Getting There

I knew the area around the equator was hot but I was not expecting it to be 29C when my plane got in at 1:15 am. I have jeans and my windbreaker on, so within seconds I am sweating and a minute later, soaking wet. I find out that it’s too late to get to the hotel I made arrangements with to stay at this night, since there is no taxi service at the airport other than air-taxi and ferry, both of which are done for the night, thankfully I never gave them my billing info so no loss there… My only other option for sleep tonight is the airport hotel, which Airport Information was kind enough to call for me. “Yes we have a room, and it can be yours for the low low price of $289 USD.” Pass. Luckily there is a 24 hour cafe at the airport so I go there to get a Red Bull and wait for sunrise, and hopefully my air taxi to the island I am staying at.

After waiting what seemed like an eternity for my flight, and several power naps later, I was finally on the sea plane no later than 10:40. My first sea plane flight, it was pretty cool, I didn’t even realize right away that we were airborne, unlike normal flights when there is a moment when you can feel the plane jump into the air, this was a much smoother, or possibly harder to notice, transition from water runway to air. It wasn’t a long flight, which was fine because the seats were small and not very comfortable but I grabbed a nice window seat and took some pictures. It was a little cloudy but I think some of them came out alright.

Spa-aaaaahhhhh………

Had my first spa massage today, it was a freebie so it was only 10-15 minutes, but I am starting to see why people pay money for these things. I go back for the hour long version on Saturday after some scuba diving.

Shark Sighting

I was out snorkeling today (Friday) and I encountered not one, but two reef shark! This was my first shark encounter, and I have to say it was pretty cool. I was about ready to get out of the water and started to head back to the channel that cuts through the reef giving access to the island, when I saw the first shark. After following him for a little bit I noticed his friend and was able to get a video of the both of them and some other random large fish. It’s not the best video since I was busy watching them instead of paying attention to what the camera was pointed at but it’s not terrible. There were a few points where a wave/surge came over us and pushed one of the shark really close, like within a few feet. After I lost track of them, I was on my way back to the beach when I almost went right past a school of large fish, each about 18-20 inches long. They were almost the same color as the water and very hard to notice. I had fun chasing after them and swimming in the middle of it, haha, got a video of it too.

Service with a Smile

Some of the best waiter service I’ve ever had, and from a friendly person as well. Compared to Athens, where everyone seemed to ignore you, or worse, give you dirty looks when you went to eat at their restaurant, this was paradise. The food was buffet style, but very good, always varied and always one made-to-order option, like eggs for breakfast (scrambled, fried, omelet), stir fry, tacos for dinner. Some of the best things I had there were pan fried fish with garlic butter sauce, lamb cubes with gravy, seared tuna with lemon cream sauce, homemade ice cream, chocolate and strawberry creeps, and fresh melon juice. Everything but drinks at lunch and dinner were included in the bill.

Stars

I finally got to see some stars for the first time in a long long time, but even here it wasn’t that great because of cloud cover. Half the sky had a lot of stars I could see and half the sky was black. I think Phuket Thailand may be my last chance to get in a good star gaze, but if the weather doesn’t cooperate or the air just isn’t clear enough, I think I’m going to try to schedule a weekend at home when there is no moon and head up to the mountains for a little campfire and some stars.

Turquoise Water

The water here is just like in the pictures. Clear, turquoise, beautiful, and warm too. No wet suit required for snorkeling and I didn’t use one on my dives either and it was fine. I probably should have taken more pictures of it but was too busy just enjoying it.

Rain

It rains here, a lot. I think it rained every day. And not that I am complaining, but on my last day, I was trying to dry a shirt and towel outside in the sun, because it was hot and sunny and I had to leave soon and it starts pouring out of no where!

No Shoes

I got used to everyone including, all the hotel staff, walking around barefoot, but barefoot pilots I was not expecting. On my sea plane flight back to Male, I happened to have to sit in the front middle seat because everything else was occupied by passengers from other islands, so I can see into the cockpit and I was looking at the pilot when I noticed he had no shoes!

Right now

I am sweating at the airport.. again. This place is hotter than hell and I think I am ready to leave.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 20th, 2008 at 7:08 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.