We reached Chumphon, a transport hub in Southern Thailand, by 19:00 and had a couple of hours to grab dinner. Rather than hanging around with the busload of tourists who were eating at the Farang restaurant - oblivious that this is a Thai word describing foreigners - we walked a few blocks to an outdoor hawker center. I ordered a dish of warm green noodles with diced chicken and vegetables, along with the usual 650 milliliter  Chang beer for only 70 baht ( $2USD.) I noticed that one of the dishes on the menu, a kind of Japanese-style hot pot, was mistakenly called sukiyaki when in fact it was a nabe dish (most closely resembling shabu shabu nabe.) Kumagai-san would have been proud!

The overnight bus was straight out of hell, and the only way to endure it was to heed General Patton's advice, "When you are going through hell, it is best to keep going." My legs were jammed into the seat in front of me, the bus was bouncing all over the place, and with a chronic sleeping problem to begin with I couldn't get an ounce of rest during the night. Complaints, complaints, complaints, and by 4:00 am we were dropped off at a bus stop in Bangkok, roughly one kilometer from the Khao San road. I left Neil and David waiting next to our bags while I spent 45 minutes checking all the guest houses, youth hostels, and budget hotels for a good deal. Eventually, I found the Wild Orchid Villa, which had a triple room available, complete with air-conditioning (!!!) and an attached bathroom for only $6USD/person. The luxuries of traveling with friends are becoming more and more apparent, and by 6:00 am we had checked in and were making up for a night without sleep.

March 06, 2008

Koh Tao (THAILAND)

More Exhaustion in the Water, but it's All Good While Diving

Today included more of the same (rescuing drowning divers, performing CPR, tending to shark bites, searching for missing divers, etc), only more so: there were times when six or seven people at a time were all screaming and trying to drown me as I did my best to rescue them. No worries though, it was all in good fun and it was a memorable day out on the water - my last chance before leaving the island tomorrow afternoon. All I have left now is to finish the last of the bookwork and take the exam tomorrow morning. Soon, I will be a certified Rescue Diver, and the world can sleep easy.

Shown to the left are (from left to right): a Thai boatmen, Brad (my Canadian course instructor), the Thai boat captain, Liz (my English dive master for my best dives), me, and David Chanin (an American who is studying with me in Tokyo.)

March 05, 2008

Koh Tao (THAILAND)

An Exhausting Day Spent Rescuing Divers in the Water

I spent several hours this morning at the Corner Cafe completing chapters 1-3 before my morning class began. I was still tired from the day before, but with only a few days to complete the long course I didn't want to waste any time. Today's focus would be on skills out on the water, so after two hours of more one-on-one instruction with Brad we caught the 12:20 pm dive boat with the rest of the afternoon's divers.

Accompanying us to help Brad in the training was a guy from California named Steve, and he was basically acting as the test dummy for the afternoon while I saved him from a variety of things that can go wrong underwater, such as dealing with: a panicked diver, someone who runs out of air, an unconscious diver, a non-breathing diver, and so on and so forth. The most important thing was staying calm as Brad and Steve did their best to fluster me - taking my mask off and knocking out my regulator while aggressively attacking me in a panic - so I will be prepared to deal with anything. It really was fantastic training, and even better considering it was a 2 to 1 teacher to student ratio. At the end of the day, I ended up with a variety of bruises and open cuts because much of the surface work involved taking hold of the victim and restraining them, while ensuring they are above the water (and a flailing arm and swinging tank does real damage.)

There really isn't much else to write about as most of the day was spent doing such skills work, but I have no doubt that all of this will prove to be a godsend later in life - both for the diving training and the general life support skills.

Later in the evening I watched the free showing of The Bucket List (featuring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) at Choppers restaurant, and paid Koh Tao's famous pancake man a visit. He is famous on the island for having some of the quickest cooking skills, but unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries midway through his routine. Video below...

At 2:30 am my internal alarm kicked into gear and I pulled myself together so I could head downtown to watch the Arsenal vs. Milan Champions league tie.

March 05, 2008

Koh Tao (THAILAND)

My Take on the Presidential Race in the United States

As far as my take on the political race, below is my opinion of each of the candidates, presented in a pros and cons manner. In all truth, I wouldn't be disappointed should any of them win as they each bring something different to the table and are talented...

John McCain may be seen as somewhat of a 'war hawk,' but he has a responsible record in the Senate, and enough military experience to avoid entangling conflicts - having been a prisoner of war, he puts dead the idea that politicians are detached from the nasty realities of war. He is also widely touted as being a candidate who can cross party lines to get things done, which is evidenced by the many Democratic candidates who support his campaign (Lieberman), as well as the many Senate initiatives for which he has successfully managed to build a coalition. Lastly, McCain is widely regarded as an honorable man, which is rare in American politics, and he is not afraid to tackle controversial issues (immigration), even though they are political landmines that are avoided by everyone else.

