I wake up sprawled out, tired, wondering what day it is. As I untangle myself from the sarong and pillow that was my bed last night the sounds of roosters crowing and birds chirping tell me it must be time to get up. It will be another hot day. The fan passes by me with each cycle, cooling the beads of sweat that already begin to form. Good thing we'll be in the water soon! I grab my sunscreen and water bottle and head down the street to the dive shop with a big smile on my face.
Every day has been different, a new challenge added each time to test how prepared we are to make the transition from being DMTs (Dive Master Trainees) to actual Dive Masters. In the past month and a half we've learned how to assist in Open Water courses, map dive sites, teach refresher courses to tune up divers' skills, manage emergency situations, and we're familiar with the in-and-outs of liveaboard trips and guiding guests around the dive sites. This has all been done with hours and hours in the pool, at local dive sites, on the liveaboard boat and in the classroom. As the weeks have passed we've ticked off our accomplishments from the theory exams, swimming endurance tests, rescue evaluations, practicing skills, workshops, shadowing instructors and dive masters and even the stress test.
This last one has been my favorite, I even got to do it twice! For the stress test we're evaluated on our ability to remain calm and quickly solve problems as they arise while communicating with our buddy. My buddy and I had to exchange all our gear (mask, fins, and scuba unit) underwater while sharing the same air source. Take two breaths, pass the regulator, unstrap a fin, take two breaths, but don't forget to give it back to my buddy who's holding their breath, and then continue swapping gear. It was completed when we had successfully exchanged all our gear while sharing one regulator and not going to the surface for air. The challenge is even more fun when the instructor is pulling at the masks, flooding them, free flowing bubbles surrounding us, our jackets being inflated and us trying not to panic or shoot to the surface. The hardest part was exchanging masks, both of us unable to see and one of us waiting not so patiently for their turn for a breath of air. Luckily we both remained calm and neither of us became drowning victims, so it was a success! One more thing to check off and get us one step closer to completing the course.
This has been such a rewarding experience. All the training has been top notch. The instructors are passionate not only about diving, but teaching us by being our mentors. As a group, the other trainees and myself have grown as divers and friends. We've shared learning from each other and encouraging each other, all with quite a few laughs. Though our motivations for coming here are different, we've created a shared bond during our training and with our passion for diving. Now that our training is finished it is hard to imagine we won't be dive buddies everyday or be the group of DMTs together. We'll have to move on so the next intrepid group of divers can begin their own adventure. For me that means hopping on a bus for my next stop...Chiang Mai!
22 March 2013
20 March 2013
A Pocket Full of Change
What can you buy with 300 Thai baht? (About 10 USD)
~A trip to the clinic to get a "physical" to make sure you're in tip-top shape to do some diving. It's more like the doctor just asks you if you feel alright, you say yes, and he'll sign the paper.
OR
~Lunch for four: Pad Thai with chicken for everyone.
OR
~A trip to the "pancake" stand every evening for 2 weeks. Order up a pancake with egg and sugar inside or maybe banana and nutella for desert. These things are delicious crepe-like snacks and enough to fill you up! And if they don't then just down the street you can get a couple skewers with meat and veggies with the rest of the change in your pocket.
OR
~Drop off your laundry to be cleaned, ironed, and neatly folded smelling good and ready to be picked up at your convenience. As well as having some to spare for more Pad Thai and a couple Chang beers or maybe some seaweed flavored potato chips.
OR
~Rent a motorbike for the day and head to the nearby towns, then off to the waterfalls to cool down, and the weekly market to grab a snack and people watch.
OR (my personal favorite)
~Stop by the noodle-soup stand for dinner each night for a week. Grab a bowl of beef noodle soup (or chicken or pork) and a seat near the street. Help yourself to the extra veggies and spices at each table while enjoying the cool night air. Careful though, those chilies have a kick! I've only just graduated to using a scoop of the chili flakes AND a dab of the chili sauce. Yum!
OR
~Put that change in your pocket and head to the beach! (But don't forget the sunscreen!)
~A trip to the clinic to get a "physical" to make sure you're in tip-top shape to do some diving. It's more like the doctor just asks you if you feel alright, you say yes, and he'll sign the paper.
OR
~Lunch for four: Pad Thai with chicken for everyone.
OR
~A trip to the "pancake" stand every evening for 2 weeks. Order up a pancake with egg and sugar inside or maybe banana and nutella for desert. These things are delicious crepe-like snacks and enough to fill you up! And if they don't then just down the street you can get a couple skewers with meat and veggies with the rest of the change in your pocket.
OR
~Drop off your laundry to be cleaned, ironed, and neatly folded smelling good and ready to be picked up at your convenience. As well as having some to spare for more Pad Thai and a couple Chang beers or maybe some seaweed flavored potato chips.
OR
~Rent a motorbike for the day and head to the nearby towns, then off to the waterfalls to cool down, and the weekly market to grab a snack and people watch.
