So we get to the boarder. Standing in Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) is just over that stretch of river. A guy in jeans and a T-shirt takes our passports and ten bucks, then tells us to get on the boat. So let me get this straight, we are going to Myanmar without a passport? Yep, welcome to "a visa run." You start by running out of time on your Thai visa. Next you pay 50 US dollars and spend the night "sleeping" on "the night boat." Wake up, get in a mini bus and head to the boarder. Where the random looking man takes your money and your passport and you head to Myanmar for a visit. Our visit was about 30 minutes in a boat and 10 minutes at immigration. You are offered cigarettes, whiskey, and of course opium. Back in Thailand you get a stamp and YEAHHH you have 15 days before you have to do it again.
But prior to all this madness, tons of stuff happened as you shall soon see and read.
The baby elephant performing a show for just the 4 of us!
We went on a tour of the Samui Archipelago. This Archipelago is made of up 3 inhabited Islands, Ko Tao, Ko Pang yang, and Ko Samui. Plus a Marine National park with lots of small islands sticking up out of the sea like "crocodile teeth" says Lonely Planet. So we systematically tour the islands one by one. Ko Tao is where we have spent the bulk of our time and where we are currently, getting our SCUBA open water and advanced certifications. After 4 days of Snorkeling the four of us, Mom, Jill, Rob, and I head for the larger Island of Ko Pang yang.
We went elephant trekking and took a day trip to the Marine National Park. All was going well until we made the horrible mistake of renting motor bikes. Rob and I were on one while Jill and mom on the other. We made a wrong turn down a road under partial construction and lots of sand. Never a good combination. And yes mom and Jill ended up on the pavement. A few bloody scrapes and a big bruise later we were ready to return the bikes. We should have know it was a bad sign when we filled our tanks with gasoline from a Vodka bottle. But we weren't good at listening to signs!
On our next island Ko Samui we took a wonderful cooking class and the 4 of us made enough food to feed at least 16 people. Not sure how they expected us to eat it all. We learned to make our own curry paste and we got really comfortable pounding the chillies since it took almost 10 min to get them to the correct consistancy! By now it was time to say good bye to Jill and the remaining three headed back to Ko Tao. (we miss you Jill)
"Under the sea. Under the sea. Darling it's better, down were it's wetter, take it from meeeee..." You know the song, sing along. Four days, one visa run, and 5 dives later, we are now PADI certified divers. Today we stayed 30-60 feet under water for over an hour, and got to spend quality time with a baby turtle (about the size of a truck tire). Still want more? Us too, we start the advanced course tomorrow at 7:30 AM. But that will have to wait for our next blog.
We went elephant trekking and took a day trip to the Marine National Park. All was going well until we made the horrible mistake of renting motor bikes. Rob and I were on one while Jill and mom on the other. We made a wrong turn down a road under partial construction and lots of sand. Never a good combination. And yes mom and Jill ended up on the pavement. A few bloody scrapes and a big bruise later we were ready to return the bikes. We should have know it was a bad sign when we filled our tanks with gasoline from a Vodka bottle. But we weren't good at listening to signs!
1 comment:
I do hope you visited the north coast of Kho Phagnan. Especially the little restaurant Panees corner. It doesn't look for much, but we had some of our best (and cheapest) meals there during our trip.
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