wired2theworld thailand 2006 travelogue and photos

For today, the plan is to do a dive trip with the Dive shop associated with the hotel, Aqua Divers. David will do a 2 tank dive, while I, still a nervous nellie from my bad dive experience in Honduras, will snorkel. The daily "local" dive trips don't leave until 10 AM, so we have plenty of time to enjoy another yummy breakfast. By now, we've discovered we can order cappuccinos, better than their normal morning coffee. David and I are both hooked on the pancakes, something I rarely eat at home.

On the advice of Caroline at the dive shop, I search out the General Manager of the hotel, Luciano, to tell him of the termite problem. I can't find him, but I find his assistant, and explain the problem yet again. Luciano finds me at the dive shop right before we are to depart and I take him back to our room so he can hear the crunching. He tells me he can't hear them, but says he believes me and will see if he can find us another room. Five minutes later, he takes me over to room 110, on the other side of the restaurant next to the pool, and says we can have it when we return later in the day.

The long tail boat arrives from the other Aqua Diver shop with 3 more divers and extra tanks. Because there is no dock, we have to swim out to

the boat, about 100 yards. The first dive site turns out to be a little rocky island we can see from the beach. I am the only snorkeler, so it's a bit lonely. It's overcast, and there's not a lot of sun, but I do see lots of Parrot and Angel fish, big blue starfish, and some interesting coral. I get bored after about 1/2 an hour (because I don't want to go to far from the boat by myself) and get back on the boat just as it begins to rain.

The boat captain and I wait, he smoking, and fishing with a single line wrapped around a piece of wood and me, sitting wishing I smoked and fished so I'd have something to do. The rocking of the boat makes it impossible to read without getting seasick. Finally, the divers come back up and David says he's had a good time and seen lots of fish, sea cucumbers, and a big clam. The next dive spot does not have snorkeling, so the boat drops me in the water back in front of the beach and I swim back to shore. David calls to me from the boat, "When you see us come back, order a pizza!"

I go back to our first room to clean up and pack so we can move. As I exit the outdoor shower back into the bathroom, which can be seen from the far side of the bed, I realize there are people in the room talking.
"Hello?..."
It's the GM showing one of the maintenance workers the termites. "Sorry, sorry" he calls out.
There are frosted glass doors into the bathroom area so it's conceivable if they were in the middle of the room, they might not have seen me. Still, I can help but think, "Couldn't you at least buy me dinner before you see me naked?"

Finally, about 2 PM, they tell me I can change rooms. Room 110 turns out to be lot nicer than the previous room; it seems bigger and brighter (the ceiling does not dip down like the other room) and both the indoor and outdoor shower work perfectly. The added bonus is that there are no termites crunching next to my head as I try to sleep.

I make it down to the pizzeria just in time to order lunch when David arrives back from his 2nd dive. The pizza is very with a good thin crisp crust, and I can't help but think that all the Italian influence here is due to Luciano as we have seen no Italian guests, mostly Brits and Germans. We have dinner in Thai Restaurant again; David orders Italian (a perfect al dente pasta) and I have Penang beef which is spicy and flavorful.