My biggest fears with McCain are that he carries a certain 'conservative American resoluteness' that may not help the United States' international image (being a leader is never easy), he knows very little about economic policy (but then neither did Reagan), and many people will write him off as being "another George Bush" simply because he is a Republican (obviously unfair, and couldn't be further from the truth.)

Barack Obama has done an amazing job in going from an unknown entity to a household rallying call across the nation. He has certainly excited the population more than any other candidate, and after the bitter tenure of George Bush this is no bad thing for politics in America. Further, with a Muslim father from Africa, a stint with hard-core drugs in his 20s, several years spent living in Indonesia, and a string of successes later in life - Harvard Law School (and editor of the Harvard Law Review, I believe) - he brings "something different" to the table. He will probably do the most good for the United States' international image, and there have been no shortage of foreigners who are enamored by him. Lastly, he has a plethora of intelligent, talented supporters with fresh ideas, and this could greatly substantiate his claims for "change you can believe in:" he will push for the kind of "system fixes" students and intellectuals alike are always calling for from the outside.

My concerns with Mr. Obama should be fairly obvious from the above paragraph: he is certainly inundated with potential, but there is not much else to back up his powerful rhetoric. A three year term in Congress isn't enough time to accomplish the kinds of things Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain have, but whether that is Mr. Obama's fault or not is up for debate. Certainly, he talks the talk, but I wonder whether he can walk the walk. He is capable of saying the right things to a populace desperate for someone to believe in, but I wonder if he can do the same in the tricky realm of real politics where most seasoned politicians have seen it all before. In simple terms he is lacking: a record demonstrating he can build coalitions, any kind of foreign policy experiences (arguably at a time when we need it the most), and a large focus on domestic social programs (I favor less government.) At the end of the day, I don't want a silky salesman running the world, I want a hardened leader willing to tackle the tough fights, and win them. Right now, there is no way of knowing what he is capable of, but then again even someone with a great record could become a flop.

Hillary Clinton once made me cringe with absolute detest, and looking back, that is no bad thing. My reasons for disliking her were that she seemed like a bulldog purely interested in getting her own way, and I wanted nothing to do with her. However, such is life in politics when you tackle the kind of difficult issues she has - you can't please everybody, and you cannot let obstacles stop you. Much like McCain, she does have a rarely spoken of track record for crossing party lines in building coalitions, so she should be able to build the kind of support to do something as president. Further, she knows the ins-and-outs of politics better than anyone, so she will hit the ground running with an agenda for what she hopes to accomplish. Lastly, she has a great political network that will probably result in the strongest "team" among the three candidates.

My fears with Mrs. Clinton are that she is too divisive, too liberal, and too interested in seeing that her policies are what actually go through. Without question, there is no other candidate so many conservatives love to hate: while I now understand Mrs. Clinton's need to be the way she is (she has some serious political scars from prior initiatives that were shot down because of politics as usual), parts of the population will probably never get behind her. Also, much like Mr. Obama, I do not support many of the social programs so typical of the Democratic Party, so I am afraid of bigger government and greater taxes on the country's earners.

March 04, 2008

Koh Tao (THAILAND)

My Greatest Dive Ever (Chumphon), Hanging Around, and Becoming a Rescue Diver

The alarm on my Japanese mobile phone, which despite its impressive features only works on the Japanese network, went off at 5:40 am this morning, reminding me that I was scheduled for a morning dive at the Chumphon Pinnacle. I gritted my teeth in the cold shower, getting as good a wake-up call as any in the process, and shortly afterward threw on the only bathing suit I can actually wear in the ocean - a flowery board shorts variety - as my other one is all white (obviously not a well-thought out purchase.) Then, I carefully rode my motorbike down the dirt path from the mountain, a scary process as the tires easily skid on the top layer of dirt, and continued onward to the New Way dive shop in Sairee Village. There were a dozen other divers going out for the morning, but all of us were still in need of coffee so there wasn't much chatting going on until we reached the boat.

Liz would be my underwater guide for the day, and I once more lucked out as the only advanced fun diver on the boat. She offered to let me take over the dive as I have become a very strong diver, a prospect I was thrilled at because it would enable me to spend more time with the sharks at the ocean floor. Also, as a sort of pat on my own back, I am now down to only 1 kg of weights, which is something most of the dive masters have not yet been able to achieve.

