The Beach

I have just arrived in Melbourne, Australia, where I am staying for a few nights with a lovely woman I connected with through courchsurfing.org.  It's springtime in Australia so it's much cooler than it's been in Thailand and Malaysia.

Two weeks ago after the shoot in Hong Kong, I flew down to Phuket, Thailand, for about five days.  I stayed at a small hostel just a five minute's walk from the beach that is connected with a dive school.  I arrived late the first night and had the small two-bed room to myself.  The next day my roommate, another Jennifer from New Jersey, arrived to take the scuba certification course.  We had a lot in common aside from just the same name.  We both grew up in the Northeast and our birthdays are just four days apart (although I'm older than her by five years.)  We were also both traveling alone--me heading south and the other Jen making her way north.

After getting settled, Jen and I walked down to Kata Beach where we spent most of the afternoon.  Jen was starting her scuba course the next day and on a whim I decided to sign up for my own scuba excursion that Friday.  I got certified in the Canary Islands back when I was in college, but hadn't dove since then.  I didn't even have my PADI card with me because the new one I had ordered was on the way, but luckily the PADI website has all of the certifications registered on-line.

Bright and early the next day I boarded a dive boat headed for Koh Phi Phi with the hostel's main instructor, Chris.  Jen 2 (she was labeled Jen 2 since she checked in after me), meanwhile, was off to the pool with one of the hostel owners, Thien.  It took us just over two hours to get to the site of the first dive at Koh Bida Nok, but along the way I kept myself amused by eating as much of breakfast as I could shovel down.  Chris was amazed as I first ate an omelet, hot dog, bread and fruit and then went back to get a fried egg, more bread and another hot dog.  He tried to remind me that there would be donuts on the boat after the first dive, but that didn't slow me down much.  He also made fun of me for removing both ends of the hot dogs, but I had to explain to him that I don't eat the butts because that's gross.

I was a bit nervous going down on the first dive since it had been more than ten years since my last time.  Luckily Chris and I went over a few things on the boat before getting in the water and then practiced the skills once we got to the bottom.  I had to remove my respirator and put it back in, clear my goggles and finally remove my respirator to share his air.  After I got the OK sign on all of the skills, we spent about 45 minutes swimming along the reef looking for cool aquatic life.  My favorite were the rainbow fish whose name I don't remember, but we also saw moray eels, lionfish and clownfish that looked like Nemo.  Unfortunately I don't have a dive case for my camera so I don't have any underwater photos.

Our next stop was Palong Wall for the second dive.  Along the way we passed the island in Maya Bay where The Beach was filmed and I ate some donuts, grabbing a second while I didn't think Chris was looking.  Palong Wall is known for shark sightings and our dive didn't disappoint.  After about 20 minutes underwater Chris pointed out two black tip reef sharks, but the visibility was so poor that I could barely make them out.  Luckily a few minutes later two others passed by then just a few minutes before we had to ascend three four-foot sharks swam right below us.  These types of sharks basically just leave people alone so there wasn't any danger, though I did wish I had my camera.

After a typical Thai lunch of two kinds of rice and chicken (one spicy, one not) we went to the third dive and final dive site, the Anemone Reef.  As the name suggests, this site is known for being covered in sea anemone.  When we got in the water, it was a bit choppy so we had to follow the anchor line to make our way down.  I had to stop after just a few meters because I couldn't get my right ear to clear and it was really hurting.  Chris kept trying to ask me if I wanted to go back up or continue down and was getting frustrated by my ambiguous hand signals.  I knew if we went back to the surface the dive was over so I hesitated even though I was in quite a bit of pain.  In the end I follow Chris slowly farther down and eventually the pressure did subside.  At this site, aside from the anemone and typical tropical fish, we saw a seahorse attached to one of the plants.  It was pretty much right out in the open whereas the seahorses normally try to hide so that was pretty cool.  Once we made it back to the surface, the water was so choppy that I was pushed into the boat ladder and lost my flipper as I was taking it off.  Chris had to dive quickly down to save it, which didn't make him very happy with me.  Whoops!

On the way back to Phuket, the eating didn't stop.  Once we were back on the boat there were pancakes with chocolate and strawberry syrup and jam.  I ate way too many, but figured I was just getting my money's worth.  Also, apparently diving burns up to 500 calories per hour (not really quite sure how since you're not moving to fast) so I guess I had earned it.  As we were approaching the shore, the sun was just starting to set so it was a really pretty view to end the long day.

That night after dinner, Jen 2 and I met up with Chris at the hostel to go to a bar on the beach where there is a fire show every Friday.  We looked pretty ridiculous with the three of us riding there on the back of Chris's scooter, but sadly we don't have any pictures.  There were a few really cute kids who started off the show before the adults took over.  Jen 2 and I decided we were going to become fire dancers ourselves, but never really got the chance to practice.  Once the show ended, we went to another bar where Jen 2 and I lost at a close game of pool to Chris.  That was followed by several intense rounds of Jenga before we called it a night.

For the next few days I just hung out at the beach and in the surrounding town while Jen 2 was out doing her dive classes.  After three days she was certified and on the fourth we decided to take a day trip together to Phang Nga to go cave canoeing.  We spent the whole boat ride out to the first site making fun of all the other tourists who seemed to be stereotypically fulfilling that role with their "I heart Phuket" tee shirts and such.  The first stop was a bit of a disappointment, as one of the guides basically just canoed us in and out of a cave in under five minutes with about a thousand other people.  Under different circumstances it could have been really cool, but it ended up just feeling like a Disney World attraction.  The second stop was equally disappointing with mobs of people crowding onto the aptly named "James Bond Island" where apparently they filmed some James Bond movie that I have never seen.  There were some interesting caves there as well and once again without the whole tourist trap vibe it could have been a much better experience.  I was so frustrated with all the people that I actually snapped at a man who asked us to move so that he could take a picture.

After lunch we sailed to a lagoon where we were actually able to paddle ourselves on the canoe.  This was a much pleasanter experience because we had more time to go wherever we wanted and could take pains to avoid all the other canoes circling the island.  Once we got back to the big boat, it was so hot that Jen and I decided to join some of the kids who were jumping off the top deck into the water below.  It was nice to cool off as we made our way to the final stop near a small beach.  Once the boat was anchored, we decided to jump in from the top again before swimming to shore.  I stupidly forgot that my sunglasses were still on the top of my head so there went Pair #3.  Pair #4 was purchased right on the pier once we got off the boat.

On the way back to the pier, the guys on the boat turned up the music and tried to get people to start dancing.  At first they got a group of middle-aged Australia women to join them and then they pulled Jen and I up there.  At that point I was still wearing just a bathing suit so after a few minutes I started to feel really embarrassed as I noticed the hundreds of eyes staring at us in amusement.  It was pretty fun, though, and a nice way to end the day and my week at the beach.

On Tuesday morning, Jen and I said our goodbyes after making plans to hopefully travel together again once I get to South America.  Miz, who owns the hostel with Thien, then drove me to the station to catch a bus to the border town of Hat Yai.  It was the first time that I felt really sad upon leaving a place.  With just two other girls staying at the hostel with Jen and I and Miz, Thien and Chris running the place, it had felt almost like a home.  I had made some good friends and was sad to see them go. 

Cliff, who I met in Vietnam, had a phrase for the brief encounters you have with people while traveling: "single-serving friends."  I suppose these brief "friendships of convenience" are inevitable when you are like two ships passing in the night, but with Jen and many of the other people I have met along the way, I hope I will someday see them again and "single-serving friends" will become just regular old friends.

Pictures posted in the morning!