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Kirk


24 Blog Entries
1 Trip
121 Photos

Trips:

Kirk's South East Asia Adventure

Shorthand link:

http://www.blogabond.com/Kirk


Hi everyone. My name is Kirk. I'm starting this blog to have somewhat of a living journal as I do a 3 1/2 month trip around southeast Asia.

I decided to do this trip as a reward for myself changing my life around. I'm a recovered alcohol and drug addict. In the course of my addiction it took me to dark places, and I was completely oblivious how lost I was until I was arrested traveling in a car filled with drugs. I hadn't been conscious when the car was pulled over in Yuma Arizona and was the only passenger who still had drugs on them. I was charged with everything they found in the car. It was by far one of the scariest moments in my life.

As I laid in jail I thought I had screwed up my life. That the years I struggled to get my bachelor's degree working full time and going to school were all for nothing. I decided I needed to kill myself, but God had other plans. Now I'm not trying to shove any religious ideas down anyone's throats. This is just my story and how I believe things happened for me.

While in my cell I found a christian book called Gaining Through Losing. It talked about how some of the greatest rewards in our life come from what seems like some of the hardest times. As I read that book I started feeling what I can only account to as God. I started feeling like there was still a purpose for my life and so I started praying.

There are many amazing things that happened in the course to get me to where I am, but this site only allows me to type so much in my bio. Ultimately I received an amazing deal, completed my probation early and got my charge reduced to a misdemeanor, which I'm currently working on getting the equivalent of expunged. I've remained sober the entire time and am amazed at how truly beautiful life can be.

This is meant to serve as a living journal. I appreciate you reading and being a part of my journey with me.



Gentle Giants

Oslob, Philippines


Alright so I stayed true to my word. I stayed up last night and showered around 1:30 in the morning and was headed to the bus terminal in Cebu at 2:15 to catch a 3 am bus to Oslob to swim with the whale sharks. On the bus ride over I thought I would sleep, but I was just too excited.

Oh and get this. If you remember the last post I told you that the hostel I'm staying at has some guests that were really loud at night. Well of course last night they weren't there. Would've been a perfect night to sleep at the hostel. lol.

Any who. I read my nook, and we when I made it to Oslob as the sun was starting to rise on the Ocean. I could see the red splash of it's tip reflecting off the water.

The bus actually dropped me off about 9 km short of where I needed to be so I hired a guy to drive me on his moped and enjoyed a cup of

coffee at the whale watching resort before the snorkeling at 6am.

The weather was nice and the day was beautiful. The process was really quick they boated me in a catamaran down the beach where I paid my fees and got briefed on how to act while in the water with the whale

sharks. Then my drivers paddled me out about half a football field length off shore where another catamaran captain was throwing shrimp pieces in the water for the whale sharks. As we passed over one I could see it was huge.

I know they're harmless, but there is still something about a huge fish in

the water that made me hesitant, but I pulled off my shirt and got in. Once in I was amazed at how beautiful they were, and really cute kind of.

They're faces reminded me of something I would see as a Japanese anime character. It was amazing to be in the water with them for

30 minutes. I'd be watching one and then another one would swim right under me or on the side of me. It was such an unbelievable experience I wish I could share it with everyone. To see these huge gentle creatures so close just struck me such a realization that I was having a once in a lifetime moment.

I have tons of pictures on the following Facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4292793434693.176743.1132242665&type=1&l=352f3a873e

After completing my mission I jumped back on a bus to Cebu. Still my nerves kept me awake not being able to shake the amazing morning I had just had. I probably slept maybe an hour on the bus ride back, and then I came straight to the hostel and passed out.

I have no idea if I'll ever experience something like that again, but I'm so grateful to have been able to have had this moment in my life.

That was really the big highlight of my day. Stayed tuned for more of my adventures.

permalink written by  Kirk on September 20, 2012 from Oslob, Philippines
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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Slowing Down

Cebu City, Philippines


This blog entry will be a short one. I don't have tons to report. I've been in Cebu for a couple of days now. I found a cheap hostel that is relatively clean and near one of the malls to stay in. The hostel is fine, except that theirs been a group of people the last couple nights that come in and are really loud for quite a while.

The way it is set up is that on each floor there's a lobby you first step into which has TV's, computers, etc. This is where people are supposed to hang out, and then they have all the rooms in the back with signs posted to be silent when in the room areas. That doesn't happen, but oh well it's cheap so my wallets happy, and the bathrooms aren't completely disgusting so that's even better.