At 07:33 am we jumped from the boat and were the first two in the water. We slowly descended to the ocean floor, something that has become a greater challenge now that I am so neutrally buoyant - I don't even inflate my BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) - and within one minute of starting the dive we were at 31.5 meters with four sharks swimming around us. I don't just mean I could see four sharks, I mean four sharks were actually within a 5-7 meter ring swimming around us! It was the greatest of highs as there were moments when the sharks would swim toward us, breaking off only when continuing would result in a collision. We probably spent longer than we should have at the ocean floor (I wonder how "narced out" I was from the nitrogen), but we ended up counting 11 sharks in all while down there.

As we continued the dive, I took the responsibility of leading, which was somewhat scary because it was up to me to ensure we never strayed too far from the reef - a shark is more likely to attack in open water than near a reef where it can injure itself. However, there is one part of the dive sight where we must swim 30 meters through open water to reach Barracuda Rock, and as this is one of my favorite parts of the dive sight off we went with sharks still visible. We spotted a variety of fish around the rock, including a school massive Great Barracuda, and that is when the real fun started! Both Liz and I watched on in amazement as the schools began distorting in a variety of directions (fish form schools so that predators cannot target individual fish), and it didn't take long to figure out what was after the Great Barracuda: the sharks!

We saw two sharks crashing through the schools as everything in front of us exploded with movement, and within seconds of the frenzy starting a two meter gray reef shark swam past us with a massive Great Barracuda hanging from its mouth. Liz and I stared at each other in amazement at what we just saw - yesterday afternoon we researched online how sharks hunt, attacking upward and always at triangular angles - and here we were seeing it all unfold right before our eyes. It was the ultimate diving experience, and something that I may never get to see again from so close.

It was tough to top the shark sightings, so the rest of the dive was spent coming down from the massive adrenaline rush. However, we did spot a massive grouper that was well over one meter in length, a masked porcupine fish that allowed us to swim right up and study it while it fed, and juvenile batfish with fins that are longer than normal. When we finally completed our 46 minute dive we reached the surface stilling bubbling with excitement over everything we saw, and despite Liz's experience in the waters off Koh Tao (she has been diving here on a daily basis for a couple of years), this was also the best dive she has ever been on.

Making matters even better, everyone on the boat was amazed that I came up with 80 bar left in my tank (we all start with 200 bar) because we were so deep for so long, and the deeper you go the quicker you use up the oxygen. This may sound like glorified gloating, but I don't really care because I have worked hard to control my air consumption, and that I have become so accomplished at it means the best divers will take me down because I won't restrict their bottom time.

At the next dive sight, White Rock, Liz and I spent 15 minutes of the dive watching a 15 centimeter Spanish Dancer (picture shown to the right, found on the internet) because it is such a rare find - especially one so large. It moves gracefully through the water, with the body's motion resembling the flowing ruffles on a dancers skirt, and now knowing that I will probably never see another one makes me wish I spent even longer watching it.

After this dive, which was an easy one where we only went down to 20 meters, I sat on the top deck of the dive boat discussing my travel plans with David and Neil. Yesterday, I bought us all a ferry and bus ticket off the island for 2:00 pm, but I felt like there was no way I could leave the island I have grown so found of, especially when the experiences were so amazing this morning. Fortunately, David and Neil agreed that they were willing to hang around somewhat longer, and I decided to take advantage of the extra time to take the next step in my diving: becoming a certified PADI Rescue Diver. It is a three to four day course that is the final step before becoming a full-fledged professional diver, and it is something I value because it teaches me how to deal with everything that can go wrong underwater. This morning really had me wondering what I would do if one of the sharks had attacked Liz because, with no one else around that deep, it would have been up to me to save her life.

I began the course in the afternoon, spending six hours watching video, listening to my instructor Brad (from London, Canada), and practicing all the skills for primary and secondary care: administering CPR, giving lifeline support, bandaging, making splints, dealing with shock, and so on and so forth. The things I learned today had very little to do with diving, and will serve me well in the future should there be some kind of medical emergency I must deal with (ie strokes, dealing with someone who has passed out from drinking too much, etc.)

By the time I finished my course it was 6:00 pm, and I was shattered from the long day. I sat along the waterfront nursing a beer and eating tom yom soup with shrimp (a spicy Thai soup), admiring the beauty unfolding before my eyes. Looking out, it was more than obvious that staying on the island was the right decision.

March 03, 2008

Koh Tao (THAILAND)

Keeping Up with the "Real World", and Swimming with a Hawksbill Sea Turtle

There were no morning dives going out this morning, so I was free to enjoy a lengthy breakfast down at Mae Head, where Cafe del Sol offers free wi-fi internet (thanks to a friendly French owner.) I am at the point where news no longer feels relevant to my life, but knowing I won't stay on the island forever forces me to keep up-to-date.

