Thailand - Part 2

Phang-Nga Bay

When I came back from the diving trip, I decided to book one of those touristic tours to check out Phang-Nga Bay. You don't have many choices if you want to see that area so the tour didn't seem a bad option. I knew it would be pretty touristic and everything but I wanted to see those islands and I finally did it.

Another driving adventure to get to the pier but we made it. There was a group of Asian girls that took more selfies than I when I have a GoPro and I go cliff jumping (my friends from the aussie trip know what I mean). No kidding, it was crazy... I've never seen that before... They pretty much posed while kissing the air the whole trip and they were so focused on looking good that every time they moved they had to look themselves in the small mirrors they all had and put their hair perfectly positioned for the next selfie. It was really funny to be honest.

We did the trip around some of the smallest islands first and then we went to the Hong Island and around the caves to do some kayaking. At the beginning of the trip I was warned to be careful because I was the only one travelling on my own and of course no one would miss me if after a stop the captain asks if everyone is there... So the guide tried to have me in mind everytime we left and came back to the boat.

When we got to the kayaking spot, it was all prepared for tourists, the Thai guys working on the kayaks are driving them for you, you don't even have to paddle. Of course I didn't like the idea so I asked the boy that was in the Kayak with me if I could do it. He let me do it luckily so I could at least drive the kayak through the designated areas. It was actually really cool and the caves were beautiful. So many different shapes and formations that make you smile.

After that, we went to Khao Phing Khan and Ko Tapu or more commonly known as James Bond Island. It is an incredible spot but it is really spoiled by tourism too. I went for a walk and tried to go inside the water but it was really filthy haha. A lot of mud and you couldn’t see the bottom so I decided to go to the next beach around the corner of the island.

 

On the way back to the pier, we stopped at a cave to drop some lotus flowers in the water. It is like a tradition and we had to ignite the candle and make a wish.

Thailand - Part 1

A month flew so fast and I found myself with my Indonesian visa expiring. I had to decide where to go but, as usual, I had nothing planned, I didn't know where to go next and I was hesitating between Malaysia or Thailand. The place I wanted to go in Malaysia it would have been a bit of a mission to get there in a cheap way and also it would have been a bit hectic to arrive with nothing planned and just a month to be there. Instead, I decided that I would fly to Thailand because tickets were quite cheap and I wanted to go diving.

I booked tickets, and in order to save one night in a hostel, I chose a night ticket, slept in Kuala Lumpur International Airport and then in the morning I flew to Phuket. So far, I've slept in so many airports so I'm getting better at finding the good position to sleep either on the floor or in between a couple of seats, without leaving my bags and surfboards unattended. Kuala Lumpur couldn't be different so I positioned myself on the floor with my backpacks pretending to be pillows and my surfboards resting on the wall behind me; later I realised that I couldn't use my phone anymore because it suddenly broke so I couldn't communicate much.

After 3 hours, I had to do the check-in and not surprisingly, I wasn't feeling rested at all; I guess my technique still can improve... Anyway, I flew to Phuket some hours later and when I got there I caught a minibus to Kata Beach. It took a while to find the place I wanted but I finally got there and went for a swim to cool down. Kata is a really nice beach and I was lucky to get there in low season because I was snorkelling pretty much on my own and the beach was quite quiet.

Phuket area

I decided that I would do my Advance diving course in Phuket and I started the very same day in the afternoon. I was a bit tired from the whole trip from Indonesia but it was a good choice. I spent three days doing all the required dives for the certificate. I tried night dive which was really cool, spent some time identifying fishes and navigating underwater, I went to 30 metres to see a nice wreck, I crossed with some sting rays and cuttlefishes enjoying a threesome and I finally got my certification. Perfect, because after this I was given the opportunity to go to Similan Islands in a live aboard trip for 4 days, including 15 dives and of course lots of good food.

Racha Yai Wreck

Kata beach cuttlefishes

One afternoon and one morning to rest from the previous diving, some excursions to take advantage of this freedom to explore the area a little bit deeper and I was already on the boat ready to go to Similan Islands. Of course I didn't magically appear on the boat that would be my home for the next 4 days, but drivers in Thailand are a bit crazy so every time you get somewhere safe and sound it's like a miracle. You don't want to picture yourself anymore overtaking cars and motorcycles while the beeping of the buzz becomes the most frequent tune that you are going to hear. Not to mention the accurate ability to dodge people while you become more and more concerned about the odds of finally hitting someone on an attempt to sneak through a car a bicycle and a motorbike in the middle of a town packed with markets and food stands...

