Dive Instructor Journal

Saturday, 6 October 2018

04 October 2018

So after Cambodia we flew to Chiang Mai which is a city in northern Thailand. It was the capital of the independent Lanna Kingdom until 1558. It's old city area still retains vestiges of walls and moats from it's history as a cultural and religious center.

It had a much more relaxed feel about it and the fact that it was much cheaper and had some great markets made it even more appealing :-D

The most exciting thing and enjoyable thing EVER was our visit to the Elephant nature park, Pamper A Pachyderm 2. Such an amazing experience!!

Cuthbert eager to Nelly ;-D

Smiling Simon

We had an early morning pick up from our apartment. as it was going to take a good hour and half journey to the nature park. Which gave us time to get really excited while watching the safety video :-D Out on a road in the middle of nowhere we stopped and got out and were greeted by a few locals and 3 beautiful elephants. We were given bags of bananas to feed them whilst we went on an hour or so hike. The bananas were an incentive for the elephants to follow us which were refilled at various points along our journey to 'base camp' If we sped up, then so did the elephants which was a little unnerving at times as these boys/girls were huge. I didn't fancy being squashed ..so there were a few giggly moments with me scampering out the way and Simon laughing :-D We must have walked with for a good hour or so before we stopped for lunch down a steep path leading to the river.

Si with a bag of banana's

The elephants didn't join us for lunch but followed on behind and waved their trunks goodbye as they made their way very slowly down to the river to wait for us.

Lunch was yummy, all local and vegetarian, so lots of choice for Simon. Being so hot, we re-hydrated as much as we could, we were so glad for the little leaf hats that the guys made for us. I must say that the guides were pretty informative it was very interesting hear each of the elephants history as to how they came to be at the park. There were all sorts, blind, semi blind, orphaned, rescued from the city, logging, all of which have had a very traumatic life. There was one particular Burmese elephant that had some of it's foot blown off by a mine ..he's was my favorite I think. 5 years later they still had to bath his foot in antiseptic to stop infection. ;-(

Anyway after lunch we made some food balls for the elephants for the pre bathing snack ...rice, mango and lots of other fruit which I can't remember

We chopped this lot up and then fed them the balls that we'd made. They're constantly eating :-D

After their snack, we walked a short way into the river and were given buckets to throw water over them. So much fun, they were like little scuba divers ..rolling around, fully submerging themselves and almost doing what looked like a head stand.

There were a few hairy moments where I was thigh deep water filming and one of the elephants decided to do a mini charge at me ...was I scared? ..maybe?!! It was so much fun though!! Simon has all the photo's of the bathing action, so I'll post a few a bit later on.

I WANT AN ELEPHANT!!

To end the day, we finished bathing, feeding the elephants and whitewater rafted to the main rescue center where we were given a in depth tour if the part, seeing lots more elephants, being told their stories and what was amazing was that not only did it rescue elephants but it there it saved water buffalo, cats and dogs. The lodging for the cats & dogs was incredible ..we both thought it was for staff :-D

I LOVED MY BIRTHDAY PREZZIE ....THANK YOU !!!!!

30th Sept 2018

Zip lining was a little bit of a let down but it was still good fun. Basically the staff did everything for you which was a little frustrating when you're used to doing everything yourself.

We started early in the day and luckily there were only 6 in our group all of which were couples and Chinese. We later understood that they had to be so stringent with rules is that we know from experience that they're not the best at listening, so safety comes first.

We would have had video but we forgot to put the battery in the Go Pro :-D LOL

We had some stunning views and Simon teased me nearly on every zip line or bridge that 'This is the one that has just reopened or has just been fixed' ..He's a rascal. There were a couple of bridges to walk across and then the rest of the course was mild zip lines ..fun but I don't think we'd go back.

That evening Simon found a vegan restaurant to try, bland compared to Thai standards but very enjoyable.

After dinner and a massive downpour, we grab a tuk tuk to take us to the The Cambodian Circus. The show we watched with delight was called 'Same Same but different'

THE CIRCUS ..we had the best seats in the house :-D

The Cambodian Circus ..exciting

Popcorn, Beer & FREE metal water bottle

'Same Same but Different' It tells a story of everyday situations and explored the different habits and ways of living between Cambodians and foreign visitors. A sudden downpour and unexpected outage, a hectic boat trip and a relaxing dinner all provide the backdrops for funny encounters and opposing perspectives But in every situation they find understanding and connect at a human level. The artists share their own unique take on cultural differences, poking good nature fun at themselves and others. They have different shows all inspired by real life experiences of it's creators and performers with themes such a war, discrimination, relationships, poverty and ghosts.

