (it's crazy that anyone can have our own channel). So, if you'd like to check those out, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jennandtyson
In the meantime, here is a video of our dive boat (we are now officially Advanced Divers....it was awesome! We saw phytoplankton at night; it was like a fireworks show underwater). We loved our instructor, got really comfortable underwater, became "narked" at 30 meters depth; it was an all over great experience to share.
Is it hopeless?
Because we are both in the environmental field, we are particularly aware of and curious about the conditions of the places we are visiting. I am, of course, most interested in what's happening in the ocean and Tyson is curious about the sources of energy and fresh water. Seeing all the cars, buses, tuk tuks, and motorbikes in Bangkok made us feel like it is going to be impossible to wean the world off of fossil fuels and to get global warming under control. How can we get developing nations to transition to clean energy when it is cheaper and more convenient to have business as usual? In Ko Tao, the long-tail boats with two-stroke engines belch nasty black carbon pollution into the air causes worse problems then engines from cars.
As far as the ocean goes over here, the island of Ko Tao is actually a marine park where no fishing is allowed within a certain distance from shore. They have recognized that tourism (and a healthy reef ecosystem) is more financially beneficial than pulling all the fish out of the water. There are currently 52 dive schools on Ko Tao and all of them are churning divers out daily. At first, I was disturbed by this, concerned about all these novice divers landing on the fragile reef. However, I am now hopeful that these divers will learn and appreciate the beauty that lies underwater and that an ocean conservation ethic will follow them home from Ko Tao.
All is not perfect in the oceans here. On our first advanced certification dive, at a beautiful offshore site called Chumphon Pinnacle, we saw a lost fishing net that had continued "ghost fishing" for who knows how long. We've heard about the effects of lost fishing gear and have seen the impacts on tv, but I can't tell you how devastating it was for us to see this abandoned net firsthand, with at least 20 dead fish that been trapped and died. It was a horrible sight. The only positive of that experience was that our dive instructor tried to extract the net and actually freed several fish that were still alive, including a rabbitfish and a bannerfish.
To add to my concern, there is fresh fish on the menu everywhere, every night. While I'm sure it's delicious, I worry about the sustainability of these fishing activities and am disheartened by the lack of care and attention we see our fellow travelers giving the environment around them. We saw a guy on the ferry platform spill his plastic cup and just watch as it was about to blow into the ocean. Tyson rescued it and the guy who had dropped it acted as if it wasn't his to begin with. WTF?
Sorry for the depressing post but I suppose this is the truth of our time. We hope that the environmental situation is not hopeless, but over here, it certainly feels like it at times.
Now go get on your bicycles and eat some veggie burgers!
As far as the ocean goes over here, the island of Ko Tao is actually a marine park where no fishing is allowed within a certain distance from shore. They have recognized that tourism (and a healthy reef ecosystem) is more financially beneficial than pulling all the fish out of the water. There are currently 52 dive schools on Ko Tao and all of them are churning divers out daily. At first, I was disturbed by this, concerned about all these novice divers landing on the fragile reef. However, I am now hopeful that these divers will learn and appreciate the beauty that lies underwater and that an ocean conservation ethic will follow them home from Ko Tao.
All is not perfect in the oceans here. On our first advanced certification dive, at a beautiful offshore site called Chumphon Pinnacle, we saw a lost fishing net that had continued "ghost fishing" for who knows how long. We've heard about the effects of lost fishing gear and have seen the impacts on tv, but I can't tell you how devastating it was for us to see this abandoned net firsthand, with at least 20 dead fish that been trapped and died. It was a horrible sight. The only positive of that experience was that our dive instructor tried to extract the net and actually freed several fish that were still alive, including a rabbitfish and a bannerfish.
To add to my concern, there is fresh fish on the menu everywhere, every night. While I'm sure it's delicious, I worry about the sustainability of these fishing activities and am disheartened by the lack of care and attention we see our fellow travelers giving the environment around them. We saw a guy on the ferry platform spill his plastic cup and just watch as it was about to blow into the ocean. Tyson rescued it and the guy who had dropped it acted as if it wasn't his to begin with. WTF?