OR (my personal favorite)
~Stop by the noodle-soup stand for dinner each night for a week. Grab a bowl of beef noodle soup (or chicken or pork) and a seat near the street. Help yourself to the extra veggies and spices at each table while enjoying the cool night air. Careful though, those chilies have a kick! I've only just graduated to using a scoop of the chili flakes AND a dab of the chili sauce. Yum!
OR
~Put that change in your pocket and head to the beach! (But don't forget the sunscreen!)
07 March 2013
Weekend Getaway
It was mid-afternoon yet the deserted forest seemed as dark as dusk. We wove paths between leafless branches, hugging the cliff walls to not lose our orientation. In places the stalactites overhead gave a moment of awe as we looked up, casting shadows as they blocked what little light the sun provided. We were floating in a fairy tale land where time stands still, frozen in the past. We were diving in Khao Sok.
From the moment we descend from the surface, down the wall of limestone, the lake engulfs us in green cloudy waters. With limited visibility the shadows play tricks on us, creating an eerie atmosphere full of mystery. Catfish glide past us and disappear into the shadows. Old fishing nets drape between dead tree branches, covered in a thick layer of silt, suspended in time like a booby trap begging to be touched. Columns of limestone dangle from the cliffs like twisted organ pipes. Others seem carved from the walls.
Along our route caverns, caves, and divots add texture to the walls. Catfish and freshwater shrimp peek from crevices. Movement draws our gaze down below, to the murky water. The bottom might be nearly 200 feet from the surface, but we only go far enough to see the wall drop out of sight and where the tops of the trees are just out of our reach.
If we stay still for a moment time seems to be frozen, no movement at all, until we realize our bubbles disturbed the cliff overhangs above. Leaves float down ever so slowly, like feathers or a light snow falling. All we hear is our breathing.
Surfacing, leaving behind the drowned forest, the sun is shining brightly. In the longtail boat we admire the topside scenery on the way back to the raft houses we call home for a couple days. We're surrounded by one of the oldest evergreen forests in the world with limestone peaks shooting straight up with vertical walls that create the borders of this man made lake, and the dive sites along the edges.
A little history might help to get some sort of idea how and why these limestone cliffs formed and what this lake is all about.
When with my family in Ao Nang we wondered how the limestone peaks emerged from the jungle. Turns out they were there long before the trees grew their roots.
A couple million years ago or so much of what we know today as Southeast Asia was under water. The healthy marine environment created limestone deposits (calcium carbonate) which formed from the coral reef skeletons. This reef stretched from Southern China through Vietnam and Thailand down to Malaysia and Borneo. After the ice age these limestone formations were buried under more and more water pressure and formed the rocks we see today. After another 100 million-ish years molten granite reacted with rocks and formed tin and tungsten deposits. Later, plates shifted and things got a little mixed up and broken apart. This created bunches of exposed limestone peaks, jutting to the skies, throughout parts of SE Asia. Now fresh rainwater erodes these cliffs slowly creating stalactites along the walls. Make sense? Hopefully because otherwise you'll need to ask a geologist (and they can give you accurate info).
All you need to know is that basically what we're looking at today is the ancient coral reef compacted and in the fresh air to form beautiful cliffs that in some parts are draped with jungle growth, others cracked with mysterious caves, and parts with walls that seem to be melting in the sun.
Quite the setting.
The lake was created to provide power to Southern Thailand after the boom of tin and tungsten mining. After a road was built nearby for miners, the area became protected from further development in 1980. A couple years later the dam was built, creating the 65 square mile lake, Cheow Larn Lake (shaped like the ravine between the peaks). At this time the Electricity Authority of Thailand attempted the biggest capture and release operation in Thailand, though many of the animals did not survive in their new environment. For example the river fish had trouble adjusting to the depths of the lake. Today you can mostly find some freshwater fish, like featherbacks and catfish, and topside gibbons might make an appearance in the tree tops.
Most people come to admire the jungle and serenity of Khao Sok National Park. Being surrounded by this environment just puts a smile on your face as you breathe in the fresh air. But what brought us here is what mysteries lay under the surface of the water, the forgotten world in the depths. That's where the real fun is.
From the moment we descend from the surface, down the wall of limestone, the lake engulfs us in green cloudy waters. With limited visibility the shadows play tricks on us, creating an eerie atmosphere full of mystery. Catfish glide past us and disappear into the shadows. Old fishing nets drape between dead tree branches, covered in a thick layer of silt, suspended in time like a booby trap begging to be touched. Columns of limestone dangle from the cliffs like twisted organ pipes. Others seem carved from the walls.
Along our route caverns, caves, and divots add texture to the walls. Catfish and freshwater shrimp peek from crevices. Movement draws our gaze down below, to the murky water. The bottom might be nearly 200 feet from the surface, but we only go far enough to see the wall drop out of sight and where the tops of the trees are just out of our reach.
If we stay still for a moment time seems to be frozen, no movement at all, until we realize our bubbles disturbed the cliff overhangs above. Leaves float down ever so slowly, like feathers or a light snow falling. All we hear is our breathing.
