Asia

Well today seemed just a bit jinxed from the get-go…. We heard it RAINING through the night. We had a 7:20 a.m pick up scheduled so we were up early and trying to squeeze in a breakfast (they didn’t open till 7). We were in the lobby on time but by 7:50 we still had no transportation and were beginning to worry about a miscommunication. Soon we spotted the truck though… ok…. Then making rounds to pick up other divers someone noticed we had a FLAT. Two of the staff changed the tire in the hotel driveway and we continued on our way to the pier.

The boat was loaded and we all boarded and headed out to the Similan Islands. The diving is supposed to be great and the area beautiful. We soon hit the rough waters and the skies let loose. We could see the storm front and it was 11/2 hours to the area we were headed. It soon became clear that it would not be safe to continue and all the boats were turning around to come back. Diving CANCELLED. That was a major disappointment for Gary and Rusty. The other four of us would have been snorkeling. We had a breakfast bun on board and that was the day!!!

We were returned to our hotel and we all reframed our thinking for a quiet and restful day. As tired as we all are that wasn’t a bad thing!! Rusty was hanging out working on pictures being downloaded and the rest went to explore town a bit. Gary, Ernie, Jane and Sherry all opted to stop at the massage place and Andrew hit the internet café. Jane and Sherry chose a “double” today… foot massage and back and shoulders while the fellas went for traditional Thai. We all left pretty happy and headed down the street for lunch. Rusty and Andrew ate at the hotel.


Our hotel's beach		a river view

The fellas tried several times during the day to connect at the dive shop for a refund. Finally in early evening they were successful. We all signed up for Thai Cooking lessons which we started about 3:00. We had selected nine meals and each team cooked three meals. We were all amazed how the dishes are done and how easy they are. It was great entertainment and good eating!! Some of us looked more“out of our elements” than others. We all got a kick out of watching Rusty boil water! Jane is sure “out of her element” with spicy and the rest are IN! We didn’t need dinner tonight at all but did opt for a little ice cream and fruit down on the beach.

While the guys were in town tonight catching the dive shop Jane and Sherry lounged on the beach dozing to the sound of the surf and pretending they were watching the sunset. It was heavenly!!