Of particular interest were the upcoming primaries in Texas and Iowa, states in which Hillary Clinton really needs to score victories to quell Barack Obama's runaway success. It is mind-boggling the amount of money the candidates are raising for their campaigns: an estimated $36 million for Mrs. Clinton and an unheard of $55 million for Mr. Obama. Those are ridiculous figures for a single month, and the scary part is they are not one-offs: with seven or eight weeks until the Pennsylvania primary, another "big one" with roughly 150 delegates, there will be even more money coming in. When such exorbitant sums of money are being thrown around, supposedly in the midst of a financial crisis, it really makes one wonder how many favors will be called in at the end of this popularity contest. (In fairness, much of the money is being raised online, which probably alleviates many fears of interest groups calling in favors later.)

The following is a very interesting excerpt from a Wall Street Journal editorial, detailing why Mrs. Clinton, a Democrat with a proven track-record for going across party lines and tackling difficult issues (and the battle scars to prove it), is struggling against a candidate with only three years of Senate experience, and no proven record of actually being an impetus of change outside campaign rhetoric...

By now, the Democratic Party's ideas are largely generic. Everyone noticed that the Democratic presidential candidates were largely singing from the same script. Health care, public schools, green energy, the eternal shafting of the middle class, the unions, protecting Social Security and Medicare. This common script means that the Democratic primaries are largely an audition. The candidates are reading for a role. The lines are known.

The part, however, is challenging. The Democratic platform may be familiar, but it is also infused with the quality of a dream. Actually, the word "dream" gets used a lot in Democratic rhetoric. What are essentially bureaucratic arrangements, such as health insurance or after-school programs, are promised as "universal." Meanwhile, "the middle class" is being offered a version of never-never land -- total public protection from the traps and betrayals of the private sector, which has been reduced to a kind of Grimm's Fairy Tale abstraction, the wolves.

If you are selling a dream you need the best possible salesman to make it seem somehow possible. They found him in Barack Obama.

Wonderland: Hillary's Close-up (Daniel Henninger)

The Republics found themselves in a far different position with candidates covering a broad spectrum of policy issues and grossly different forms of conservatism. Of course, McCain will clinch in a couple of days so that race will likely quiet down substantially while Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton continue battling for the foreseeable future.

Enough about politics, I will post a more complete candidate run-down tomorrow.

I caught the 12:20 boat for an afternoon dive with a friendly dive master named Liz (Manchester, England.) The first dive sight was called Twins, which isn't at the top of my list of favorite dive sights. However, I did spot four white-eyed moray eels (including one that was hunting in the coral), a multitude of crown of thorns (which I debated flipping over, thereby killing them, as they eat coral and destroy reefs), and both six-ringed and blue-ringed angelfish.

The second dive sight, White Rock, proved far more rewarding, and it reaffirmed its position as my second favorite dive sight - only Chumphon, where there are regular shark sightings, can ever claim first. We spotted three blue-spotted sting rays (all of which were sleeping under rocks or in caves), chevron fish, gobi fish working with shrimp, a masked porcupinefish, bannerfish, and the ultimate sighting of the day: an adult Hawk-Billed Turtle.

I wish I had video from the dive because salt-water turtles are one of the most amazing sights to behold in the water. Unlike their fresh-water and land-turtle counterparts, saltwater turtles can move quickly and they are great hunters with powerful jaws. Liz spotted this particular one as it was swimming up to the surface for oxygen, and we positioned ourselves below it so that when it swam down it was in line with us. After 30 seconds of following it from a few meters away, I slowly swam in for a closer look and was within half a meter (1-2 feet) of this one and a half meter animal. At one point, the turtle turned and swam around me, eyeing me the entire time as it passed directly in front of my fins (which I tried to stick between us in case it decided to bite.) It was a great rush, and experiences like this are why so many people are enamored with diving.

The dive boat got back to Koh Tao at around 5:00 pm, so after unloading all the gear and completing my dive reports, I went out for beer and pizza with Neil and David at a nearby Italian restaurant called Farango. There was an actual wood-fired oven in the kitchen, and at only 160 baht/pizza (about $5USD) I was in heaven. Neil and David will complete their PADI Open-Water dive course tomorrow, so tonight was a kind of mini-celebration with plenty of Chang beer going around. This was also the first time Neil has finished an entire meal by himself, so I decided to include a photo of him celebrating his accomplishment (he has lost 15 kilograms since arriving in Japan, and now weighs under 50 kilograms!)

Life really is too easy in Koh Tao, but with another morning dive to Chumphon tomorrow morning there was no late night partying for me.