For the last couple days I've been planning to take a bus trip to Oslob at 3am so that I can get there at 6 and go snorkeling with these whale sharks. The last couple nights the alarm has went off and I've shut it off without thinking about it. Tonight no trying to sleep early. I'm just waiting up, going to shower around 1:30, then take a taxi to the bus stop and jump on a bus. Come hell or high water I'm snorkeling with those beasts. So I should have some fun pics to put up tomorrow.

I haven't really moved on from Cebu to other places, because I've been comfortable, and they have 12 step meetings here, which I've been lacking in most of the places I get to. I find if I don't got to meetings enough I start getting too focused on my own shit, and then I miss the important stuff. So I've been enjoying the slow pace.

I've been doing some free lance work I was lucky enough to get, drinking coffee, going to meetings, and watching movies. It's been nice.

I should also inform you all of some other developments. As you all know the start to this trip was very rocky. It's been a struggle being able to get cash, which has left me in some moments crying, and worrying weather I would be able to eat or have a place to stay, it's not a really credit card friendly place.

Also while having some amazing experiences I've had some moments of real homesickness and loneliness at times too. After praying and thinking about things a lot I decided I wanted to be back in Hawaii for Thanksgiving. I decided to check with my travel agent to see how much it would cost to change my return flight from December to November. I've also been a little worried about keeping the budget I set out for myself.

When calling my agent they advised me to check with the airline directly, because it would be cheaper. I tried calling 2 times, and had bad reception. I then started to wonder if that was God telling me not change my flight. So I called one last time, and told myself if the reception was bad and I couldn't get through or the cost was too much then that would be my sign not to, but the call went through crystal clear, and I found out it was free to change my flight the first time.

So as of now I will be going back to Hawaii November 19. I feel good about it. I'm still going to accomplish everything I wanted to on this trip. I'm still going to Bali in November, and seeing the Naga Fireballs festival in October in Thailand. I also will be able to have a little bit of a nicer budget, because I have a little bit of a buffer now. It's something I feel good about and am at peace with.

This trip is by far amazing, and a huge growing experience for me. I continue to find truths about myself, and strengths I didn't know I had. I believe through this I've been able to be at a place where I could really slow down, think about, and process how I handle life, and evaluate areas I want to be different, and find ways to strive for that difference. It's so easy to rush through life without giving thought to the negatives and positives of our personalities. It's been really eye opening to be able to take this time to learn about me.

permalink written by  Kirk on September 19, 2012 from Cebu City, Philippines
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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Friendly Encounters

Cebu City, Philippines


So when last we left off I was in Puerto Princesa on the island of Palawan in the Philippines.

On my last couple days there I took care of extending my visa, because I'm here a about 5 days over the 21 days they give you when you fly in. I then booked a trip to the Underground River. Which was a blast, but also required patience.

The trip was 2 hours of diving to get to the first stop of the tour. There we ate a wonderful buffet lunch while we waited for our boat to be ready which would take us to the area we would take a boat tour of the underground river. They only allow 700 people in a day, and I believe it's supposed

to be allotted time slots, but with coordinating boat ferries to the location and then boat trips through the river once you are there you end up with having to learn to be patient and appreciate the beauty around you.

Luckily I made some friends with a family on my trip. Their kindness

really made the trip. They were so friendly and spilled with positivity. In fact I was amazed they told me this story that last month, August their house in Manilla was in a flash flood, and they were having to live on the 2nd floor of their house for over a week eating only what they had. It ruined their downstairs and they lost their car. Were they angry or bitter, absolutely not. They are building a new house in an area not in a flood zone, and they seemed to live in happiness and acceptance about the situation. It gives me something to strive for. I want to be able to still bring positive energy to this world and accept the stuff I can't control. We're now facebook friends so you know that it's officially a real friendship
now :D, but really if they hadn't been there the trip would still have been neat, but not nearly as fulfilling as it ended up being.

I was also told that Filipinos love the mall, and when we got back to Puerto Princesa city from the trip I found out why. I went there and watched a movie, and it was heavenly. When you're in a developing area especially in the tropics it's like having a little bit of luxury to go to a nice, clean, air conditioned place and just relax. I went to a movie. The only American one that was playing was Resident Evil: Retribution. There was terrible acting, but whatever it was nice to have popcorn, drink a soda, and watch a movie. And the movie was cheap. It was in 3D and cost about $5.

I then flew out to Cebu. Once landing in Cebu I used the jeepneys to get to get to a bed and breakfast I had found online. I was actually pretty proud of myself for figuring the jeepneys out. You basically jump on these trucks with benches in the back and pack yourself in until you reach different stops. I had to take 2 to get to SM City, a big mall in Cebu, which was a block away from my hostel.