Sorry for the depressing post but I suppose this is the truth of our time. We hope that the environmental situation is not hopeless, but over here, it certainly feels like it at times.
Now go get on your bicycles and eat some veggie burgers!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Ko Tao. Still.
This is our 5th day on Ko Tao. Our open water scuba course is finished this afternoon and the original plan was to move on to Ko Pha Ngan, another island just to the south of here. However, we are loving our dive school and our instructor and have decided to stick around for another 2 days to get our advanced scuba certification. This means we'll be able to dive down to 100 feet rather than 60 and we'll get another 5 dives in while we are here. It's cheaper to do this certification here than in the U.S. and Tyson will feel more comfortable doing dives in other places having several more course dives under his belt. Plus, there's a chance for us to do a dive where we will see sharks! And maybe a whale shark! If I see a whale shark, I will probably explode with exitement. Seriously.
We did our first two open water dives yesterday, one at a reef called Japanese Gardens and another at Twin Rocks. The visibilty was great and we saw so many beautiful corals and fish. Tyson is a natural under the water and it's really great to share this underwater experience with him. Before leaving the States, I purchased a "Relief Band," which is this bracelet that sends a small electromagnet pulse to your wrist every four seconds and is supposed to keep you from getting seasick. I am thrilled to report that it works! I did not get seasick at all yesterday during our boat time or after. That band will change my life!
Anyway, I think my first post on Bangkok might have given an impression that we didn't like it there and that isn't true. The second day we were in Bangkok, we took the Skytrain (elevated train) to the Chaya Prao River. We successful dodged the ripoff "tourist" ferry for 150 baht and found the local express boat for 12 baht each. We were so proud of ourselves for finding the cheaper boat! The river is really busy, with ferry boats, long tail boats, and shipping barges. It was pretty easy to figure out how to pay and where to get on and off. We got off at the Khao San Road area (the backpacker haven)and set out to find where our bus would leave the next day for Ko Tao. After lunch and finding the bus stop, we wound up hiring a tuk tuk that brought us to several wats (temples) and of course a tailor shop. The tuk tuk drivers get a commission if they bring you to the tailor shop and the tailors hope that you buy a suit from them. We passed for now (hoping to get suits made in Vietnam at Hoi An)and the next stop was at a tourist office that is run by the Thai government. We purchased a trek and accommodations in Chiang Mai while we were in the tourist office and are still questioning whether that was a good decision. We probably could have found cheaper options once we arrived but sometimes it's nice to have everything sorted out ahead of time. We made a pact that if we find out we got ripped off, we won't ever do that again!
We made our way home on a long-tail taxi boat through one of the canals that runs east-west through Bangkok. Thankfully, a kind Thai man on his commute home from work helped us figure out what stop we should get off to make it back to our hostel. Tyson and I were the only non-Thais on the boat. And the people who collected the fares were hanging on the outside of the boat from ropes, wearing hardhats (and jelly sandals)!
In summary, this day in Bangkok was filled with travel and sights but most importantly, we met at least 5 Thai people on the street who were incredibly friendly, kind and helpful. At first, we were very suspicious of their willingness to help, but we soon learned that that's just the way it is here. It sucks you in, excites you, calms you, and above all else, leaves you with the feeling that everything is going to be alright (or much better than alright).
So much more to write but it's time to dive!
We did our first two open water dives yesterday, one at a reef called Japanese Gardens and another at Twin Rocks. The visibilty was great and we saw so many beautiful corals and fish. Tyson is a natural under the water and it's really great to share this underwater experience with him. Before leaving the States, I purchased a "Relief Band," which is this bracelet that sends a small electromagnet pulse to your wrist every four seconds and is supposed to keep you from getting seasick. I am thrilled to report that it works! I did not get seasick at all yesterday during our boat time or after. That band will change my life!
