Returning to Bangkok for a Departure

Well it's winding down. Tonight I'm taking a night ferry back to Chumphon and from there I'll catch a train to Bangkok. I'll be flying to Japan on the 28th. I'll probabbly stay 2-4 days and then head home.

Today has been great (except for loosing a bit of money). I went diving and it was wonderful. I lost the bit of money because I bought a boat ticket back to Chumpon before hand and thought I'd be back in time to catch it, but I was not. Not too big of a deal, it would have made things more convienent, but no worries.

I went snorkeling yesterday in front of the bungallow I stayed at. It's a nice place, but a bit of a hike. The snorkeling was good.

Not much more to say. It's been a good tip.

Bussed on to Chumphon

Hello!

Plans have changed again. I decided while in Khao Lak that I would definitely like to dive. I went to a dive center and was informed that both the islands off of Khao Lak were closed due to off-season bad weather. This was a bit disappointing but lead to an exciting idea. First, however, I'll catch up on the trip thus far.

I left Ranong as planned and made it to Khao Lak without any trouble. Khao Lak is an enjoyable beach resort area, much less built up than Hua Hin thankfully. I had a relaxing two days there enjoying the Adaman Sea's refreshing waters. I also received my first real sunburn of the trip, but it was limited to my shoulders and seems to be nearly gone now. While in a local shop I let down my guard a bit, must have been all the sun, and ended up spending more than I would like on a few goofy things I might never use, including a small dry bag (waterproof). After realizing diving wasn't an option and with no mention of snorkeling in the area I plotted my new idea.

There are only a few places in my guidebook that are supposed to have "top notch scuba", Khao Lak had two of them (both closed), an island called Ko Tao had another. Ko Tao also happens to be conveniently placed along my return route to Bangkok. After consulting my map, the plan was hatched. Upon leaving Khao Lak I would travel to Kho Sok National Park, check it out, and then head to Ko Tao; it's on Thailand's East Coast.

Kho Sok has a great jungle/rain forest atmosphere and a number of waterfalls that can be hiked to. A large portion of the park is closed since it's off season, but I still enjoyed hiking to one of the open waterfalls. Much of the hike reminded me of my lengthy stroll on Kho Phayam. I decided another day at the park wasn't necessary so this morning I left on the journey that will take me to Ko Tao. I met two guys from Holland (one had recently graduated, the other recently switched majors) and we waited for the bus together. They were under the impression that it would arrive at 9, but it ended up arriving at 10. This didn't bother me though as I've waited significantly longer several times on this trip. The bus took us to Surathani (incorrect spelling), it's one of Thailand's larger cities. I would have liked to avoid it as my guide book didn't give a good impression of it and specifically stated "Hurry On!" Things went pretty smooth overall, I just had to deal with the unfortunate lies of several transport people trying to sell their more expensive method; I'm somewhat used to this. "No there isn't a public bus, you take minibus only ... baht", and then the public bus pulls up and they walk away; that sort of thing. Eventually I got on the right bus and all was well. I know everyone is just trying to make a living, but I quickly get annoyed when people try to take advantage of me through lies.

After a day of bus riding, I'm now in Chumphon (probably incorrect spelling). The boats to Ko Tao leave from close by here. After walking blindly around the city a bit I found a nice guest house. It's inexpensive and they've arranged a ticket for me for a morning boat to Ko Tao along with a ride to the port. I was also offered a coconut which I readily accepted.

I'm quite excited for Ko Tao. I plan on diving and snorkeling there. I'll probably stay for 2-3 days.

I don't have a way to upload pictures at the place I'm at right now.

As a final note, I've gotten in some great reading while I wait for and ride buses and between dinner and bed time. I finished War of the Worlds which was a fun read, I read Fahrenheit 451 which was enjoyable, but short, and I'm nearing the end of It Can't Happen Here, an interesting book about Fascism taking hold of the US and the rebellion against it from within a small community. It's the last book I brought so I know it's time to leave soon.

I probably won't be on the Internet in Ko Tao. I'll try to post soon afterword with pictures.

Sauntering South

Hello again!

Sorry it's been a while. This is the first time I've been online since my last post. Thanks for your emails.

My travels continue to go well. I've been streamlining my trip a bit and I'll probabbly only be in Thailand for about another week or so. I've been adventuring at a fast pace and its been taking somewhat of a toll. I kind of feel like I've been hiking for a week. It's been fun though.

A definite highlight of my trip has been visiting the island Khao Phayam. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking ahead and didn't realize there wouldn't be an atm on the island so I ran out of baht and was only able to stay two nights. The island is quite incredible. The beaches are empty and beautiful and the interior is lush jungle-like terrain. The full day I spent there, I ended up walking continously for about 6 hours (not fully intentional, my map was a bit misleading...). The scenary in some parts is literaly jaw-dropping. I stayed in a fun little bungalow right behind a great beach for less than $10 a night. I didn't get the best sleep due to a combination of heat, noisy creatures, and stormy night-time weather, but it was a wonderful destination all the same. I really enjoyed playing around in the waves, it was very refreshing as I'm most always covered in a layer of sweat on top of my layer of sun block and bug repellent. Also at Khao Phayam I met an Australian teacher and had a few nice chats.