It was nice having the mall near by, because most of the stores take credit cards, which was great, because I still don't have an ATM card, but I did receive my pin to my credit card so I can now pull out cash. It's more expensive, but at least I have options now.

Today I went to the mall and got Siopao, a steamed bun with sweet meat inside, for breakfast and then tried going to church. It was a Tagalog mass when I went. I still stayed for a little and then

walked down to this area that was home to Fort San Pedro which is a military defense structure that was built by the Spanish during there occupation in the Philippines. it now has beautiful courtyards overflowing with flowers and trees.

While there I met a South Korean guy named James whose in Cebu studying English at an international school. He was so friendly and nice and had an infectious laugh. We went around to see Magellan's Cross, Balisca Minore Del Santo Nino (one of the holiest of churches built in 1565, burned down 3 times and then rebuilt in 1737), and then we

managed our way on jeepneys to go to see a Toaist temple located in a swanky rich neighborhood of Cebu. After running around seeing sights all day James and I made it back to SM City mall and had dinner. He has to do school work all this week, but next weekend we'll probably meet up and hang out again.

I feel so blessed to have met so many amazing people on this trip. I've definitely had a rough start, but have no reason to complain about anything. Ultimately I'm blessed to be able to be on this trip, and blessed to be able to learn whatever lessons come my way.

If anyone wants to view my pictures from Palawan here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4255828510593.175723.1132242665&type=1&l=f701f97ef5

And from Cebu so far:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4276770314125.176269.1132242665&type=1&l=502a4e3ba8

permalink written by  Kirk on September 16, 2012 from Cebu City, Philippines
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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Rainy Days

El Nido, Philippines


Ok So it's been a couple of days since I last posted. that's because I just got back to Puerto Princesa on the island of Palawan from El Nido. I met up with my friends Angela and Samantha in Puerto Princesa and we took a 6 1/2 hour bus ride to the small coast town of El Nido.

After traveling all day to El Nido we arrived at night time when it was dark. So we really couldn't see much of the place. We took a tricylce, which are riding carts attached to motorcycles in to town and proceeded to try to find a place to stay. The tricycle rider seemed like he was helping us out going into various hotels with us and speaking in Tagalog for us inquiring about rooms. It wasn't until a little later that we realized that he was speaking to them so that they would charge us more and he would get a cut. We only discovered this after Angela went into a place Samantha, the tricycle driver, and I had just gone in and the price she was quoted for a room for us to share was 900 pesos, about $25, as opposed to 1300, about $33, we were quoted when with the driver.

We took the 900 pesos room, and were happy to have that taken care of. Our room was right on the beach and was beautiful. When we walked into the room though Sam in a flurry of fast movement slammed her foot down to kill one of the biggest cockroaches I've seen yet. These are pretty common in tropical places. It still scared the crap out of me. Sam assured us that they traveled alone, were lone creatures, there wasn't any more, many other lies to ease Angela and my fears. Sam then went to pick up the body only to find it was still alive and she squashed it again. We all screamed.

We were right on the beach but couldn't see what any of the scenery looked like, because it was so dark. El Nido is a town of maybe 4,000 people, so it's very tiny, not tons of lights. It also has brown outs every day where the electricity is off from 6am-2pm, and the internet isn't great hence the late blog post.

We ventured out that night and went to a beach bar right near by and ended up making friends with the live band singers, and a guy from the UK who was days away from opening a dive shop there in El Nido. We followed these guys to one of the oldest bars in the city and enjoyed the company and live music.

For being such a small town it's crazy how much live music they have. it was awesome. I think there's a huge percentage of the population that performs music.

After calling it a night, at 3AM (have no idea how time got away from us), we went back to the room to find another huge 'friend' waiting for us and for Samantha to squash again. That quite dispelled the lies of them being lone creatures lol. Every time I went to the bathroom that first night I was scared I was going to run into another one.

The room we stayed in didn't let much light in so we didn't know what time it was, and ended up getting up around 9:30 am and were amazed

at the scenery from are hotel. The view of the bay we were in was breath taking.

Now it's the rainy season right now while I'm traveling which in most places means it rains for maybe 90 minutes a day and then it's clear and sunny. Not so in El Nido. The clouds of rain roll in unpredictably any time of day, but the fog rolling over some of the limestone cliffs was something to behold.

