second time around

Out of Bali I flew on to Singapore. Quite the change of pace from Indonesia. The place is spotlessly clean, and wealthy. Flying in I could appreciate the huge number of cargo ships passing through the port. Singapore is a shipping center and has made huge money on it. They gave up some individual freedoms to build the infrastructure and now they have money. Not really my cup of tea, I was on Orchard Road (think Rodeo Drive) every store is Gucci, Versace, Cartier and then the really expensive ones as well. To cross the main intersections they have underpasses. The escalators take you down which is to the top level of the mall. It goes maybe 5 floors down and large, shops everywhere. The first time I ended up coming up the same place I went down 15 minutes later. Finally I got my bearings and could cross the street. The Christmas decorations were in full swing, loads of blue lighting all over and trees and Santas. In this Muslim/Hindu/Taoist nation they will cater to the dollars of tourists.

Fortunately I only had a day and a half in Singapore and then on to Bangkok. Once there I was able to make the payments for my diving live aboard and Cambodia trip and some inquiries about where to go and what to see in India. All is working out and I jumped down to Phuket (Poo-get not Fuckit) and had one day before my pickup to get on the dive boat. Padong Beach is a typical tourist beach town in a poor country. A pretty nice beach with roads of bars, restaurants, massage parlors and dive shops. Almost a carnival atmosphere with lots of “hey mister…”. A little sad to see all in all.

The MV Giamani is not the five-star that I had on the Barrier Reef, more like a 2-3 star boat. Food is simple Thai but tasty and lots of it. I am on a two day trip to Koh Phi Phi (pee-pee Island) followed by a four day trip north to the Similan Islands. For the first two days I was in the “deluxe” cabin with Paul and our own “en-suite” toilet for a bit more money, but that was sold out for the 4 day portion, so I am in the “standard” cabin which shares a toilet for 4 guests. It is so much better! The “deluxe” cabin is downstairs next to the kitchen and the A/C didn’t work right. It would drip water on my bed and not cool the room, so we left the door open. The kitchen cupboard one meter away kept banging all night long. The kitchen emits some interesting smells as the Thai crew cooks and eats different food than the guests. And the “en-suite” is not necessarily a good thing. With a Naval Marine Head one does not put the paper in the bowl, but in the basket and the flush is more of a vacuum than a water flush. That aroma mingled nicely with the kitchen spices. To get to the “deluxe” cabin I would have to come up the ladder from the dive deck to the main sitting area/eating area/living area and then around the outer walkway of the boat to the front (in the rain if it was) and then down the ladder in the front and back along the walkway to my cabin. In the cheaper “standard” cabin the temperature is fine, there is no smell, I enter from a small hallway right off the living area and the layout is such that it is easier to store my gear than in the deluxe cabin. Since I only go into the cabin to get something or to sleep it is much better. Especially since I was fast on the draw and took the larger lower bunk and left the narrow upper for my roommate.

The diving has been great. It is different than the South Pacific but very good. Some limestone Karst formations in the south at the Phi Phi Islands and mostly huge granite boulders up here in the Similan Islands. Some very nice corals here and there, but a couple of years ago they had a very hot spell with late rains and El Nino currents. It “bleached” or killed the coral above about 14 meters (30 feet). So there are large areas of dead coral. It is actually good to see some of the regeneration process happening, but coral grows very slowly so it will be a while before it is good again. Not much for sharks and haven’t seen any Manta Rays and am still fingers crossed for a Whale Shark. They do have lots of Eels, and smaller things; special Seahorses and Pipefish, Scorpion fish, Shrimp, cleaner Shrimp and Barracuda, Tuna, Jacks, Napoleon Wrasse, Banded Water Snakes, even a “Decorator Crab”. Even with my old weak eyes I am enjoying settling in and looking for the little things in the rocks and coral. Almost 90 dives now and I am beginning to be comfortable underwater. Pretty relaxed on a night dive with 1-2 meter visibility on a wreck with sharp edges and literally covered in hundreds of Lion fish and Scorpion fish (both venomous) in a moderate current.

Next up is back to Bangkok for a few days and a short side trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2011 at 10:52 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.