Anyway, I think my first post on Bangkok might have given an impression that we didn't like it there and that isn't true. The second day we were in Bangkok, we took the Skytrain (elevated train) to the Chaya Prao River. We successful dodged the ripoff "tourist" ferry for 150 baht and found the local express boat for 12 baht each. We were so proud of ourselves for finding the cheaper boat! The river is really busy, with ferry boats, long tail boats, and shipping barges. It was pretty easy to figure out how to pay and where to get on and off. We got off at the Khao San Road area (the backpacker haven)and set out to find where our bus would leave the next day for Ko Tao. After lunch and finding the bus stop, we wound up hiring a tuk tuk that brought us to several wats (temples) and of course a tailor shop. The tuk tuk drivers get a commission if they bring you to the tailor shop and the tailors hope that you buy a suit from them. We passed for now (hoping to get suits made in Vietnam at Hoi An)and the next stop was at a tourist office that is run by the Thai government. We purchased a trek and accommodations in Chiang Mai while we were in the tourist office and are still questioning whether that was a good decision. We probably could have found cheaper options once we arrived but sometimes it's nice to have everything sorted out ahead of time. We made a pact that if we find out we got ripped off, we won't ever do that again!
We made our way home on a long-tail taxi boat through one of the canals that runs east-west through Bangkok. Thankfully, a kind Thai man on his commute home from work helped us figure out what stop we should get off to make it back to our hostel. Tyson and I were the only non-Thais on the boat. And the people who collected the fares were hanging on the outside of the boat from ropes, wearing hardhats (and jelly sandals)!
In summary, this day in Bangkok was filled with travel and sights but most importantly, we met at least 5 Thai people on the street who were incredibly friendly, kind and helpful. At first, we were very suspicious of their willingness to help, but we soon learned that that's just the way it is here. It sucks you in, excites you, calms you, and above all else, leaves you with the feeling that everything is going to be alright (or much better than alright).
So much more to write but it's time to dive!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Photos!
Ok, we figured it out. For now. Here's the first batch of photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jennandtyson/Bangkok#
Hooray.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jennandtyson/Bangkok#
Hooray.
Being Cool Doesn't Buy the Dollars
Happy New Year everyone. As I write this, I would guess that some of you are still celebrating; we have been in the New Year already for about 19 hours! That's right, we're in the future.
We have experienced so much in the last 6 days that I'm not sure I'll be able to capture it all, but I'll do my best to give the highlights. Bangkok is a crazy city. It assaults your senses with the constant noise of motorbikes, tuk tuks, music, cars, people. You do not get a rest from it. There are commercials playing in the trains, huge screens on the street playing videos and music, and a cacophony of sounds and music coming from the shops and street vendors. There are significant and obvious differences in class; with huge, extravagant shopping centers directly next to impoverished shanty towns. Tyson and I unfortunately found ourselves in one of those shanty towns while trying to locate a computer store near Siam Center. I directed us down an alleyway that I thought would get us where we wanted to go, but I was wrong. We wound up in this rabbit warren of tarps, stagnant puddles, motorbikes, cooking food, and "shops" selling sweets and other knick knacks. The sky was covered by tarps or other structures and the living conditions were terrible. We never feared for our safety but we were very uncomfortable as it felt like we had walked into this underworld of poverty and were walking through living rooms. To the credit of the people who lived there, they hardly flinched at all to see two white kids walking in a place they are probably never seen.
We finally made our way out of that place and located the computer store we were looking for. We had been advised to get a small travel computer before we left on our trip, but thought that it would be too much to carry around. After realizing that it would be easier for us to upload photos and videos and to write blog postings if we did have a computer, we thought we'd try to get a deal in Bangkok. The place we wound up was INSANE. Picture 4 floors of computer equipment, cameras, printers, ipods, dvd players, stereos and any other electronic equipment you can imagine. Now imagine stalls and stores full of this stuff. With flashing lights. And each place playing different thumping music. After our experience in the shanty town, this place just pushed us over the edge. We were officially overstimulated. We failed in our attempt to find a cheap computer and quickly got ourselves back to the Skytrain and to our hostel. We were so happy to have some quiet.