That first day we went to breakfast and then ended up going to a beach near by where there was a resort called Las Cabanas. The beach it was in was beautiful

and had clear waters you could swim, and if we had brought gear, snorkel and see the beauty of the depths beneath. At one point we got caught in a rainstorm so we went into one of the restaurants of the near by resorts and spoke for a while with other people waiting out the rain and the hotel manager.

The day was nice and ended with us again going to a beach bar then turning in early for the night.

The second day we woke up early and walked around bargaining to get the best price we could for an island hopping tour. There are so many breath taking islands off the coast there that it is one thing you have to do when you are in El Nido. We ended up getting the tour we wanted for 900 pesos, about $21, and it included are snorkel gear and lunch. We had to bargain in the snorkel gear to get included, but it's easier to do right now while there isn't much tourists.

As we went out to the first island we went through quite a heavy

rainfall, but fortune smiled on us and for most of the trip the sun made it's appearances and we were able to enjoy the beautiful islands, limestone cliffs, and the
crystal clear waters.

At night we went out again and made friends with a group of local dive instructors. The people in Philippines, and especially El Nido have been some of the most friendliest, fun people I've met all trip. No one seems to have a guard up or large egos. They're just nice, fun loving people.

It's a good thing we went island hopping the day we did, because the next day, our last, ended up raining all day long. We went to try to go swimming at Las Cabanas beach and ended up being stuck in the same restaurant reading all day long.

Even with the rain the trip was amazing. Also one good thing, in El Nido they had a gas station that let me do a cash advance charging my credit card so I was able to access some cash, which you all know has been an issue on this trip. Hopefully I will resolve that soon.

The trip was amazing, and the company was wonderful. Right now I'm in Puerto Princesa for a few more days. I'm going to go to take a tour of an underground river here tomorrow, which is one of the new 7 wonders of the world, so that should be exciting. Things in my travels are good right now, because I have some cash to work with. I'm still trying to figure out ways to access my checking account until I get my ATM card but baby steps. Sorry for such a long time in between posts. I will be better while I have access to internet. Hope all is well with everyone.

permalink written by  Kirk on September 12, 2012 from El Nido, Philippines
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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Bi-Polar

Puerto Princesa, Philippines


Ok I titled my blog bi-polar, because that's how I've been feeling lately. This trip has been amazing and difficult.

So if you've been following you know that I lost my ATM card while traveling here. So the only funds I've had have been my credit card and the cash I had on me. I'm currently waiting for my new card to arrive at my sisters so she can forward it to me, and I was told by my bank that I could try using Western Union to get myself money.

So while I tried starting a Western Union transfer from my bank account. It asks you to verify your bank account either by doing it as a bill pay, where you set up a bill to be paid as Western Union and pay that amount, or it will charge my account and once the charge has been processed then I can see a number from the charge on my account online and then go back to Western Union put that in and my account would be verified.

Well first I tried the billy pay way and their system would cancel the transaction every time, not allowing me to set up the bill pay. Then I tried doing the account charge method, well it cancelled this charge too before I was able to verify it. I called Western Union and found out that since I'm doing the transaction from a computer in Asia that the system automatically denies the transaction, and they don't have an override option to allow me to verify my account. The only option they have they said is that I can take cash to one of their vendors and pay to transfer the money, completely useless, because if I had cash their wouldn't be a problem.

I was finding all this out as I had about 800 baht to my name, about $26; and I was about to fly to the Philippines. Very stressful. Luckily my mother sent me some money Western Union, and my sister logged onto the Western Union site as me and sent a transaction so hopefully I'll be able to verify my account now. For me this lesson was that I can't do it alone. I still had to wait though for my mothers money until I got to the Philippines, and I had to travel from Bangkok to Clark airport, stay the night there and then travel to Puerto Princesa the next day.

It's difficult down here to use a credit card. Many places are strictly cash. So I didn't really eat anything to start the day of traveling, because I didn't know how much a cab from the airport would be to my hotel in Clark. The hotel I had already paid for. When I got to BKK airport and tried to check in for my flight I found out I had to show a return trip ticket which I didn't have printed out, and they said I had to go to the internet cafe and pay to print one out.

I went up to the internet cafe and their credit card machine wasn't working. They told me I had to find an internet phone machine downstairs and e-mail them the file to be printed and then come up and get the paper printed. Oh and finding the internet cafe from where I was in the airport was a struggle all by itself. I found the internet phone sent the e-mail to find I had written the e-mail down wrong. I went back down to the internet phone and sent it again. Printed it out, and then went and checked in and went through customs.

When I got to Clark, initially the first cab driver told me it would be 500 pesos to go to the hotel. When I converted all the cash I had then I had only 1000 pesos. I told him no and found another guy to do it for 300. This is actually expensive for how far he took me.

