and it's raining! ha. i am in krabi, thailand. which is in the southern part and on the indian ocean. it is a good jump point to the islands... which is where i'm going tomorrow... ko phi phi. looking forward to it... will be meeting up with vanessa, my cs host from singapore, and her friends for at least one night out. will be good to see them again.
just got back from the maldives which was absolutely amazing. i was invited by my friend adaeze, who was planning her mother's 70th bday party there. nice place to celebrate a birthday. not only was the water super clear and the island absolutely beautiful (we stayed on paradise island), but her family and friends were so much fun. most were from nigeria and they know how to have a good time. i think it's about time i tick africa off my list and hang out with these fabulous people again. so much fun just hanging out with them and singing and dancing. i was a little nervous at first (i know... me? nervous?) since i didn't know anyone, but i got along with them all almost instantly. i don't remember everyone's name (younger people yes, older people no) or their relationship to each other an adaeze, but it was fun to get to know them. days were organized with an event or two but there was also some free time. on the full free day i went diving. it was pretty good. expensive, but good. saw two turtles which were nice, a sea cucumber, and giant starfish. they are SO big. like 2 feet long. no lie. no sharks on the dive, but the water was so clear so you can see all the reef sharks from the surface. together we did a sunset dolphin cruise, a tour of the capital city - male (mah-lay), and on the final full day a church service, brunch, and celebration soiree for adaeze's mom. she was so sweet. she went around to each table and personally introduced everyone to everyone else and thanked them. even me! really nice. then followed by dancing. which had some really good nigerian music. great experience.
on the way back, a lot of them were flying through colombo, sri lanka, so adaeze's brother planned a little tour. i was on different flights but also had a long lay over in colombo so i was able to join. we stopped off at a precious gems store, and then a place to have dinner. dinner was delicious. we got back just in time for me to go through security and get on the flight. glad i was able to make it out of the airport this time. :) and more stamps in the passport.
before the maldives i was in koh tao thailand, which is on the gulf coast. pretty much you just go there if you want to dive, or get your certification. that's what i was going for. i was pretty proud of myself for completing considering i freaked out when i tried to do the great barrier reef. now blowing water out of my mask underwater isn't that big of a deal. taking it off, swimming around and putting it back on, however, does take a little bit of patience, but i can do it! yay! my dive group consisted of two other couples - one from canada and the other from the netherland. i was told that the group would only be 4 people, but it was fine. the couples were cool and we're good friends now. and i've also learned that i say "ya know what i'm sayin' " a bazillion times a day. ha. i swore that i never said it... so every time i would say it, they'd respond "yes, we know what you're saying". ha. it was funny. probably one of those, you had to be there type moments. on our third dive we saw TWO whale sharks (or maybe the same one twice?). which... is a bit rare. was talking to dive masters on the boat and they said it took them over 25 dives just to see one! so to see one twice was really cool. and yes, we are spoiled. it's all downhill from here. we saw it from below. we were probably 10 or so meters down and the shark was close to the surface. just really amazingly cool. our instructor was so happy. he forgot to even do the second skills test on that dive. so we just added it to the next dive... no worries. everyone was SO psyched on the boat. i guess getting to the dive site first thing in the morning (no lie... about 630am) has its privileges.
hmmm... what else? oh... i had REAL coffee today. so nice not to have instant coffee. the last time i had real coffee was at anomali coffee in ubud. miss that place. will have to go back. for the coffee, and the people. but today's coffee was nice. i ended up talking with some australians who invited me out to a bar tonight. they were really cool. like the hippie type... really just friendly and chill. and then i played a game called jackpot and chinese checkers with a woman who is friends with the people at the coffee shop. that was fun. no need to plan anything for today when it's raining... so may as well chat with the locals and play games. :) life is good. just when i think things are meh... they turn up. haven't met people super easily as i had in south america. not as many dorm rooms or hostels with cooking areas/common areas... so it take a little more effort to meet people. but... all is still good. i can't complain... i'm in thailand!!!
i always feel like there are things to update.. and then when i sit down to type it all out, i can't remember. one random thing that i've noticed around southeast asia... they barely ever give you a knife for food. you usually get a fork and a big spoon. no knife. even if you get something like a chicken breast. i haven't figured out a proper way to eat it but i usually just take the whole thing on my fork and take bites. not sure how to cut with a spoon. food is good here, and cheap. had dinner for 40baht last night at the night market which is about $1.25. the place i'm staying tonight is basic, but really cheap. 300baht for two nights. it calculates to around $4.50 a night. i have my own room. tiny, but it's enough. a little on the loud side, but i can't complain since it's so cheap.
okay... i think i will go and have lunch. the place i'm staying has delicious food. maybe go for a massage later. went yesterday to get an hour long thai massage. it was wonderful. at first i didn't like it, but i got into it. no oil or cream which is nice. and you keep your clothes on. really great stretches. may go back to the same place or try somewhere new. the australians i met this morning told me about another place to go.
for real. i'm going to have lunch. hope everyone is good!
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