I'm now back in Ranong, just returning from Khao Phayam this morning. The boat ride was fine, but my day quickly took a turn for the worse. To sum it up, I made a fairly stupide mistake that cost me atleast 3 hours of time, uneeded stress, a bit of money, a decent amount of embarressment, and the loss of some self-respect. Error 1: after paying for the boat ride from Phayam I only had 10 baht (I think about 33 baht/dollar, most everything costs significantly more than 10 baht, it's a single coin). Error 2: failing to interpret an atm machine. Upon arriving I knew I was out of baht, I hadn't eaten since a late lunch the day before and had finished off my last bottle of water the night before. After walking across the island in the morning with my pack and the 2 hour boat ride I was quite thirsty. I planned on getting some money from the atm and then buying water. I realize I'm rambling a bit, I'll wrap it up. I tried 2 atm machines and couldn't complete transactions with either, I thought my account had been frozen due to withdrawals from Thailand. My 10baht lasted me about 30 seconds on a pay phone as I tried to contact the Thailand division of Key Bank. I was officially out of money, not a fun feeling. I went to a police station, I was treated excellently, and after a series of phone calls, including the US embassy to ask how to place an international call to the US, I got ahold of Key Bank's US automated response system (the Thailand division couldn't help since it was a US card) and was eventually informed that I needed to call again durring business hours (9 hours later in the day). The guy helping me thought the situation very odd and wanted me to try the atm machine again, of course I thought my account was frozen and tried to explain I was about 100% sure it wouldn't work, but I had 9 hours so he drove me over to the atm. I showed him exactly as I had done before. After entering the withdrawal amount a screen popped up as before saying the transaction was unable to proceed and asked if I would like to do another transaction. It must have been a miss translation, he told me to press yes, I did, and out came my money. The machine was out of reciepts so the receipt portion of the transaction had failed and it wanted to know if I wanted to proceed. It did mention it was out of reciepts in english, but it asked if I wanted to try another transaction so I had pressed no before. ANYWAY, I felt really stupid. That's in the the past though.

Hua Hin was too much of a big city for my liking, so I left after just one night.

Tommorrow I'm bussing down to Khao Lak, hopefully for some beach relaxing. I think it's a bit more upscale (more expensive), but it should be a nice place to spend a few days. I'm a bit tired of my near constant state of transit (a few more days on Phayam would be nice, but a 2 hour boat ride each way deters me). I've been going back and forth whether or not I'll fork out the cash to go scuba diving in the Similan Islands but I think I will. I've been doing pretty well with my spending thus far. If I do go, I will leave from Khao Lak.

After Khao Lak, I plan on spending some time at Khao Sok National Park and then returning to Bangkok. I'll probabbly try to contact my Japanese friend when I reach Khao Sok, I'd like to hang out in Japan for a few days before my return home.

That's all for now. Happy early Father's Day!

I've taken a good deal of pics; I've uploaded just a few due to internet constraints, but they're not necessarily my best.

Browsing Bangkok

Hello from Thailand!

All is well. As you likely know, I made my Seattle-Tokyo flight and as you may not know, I also made my Tokyo-Bangkok flight. Both flights were good.

Here in Bangkok,I managed to find a decent enough room for a decent enough price. I'm very happy to have a fan.

I woke up around 6am local time and took a rather long stroll about town. I've been enjoying myself, but I'm ready to move on from Bangkok. I plan on traveling to Hua (Hau?) Hin tomarrow. I'll probabbly spend a day or two there and then check out a nearby place with a recommended beach. I'm really looking forward to getting in the water.

I think I'm being charged by the minute so I'll keep it short. Mainly just wanted to say all is well. I'm not having any luck uploading pictures but I haven't taken anything too spectacular yet anyway.

I'll try to post again within a week.

Website Launch and Catching Up

I'm excited to annouce the opening of my website:

http://www.wix.com/LiquidMercury/The-Grove

The Grove, as it's called, is a "Portal to my Adventures." Upon visiting The Grove you'll be treated to a slide-show intro. Once you advance passed this page, you'll be able to access this blog, my Picasa albums, or drop me an email all at the click of a button. The site will hopefully grow with time, but already it's quite cool. On the main page several songs are available for streaming and there are a few pictures. I plan on adding some sort of "about me" section and a gallery of sorts to post some more pictures.

I apologize for the delay in posts. I'll catch up on what's happened since the previous update. My beard is still gone (as all of you most likely know), although I do need to shave. The CUB remains impressive (it has a movie theater inside it!) I'm very settled into my room; I should clean it up one of these days. I've enjoyed living with my roomate and the others in my suite. The classes that were just about to begin ended in the winter and it was a very challenging semester. I stepped down as president of the airplane club due to a lack of available time and a feeling of unpreparedness, but luckily the vice president stepped up and the club continues to do well. I managed to earn well enough grades and I'm now a certified SCUBA diver.