We have experienced so much in the last 6 days that I'm not sure I'll be able to capture it all, but I'll do my best to give the highlights. Bangkok is a crazy city. It assaults your senses with the constant noise of motorbikes, tuk tuks, music, cars, people. You do not get a rest from it. There are commercials playing in the trains, huge screens on the street playing videos and music, and a cacophony of sounds and music coming from the shops and street vendors. There are significant and obvious differences in class; with huge, extravagant shopping centers directly next to impoverished shanty towns. Tyson and I unfortunately found ourselves in one of those shanty towns while trying to locate a computer store near Siam Center. I directed us down an alleyway that I thought would get us where we wanted to go, but I was wrong. We wound up in this rabbit warren of tarps, stagnant puddles, motorbikes, cooking food, and "shops" selling sweets and other knick knacks. The sky was covered by tarps or other structures and the living conditions were terrible. We never feared for our safety but we were very uncomfortable as it felt like we had walked into this underworld of poverty and were walking through living rooms. To the credit of the people who lived there, they hardly flinched at all to see two white kids walking in a place they are probably never seen.
We finally made our way out of that place and located the computer store we were looking for. We had been advised to get a small travel computer before we left on our trip, but thought that it would be too much to carry around. After realizing that it would be easier for us to upload photos and videos and to write blog postings if we did have a computer, we thought we'd try to get a deal in Bangkok. The place we wound up was INSANE. Picture 4 floors of computer equipment, cameras, printers, ipods, dvd players, stereos and any other electronic equipment you can imagine. Now imagine stalls and stores full of this stuff. With flashing lights. And each place playing different thumping music. After our experience in the shanty town, this place just pushed us over the edge. We were officially overstimulated. We failed in our attempt to find a cheap computer and quickly got ourselves back to the Skytrain and to our hostel. We were so happy to have some quiet.
2 hours later, we were making our way to the western side of Bangkok in a cab on our way to catch the bus that would take us to the ferry that would take us to Ko Tao, the gorgeous island we are on now. The two cab rides we have taken so far have been terrifying to me. The shoulder of the road is used as another lane and the lanes themselves seem to just be "guidance," staying between the lines is optional.
We arrived safely at the bus pick-up spot, where we were supposed to check in at 7:30pm. There was already a line to check in when we arrived at 7pm so we joined and expected we'd have time to grab some dinner before the bus departed at its scheduled time of 9pm. Ha. Wrong! Apparently, the bus can leave whenever it feels like it. And we were informed that we had 10 minutes to get food and get on the bus. Given the fact that we are not ready to eat what i affectionately call "street meat," we were left with buying potato chips, raisin bread, and a snickers bar at the 7-11 before boarding the bus. Let me tell you, Tyson was NOT happy. In addition to feeling frustrated and rushed, he was quite disappointed with the bus accommodations. I think he was expecting some VIP bus like the kind he had ridden in in Argentina and advertised on the ticket ("first-class, VIP service!) but alas, our seats only reclined partially back and the knee room was spacious for a 4-foot-tall Thai woman. After eating a bit, Tys settled into his seat and passed out while I watched Bangkok disappear behind us.
There is so much more to report,from the ridiculous late-night bus stop, to the 6am taxi cab ride in the back of a truck to the beauty of this island and our fabulous New Years Eve, but that will have to be for another post. We are hungry and cheap Thai food awaits!
We are working hard to figure out how to upload photos and videos but are having some technical difficulties. Actually, we're not working that hard but we are trying occasionally and will hopefully have something for you all to look at very soon.
Happy New Year to all. From the future, this year is off to an amazing start.
Oh, in case you were wondering, the title of this blog post came from a t-shirt we saw on one of people we walked by today. We thought it was hilarious. What do you think it means?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