If you go to Siem Reap, this is a MUST SEE!!

Sunday, 30 September 2018

26th September 2018

What a great day! We got up early, showered, dressed and headed out by tuk tuk to the Grasshopper Tour Shop ...I was pretty excited as they're a really good company and I've done tours with them in Bangkok and Phnom Penh. It's such a great way to see the real countryside, cycling through villages, kids shouting out 'HELLO', avoiding dogs, chickens and the odd cow ;-D

We visited Tha Prom, The Elephant Terrace and the Bayon (famous for the Lara Croft movie, Tomb Raider) WOW!!! Breathtaking ..such amazing history andcraftmanship. Just hearing some of the history given by our tour guide, I was blown away. Just the shear size, the manpower and the time they took to build, ...incredible. I love the way the jungle has claimed parts of the temples back.

A must if you ever go to Siam Reap :-D Awesome day. I hope we'll not be too tired for our Zip line trip :-D

Thursday, 27 September 2018

25th Sept 2018

We caught the 11 pm night ferry from Koh Tao and arrived at Chumphon around 5am both a little groggy. We didn't have to wait too long before the mini bus arrived to take us to Chumphon airport for our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The flight was good, only just over an hour long and at the airport we had our very own limousine waiting ...sorry, that should Tuk Tuk which was even better. So much fun and so Cambodian :-D Maybe after a 20 minute ride we arrived at our apartment/hotel where we were glad to unpack, shower and just chill before we ventured out and booked a FULL day cycling, around 3 of the Angkor Temples YIPEEEE!!!

Then what's even more exciting is we're going to see Phare, The Cambodian Circus. Unlike any other circus, it's a non profit association. Profits generated through ticket sales, merchandise, refreshments & private performances help to improve lives of children, young adults and families that have experienced domestic violence, drug abuse ..the list is endless ..giving them access to quality free arts training, education and social support.

Finally at Siem Reap

Our Tuk Tuk awaits

All very excited

Enjoying the ride

Cuthbert chilling as we unpack

First stop of the night PUB STREET

50 cents a beer ...Happy hour!

Veggie place ..what to have?

Cambodian Craft beer sampler set

Tofu Nuggets ...not bad!!

After an eventful 24hrs or so, both quite exhausted, it's off to bed for an early night as we have to be up early and at 'Grasshopper Cycle Tours' by 7am :-D

15th September 2018 - ME ME ME!!!

Hope everyone is well

September has been a very busy month, not only with lots of family & friends Birthdays but we've been dealing with Eco Interns, courses and a week full of Eco activities. It's all in aid of AWARE week, which is a celebration of the ocean. It took place globally from the 15th - 23rd September Aimed at empowering more divers to look after the underwater world. So a week full of conservation activities, pushing conservation specialty courses at reduced prices, creating awareness for vulnerable shark & ray species and empowering local communities to take positive actions for the protection of fragile aquatic environments, tackling pollution by taking positive actions etc
This is what we do anyway everyday but it was good to have other people help out ...check out the schedule which we put together..

A weeks worth of Eco Events

As it was my 50th on the 15th, Simon took me to Koh Samui for a couple of days. There was no way I wanted to do the island wide clean up, contending with bags of rubbish & collecting debris on my BIG birthday LOL

Simon is amazing, he booked a lovely place called the 'Rocking Chair' ..no pun intended LOL

Birthday view from the bedroom-D

All my lovely cards & prezzies

Cuthbert chilling in the pool

I had a thoroughly awesome day. Simon had done an amazing job with all the decorations (Thanks for sending those over Kate & Roger) ...I was taken back by all of my birthday cards and pressies :-D It's not so bad being 50 as lots of people love me :-D

After breakfast by the pool, which Simon had prepared, I mulled through my cards and then decided to be dropped off in Chaweng for a foot massage and seeing it was my birthday, I went wild and got a pedicure and manicure. It was so relaxing and as I was full of cold, it was just what the Dr had ordered. That evening we went out for a couple of drinks, watched a movie at the cinema and then enjoyed a takeaway back at the apartment with a glass of wine or two. I had a lovely day!

Back on the Koh Tao, it was full swing into the AWARE Week, seeing we missed the first couple of days. Courses, movies, quiz night, up-cycling days ..so much going on :-D