Surfacing, leaving behind the drowned forest, the sun is shining brightly. In the longtail boat we admire the topside scenery on the way back to the raft houses we call home for a couple days. We're surrounded by one of the oldest evergreen forests in the world with limestone peaks shooting straight up with vertical walls that create the borders of this man made lake, and the dive sites along the edges.
A little history might help to get some sort of idea how and why these limestone cliffs formed and what this lake is all about.
When with my family in Ao Nang we wondered how the limestone peaks emerged from the jungle. Turns out they were there long before the trees grew their roots.
A couple million years ago or so much of what we know today as Southeast Asia was under water. The healthy marine environment created limestone deposits (calcium carbonate) which formed from the coral reef skeletons. This reef stretched from Southern China through Vietnam and Thailand down to Malaysia and Borneo. After the ice age these limestone formations were buried under more and more water pressure and formed the rocks we see today. After another 100 million-ish years molten granite reacted with rocks and formed tin and tungsten deposits. Later, plates shifted and things got a little mixed up and broken apart. This created bunches of exposed limestone peaks, jutting to the skies, throughout parts of SE Asia. Now fresh rainwater erodes these cliffs slowly creating stalactites along the walls. Make sense? Hopefully because otherwise you'll need to ask a geologist (and they can give you accurate info).
All you need to know is that basically what we're looking at today is the ancient coral reef compacted and in the fresh air to form beautiful cliffs that in some parts are draped with jungle growth, others cracked with mysterious caves, and parts with walls that seem to be melting in the sun.
Quite the setting.
The lake was created to provide power to Southern Thailand after the boom of tin and tungsten mining. After a road was built nearby for miners, the area became protected from further development in 1980. A couple years later the dam was built, creating the 65 square mile lake, Cheow Larn Lake (shaped like the ravine between the peaks). At this time the Electricity Authority of Thailand attempted the biggest capture and release operation in Thailand, though many of the animals did not survive in their new environment. For example the river fish had trouble adjusting to the depths of the lake. Today you can mostly find some freshwater fish, like featherbacks and catfish, and topside gibbons might make an appearance in the tree tops.
Most people come to admire the jungle and serenity of Khao Sok National Park. Being surrounded by this environment just puts a smile on your face as you breathe in the fresh air. But what brought us here is what mysteries lay under the surface of the water, the forgotten world in the depths. That's where the real fun is.
04 March 2013
Under the Sea
Okay, so I've been doing A LOT of research about just what it is I've got myself into. When I do things like this, I get a little obsessive too. In my excitement, I've managed to read just about a zillion stories about one small dot on a map. Just imagine how long that has taken. Dedication, I'm telling you. Or maybe just overly enthusiastic anticipation.
Either way, in my browsing I've come across typical things like what to eat and where are some unique places to visit. Looks like I might need to stay a while to see not only all that Thailand has to offer, but Southeast Asia in general.
I've also started thinking of what I'll be seeing in the big ol' blue. Some pretty cool stuff out there. What I love about sea life is that it is SO foreign. Not only do I get to go someplace new, but I get to explore the waters and see some of these little alien creatures living in the WATER! Just think about that for a minute. A whole community, no a whole world of creatures just hanging out all the time, swimming around in the ocean. Like I said, pretty cool.
Anyway, I've collected a little list here of what I'm most looking forward to observing. I'll let you know if I happen to catch a glimpse of any of these freakishly cool things.
I recently got back from my very first liveaboard and let me tell you, it was a lot of fun! From the moment the boat lifted the anchor to reaching the Similan Islands until we reached dry land again, each day was packed to the brim of things to do and see. My excitement for it all kept my energy levels high. I've started my Dive Master training course and in between the dives we has skills sessions, lectures about diving practices, and hands on reviews of safety an rescue procedures. Like I said, full of stuff to do but the other few DMTs were just as eager as I was to learn more and see the behind the scenes action of a liveaboard.
All that plus the bonus of diving in the Similan Islands. Though the tsunami of 2004, the coral bleaching just a few years ago and recent dynamite fishing has impacted the life on these islands, it isn't hard to imagine what they would have looked like in their prime. With the variety and amount of sea life it is quite a treat to observe the underwater world going about its daily routines. Whether it be a green sea turtle munching on some soft coral for a mid-day snack, an open-water hunter making a pit-stop at a "cleaning station" to have the little fish make their scales sparkle, a frog fish camouflaged while napping in a coral head or an octopus waking up when the sun goes down to search for breakfast, the sea is buzzing with activity at all hours. Luckily, I have about 5 more weeks of training and a few more opportunities to head out to the open see for more of these encounters. Sounds good to me!
Peacock clown mantis shrimp
Pygmy Seahorse. The day I see a seahorse, any seahorse, will be a good one.
Green Mandarin Fish
Walkman
Silver Sea Snail Swallow
Ray
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)