Spring semester classes are now in their last month (finals extend into May). I've been doing much better than I was in the fall. This semester I've had my best test scores, including two perfect scores (one differential equations test and one mechanics of materials test). Recently I've been helping out with the airplane club a little bit as they are constructing their aircraft. It looks like I'll be going to competition with them in mid-April. We're driving to Arizona! I watched a fascinating video the other day, I believe it was titled Coaching the Van Driver II. Time flies when you're learning about how to deal with larger blind spots and higher centers of gravity.

One of the unique classes I'm currently taking is fencing. It's been quite fun. By the end of the semester I'll be one step closer to becoming a certified knight. Hopefully I'll never have to using my fencing and SCUBA skills in conjunction, but just in case, I'm glad I'm prepared.

I've been apartment searching and I'm pretty sure I've found my future residence. Tommorrow I'll visit it again and possibly sign a lease. I'll probabbly snap a few shots as well.

I'm unsure what this summer has in store for me, but I expect things to become clearer this month.

That's all for now. I'm off to the airplane club, I think we might be watching more of the epic Coaching the Van Driver II.

Unpacked, Shaved, and Ready for Class

The beard is gone. It had it's time and I enjoyed it, but I decided to go back to the old smooth face.  I also got my hair trimmed up a bit. 

Yesterday I arrived in Pullman around 2:00PM with Tom and Anita. We had a good drive over. Upon arriving at WSU, we unpacked the car, and I gave a little tour. We had a tasty lunch at the Fireside Grille and then Tom and Anita headed off to Spokane.

I picked up my books at the new Bookie in the new student union building. Oh and my books were mostly new as well. The Compton Union Building or CUB as it's often referred to is quite impressive. While I was only in it for a short bit and didn't fully explore, it struck me as quite nice.

Later that day I unpacked my bags and settled into my new room. It's large.

Today I finished settling in by putting up a few posters after getting back from church.

My roommate is a nice guy, as are the others who live in my cluster, I expect to enjoy it here. 

I'll post two pictures of my room on Picasa under a new album: WSU 08-09.

Class begins tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. I'll be going to physics, statics, a MATLAB programming class, and economics.  

That's all for now!

My Wildest Experience

Not once in my life of more than 19 years have I done anything as crazy as that which I participated in last Friday...I went skydiving. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!

Wednesday, two friends and I drove to Shelton, Washington, home of Kapowsin Air Sports. Myself and another friend took a class for our Level One Accelerated Free Fall jump, while our other friend sat in and refreshed himself as he'd already completed level one. After maybe about three hours we felt prepared. We had the exit count down: check in, check out, prop check, up, down, arch. We knew the hand signals, the free fall procedure, the landing maneuvers, and solutions to various parachute malfunctions and other emergencies. We were ready. The weather however was not. So we decided on Friday for our jump date because the forecast was favorable.  

Sunny Friday morning came quickly and I was excited, but only to a certain extent because the idea of me jumping out of an airplane at 12,500 ft in a few hours didn't seem all that real. I went through the procedures and hand signals a few more times as I anxiously awaited my friend who was coming to pick me up. He came and we drove.

My dad and Adam also came out to the airport to watch, but in the building excitement Adam decided to sign up for a tandem jump. The tandem jumps don't require class time and this meant he would jump with my two friends and me. 

We, our instructors, two camera divers, and a number of other divers all climbed aboard the aircraft. The plane ride itself was a unique experience. We were fairly cramped inside and excited chatter filled the cabin. The instructors went through a few checks with us and soon we were at 12,500 ft.

Up until this point I hadn't been overly nervous, but tension had been growing since take off. Now as the door slid open I was starting to enter almost a fight or flight mode. However in this odd situation, flight meant jumping and I wasn't about to start a fight. I'm not much of a risk taker and here I was about to jump out of an airplane. One of my friends was before me and he jumped out without a second of hesitation. It made me feel better, but any confidence I'd gained vanished as my instructors sat up and led me to the door. The idea of saying "no, I can't do this" crossed my mind, but I quickly batted it away. I was somewhat terrified but I refused to even consider backing down.

In my semi-emergency state of mind I forgot to grab the door frame with both hands, instead using only one hand as I assumed the position to begin the exit count. The instructors tried to tell me to use both hands, but it was quite loud now at the edge of the aircraft. After a second or two of unsuccessful communication, one of my instructors moved my free hand onto the door frame, then I understood. I went through the exit count and leaped into the air. I had no idea what to expect.

For a few seconds my mind was racing to grasp what had just occurred and what it was now experiencing. I wasn't thinking clearly as I kicked my legs a bit and wiggled around. Instead of arching out, I'd arched in. Soon I realized I had a procedure to go through. Once I began thinking more clearly I bettered my form. My instructors gave hand signals to help me along. I felt stable and I began to enjoy myself. I watched my altimeter as it approached 6,000 ft. At 5,500 ft I gave a big wave and pulled my chute.

There was an exciting jolt and I separated from my instructors just as I was supposed to.

The ride down with the chute was a lot of fun and a very calm experience. My landing was smooth and just like that it was over. It was a great adventure and I hungrily look forward to AFF 2.