Similan Islands and Surin Islands

The trip started with some fireworks. It's a Thai tradition to start boat trips with some fireworks so as soon as the sound of the first one covered the sky, we silenced our voices and minds and focused on hoping for a safe and wonderful trip. Fireworks were over and dinner was ready for us to build up some energy for the next days. Although I already knew that I could live underwater and be the happiest person in the world, this trip also taught me that I wouldn't mind becoming a fish so I could be surrounded all day by the most amazing environment you can find: the ocean.

Diving is amazing and the places we went made it even better. Similan Islands are awesome but the north part in Surin Islands is just breathtaking. I've never seen anything as colourful as Richillieu. Lots of corals of all types to get lost in between them and fishes everywhere to play with and to observe with amusement. Believe me, you are in an underwater paradise. In some of the dives, manta rays appeared to say hi and hang out with us for a little while. The gift of the mantas is unbelievable and you just hope to be there for the rest of the day, enjoying the views of these amazing creatures while they fly majestically in the water. You don't really know if they are trying to look gorgeous and they know they are, or if they are just so peaceful and beautiful that unintentionally and without an effort they still seem they are posing for you leaving your mouth open for a long time... You just have to remember to breathe and be in control with your body and your movements; you should aim to minimise any type of interaction that could disturb the original shape and daily living of the animals and other creatures. You aim to just keep your mind, your thoughts, your breath and mainly your whole behaviour in tune with the ocean, in tune with their home and in tune with a place that you could probably feel like home and you want to preserve its beauty.

I ended up doing 16 dives in 4 days and I got to see amazing things and wonderful places. Actually, I dived 21 times in less than one week if I count the Advance training dives and I think that's why after the trip I got a massive ear infection that took me a week to recover from. It was quite painful but antibiotics did a good job and after three days I could touch my ear again. I avoided water in my ears with earplugs for some days and I kept travelling around.

Every journey is different and everyone choses what they want to see while they travel. I chose to see the world underneath our feet, the magic world of the ocean and for me it was just perfect.

Bali adventure - Part 2

Sanur 

After some days in Gili Islands, Caro and I left to Sanur. I did yoga in the morning, we did the check out and we almost missed our boat to Sanur because the guys at the harbour told us the wrong time and they were leaving with our bags but without us haha.

Nusa Lembongan

I went to Nusa Lembongan next day with packed banana pancakes and I surfed at Ship Wreck. It was not a good idea to do it on low tide because I actually broke my board and hit myself with the reef. However, the surf was worthy and the place is awesome. I got the worst night ever because I don't know how many mosquitoes started to attack me, they were laughing at my mosquito repellent... It was crazy and I even got some temperature that night.

Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Penida

When Caroline and Brennan arrived we did a tour around the islands.

We went to the blue lagoon, we jumped and we enjoyed the calm in the mangrooves while eating coconuts. It was a really good afternoon although I had temperature due to the mosquitoes I guess haha.

When I saw the jump I was so excited. I really wanted to jump and when I did it it was a bit crazy. You needed to wait for the right moment, jump in the right place and swim as fast as you could in order to avoid the sets. It was so good and the way out it was quite challenging because it wasn't that easy to climb up again with the waves breaking haha

One morning, we decided to go snorkelling and we saw mantas. That was really amazing, the mantas are always so beautiful and peaceful.

Our days in this beautiful place were coming to an end so after surfing, snorkelling in different spots, seeing sunsets from different places and enjoying the food during our stay, we caught a boat to Keramas, our second to last stop of the trip in Indonesia.

One day when we were driving around the island I saw a cemetery next to the road and the funniest thing was that the graves were covered by umbrellas.

It was hard to leave this island; its magic and the beauty of its surroundings was incredible. It was so good to get up every day and see the locals there gathering seaweed in the ocean, check the waves, do yoga, surf, ride motorbikes in an uncrowded island... It's a lot different compared to Bali...

Keramas

Keramas is black-sand beach and a well-known surfing spot. There is actually nothing but a resort and the break to surf which is always quite crowded. However, it is a nice beach and walking along the shore is cool. I saw the local people gathering stones, shells and other things from the sand, and on my way back to Komune after walking all the way up the beach, some guys stopped me because they wanted to take pictures with me. Some of them were polite, some others not that much and I had a bit of an argument with them because they tried to get way to close to me...

After a couple of days in Keramas, we went back to busy Kuta to spend our last afternoon there. I fixed my boards and a super nice taxi driver drove me to the airport. It was sad to say goodbye to Caroline again, we would see each other again that was for sure, but it is always sad to say bye to a good friend.

My next stop was Thailand :) and with the good vibes of Indonesia I found myself smiling inside another plane. Travelling is just amazing!