Feb 2007

Laura has just spent quite a while adding some of our photos on to the website. I've put a few of them on to the blog but the rest of them are in the gallery section for you all to see.

I don't think it's particularly easy to find the gallery from the blog home page so just to make it nice and easy for you all......click the link below

http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/users/teamnojob/

Chris

Hello again,

A lot has happened since our last brief update, in particular our current location which has shifted from Thailand to Malaysia. Further good news is that we all passed our Open Water Diving course (with varying degrees of success - I drank half the sea for example).

We took our diving instructor Kung out for a few drinks to celebrate which turned into a mini session by the end. We reckon he hustled us drinks wise, he was struggling with beers but then got us on Thai rum (Sangsem) and coped a lot better. Needless to say we were all surprised by his prowess with some rum, Sprite and small bucket of ice.

After Koh Tao and diving, we got back to the Thai mainland to get a sleeper train down here to Malaysia. As we waited on the platform the Orient Express turned up and they watched us waiting as they ate their over priced dinner - which amused us. Eventually our train turned up and we all had our own bed compartment with curtains and windows and stuff - very nice. Apart from the loud noises and shaking we may have got a good nights sleep but hey ho!

We arrived in Butterworth having gone through immigration some four hours earlier (fairly straight forward affair really) and found the weather in Malaysia to be very hot and humid compared to what we're used to. It wasn't the sort of place to hang around in so along with a couple of American hang-ons (Dan and Justin) we got on a boat to Penang more specifically Georgetown. This was quite a big port once but has floundered (like the Empire).

Georgetown isn't the nicest we've decided, but is ok. Our hostel is cheap and friendly and very ample in headroom. Laura and Locky got a moped today to explore more of the island and found some nice things apparently but also got a bit sunburnt (much to my amusement). I explored Georgetown some more on foot - which turned out to be a bit of an error really - not much to see other than a 5-storey shopping centre which was quite modern and nice - not a patch on the Bullring tho!

Next stop for us is Kuala Lumpur on another sleeper train. We're quite looking forward to this one, with soaring skyscrapers nestled between lush green it should be a nice contrast with our other big city experience of Bangkok.

I know we promised some photos and they're coming soon. We've got a few diving shots (or wetsuit shots) which will please you and we'll also try and get some more stuff on as well. Sorry for another rushed blog - we're all quite hungry now so are gonna shoot off!

Until next time -
Hugs and Kisses,
Woodie (with Laura and Locky perched on each shoulder)

Hello Again,

Just thought we'd stop in to say hello and to keep you up to speed with our goings on. Today (Saturday) is our fifth day in Koh Tao at the Black Tip Diving resort http://www.blacktipdiving.com. Koh Tao is a small island to the east of the Thai mainland and is quite remote but very picturesque (look for it on Wiki or something).

We're doing an Open Water course which should see us qualified by the end of the weekend (all going well). So far we've watched videos, done reading, completed tests (and a multiple choice exam) and done some in their pool and over the past couple of days in the sea, going to depths of 13 metres.

To say its a new experience would be a big understatement, but once we got the hang of the basics (don't stop breathing pretty much!) - its about perfecting the skills and trying to get more advanced e.g. so we can swim as close to the bottom as possible without hitting anything.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we have our final dive which if we do successfully (we have a few skill tasks to do during the dive like taking our mask off whilst still breathing and then replace it and clear it of water) will see us PADI qualified Open Water divers, meaning we can dive without instructors anywhere in the world (but must be with a buddy).

Our instructor Kung (thats his nickname, his full name in Thai is very long). is extremely patient and very nice so we're confident we can pass before we head off on our travels again.

Once we've completed our course and got somewhere with a bit more infrastructure - we'll post a full blog about our diving and maybe some embarrassing wetsuit photos.

Speak soon!

From Woodie