The hotel I was staying is was not very nice. I feel bad saying that, because I met the owner the next day and she is very sweet, and from what I gather she bought the hotel and is trying to slowly make it better. Angeles City, where Clark airport is located, is also kind of a hole with a lot of prostitution places, and no cheap rooms anywhere. It was just depressing, and the wifi was out so I couldn't get the information I would need to take to Western Union to get my money from the e-mail my mom was sending, so I still had that stress going on in my mind.

I should say I did eat in the airport because I found a place that took a credit card.

The next morning, today, I woke up and didn't eat again, because I still wasn't positive when I would have cash next and didn't know how much it would cost to get to my hostel from the airport in Puerto Princesa. The owner of the hotel, Jocelyn, drove me to the airport for 240 pesos. She was very nice, and told me if I came back she would give me a special price on the room. I would almost want to just because she's so sweet, but I definitely didn't feel comfortable sleeping there.

Now when I got to the airport this morning, my bag was 5 kg over the free weight limit. I thought I had bought extra weight when I purchased the ticket, but I guess not, and again having to use the credit card was a huge ordeal. I had to follow this girl to the other side of the airport where another girl tried to run the card and was having problems with their machine, had to call multiple people, and finally got it to work, again I should mention both the girls were very nice. So then having that paid I found out the airport itself then makes you pay 150 pesos has to be in cash. I thought this was BS, because my ticket already had airport fees charged on it, but they said I couldn't fly if I didn't pay it.

I would love to say I was handling all this stress well, but I wasn't. I wanted to cry.

While getting on the plane I ended up talking to a really nice Filipino couple who just so happened to be from San Diego, and where gong to Puerto Princesa for 3 days before they flew back home. Also when getting to Puerto Princesa I got a tricycle cab, actually it's a motorcycle with a riding cab attached for 50 pesos to my hostel. The cab drivers name was Laurence and he was very friendly, and then when I got to my hostel the people here were all very friendly as well.

One thing I can say is that the Philippines has some of the friendliest people I've met yet on my trip.

Once getting to my place I connected to the internet and was able to get the information I needed from my mom and go to Western Union. Hooray!! I celebrated by eating.

It's difficult because some moments of this trip have been so amazing, and some have been so stressful. In in some parts of this stress the last 2 days I've felt a little bit like that story where a man was praying to God and asked for sign God was listening and God made the wind blow, and he asked again and God sent a butterfly, and so on and so on; and at the end of his life he asks God why God wasn't listening and God said I was I sent you the wind and I sent you the butterfly (there's other similar tales). I felt a little like that man in some points because I was so stressed out about my situation, and then I would meet some really friendly, really kind people, and I would have to think OK someone does see me, but it was so easy to not notice that and be caught up in my own stresses. I also talked to my mom and she reminded me of a time I went through were just so many bad things were happening and while it was going on I told her "Well God must have something really great planned for me if all this bad is happening." I remember that time and a lot of amazing things did happen after that hard ordeal too.

I know that this to shall past. It's difficult to go through the hard times, but I guess I won't actually grow with an easy road. I have to have faith that I'll be alright and that the lessons I learn will prepare me for whatever else is needed for me in this life. Tonight I'm OK. I have a roof over my head, I have some cash in my pocket, and some food in my belly.

I appreciate all the prayers and good energy you all send me. Thank you again for reading. I promise I'll have more optimistic posts to come :D

permalink written by  Kirk on September 6, 2012 from Puerto Princesa, Philippines
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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Beginning Transitions

Ko Samui, Thailand



Hi everyone. I hope all is well. Currently I'm sitting at a coffee shop in Ko Samui writing this blog post. Yesterday I took a ferry here from Ko Tao, because I have to take a ferry from here tomorrow to Surat Thani and then the airport there where I will fly to Bangkok. After staying in Bangkok for a night I will travel to Angeles City in the Philippines for a night and then on to Puerta Princesa where I will be for about a week and a half.

In Ko Tao I got certified scuba diving, and made some friends from Australia that I hung out with the whole time. I couldn't have asked for a better time in Ko Tao. The new friends and amazing dives well forever be vivid in my memories. After completing the scuba course I decided to come to Ko Samui to spend 2 days here, because initially I wanted to go out. Ko Tao is fun, but Ko Samui is the island that has a little bit more as far as night clubs.

I spent the day with day with the Aussies hiking to a cool rock out crop on the ocean

and then
we went out for our last night together and I had a chicken bbq skewer, which did taste amazing. Unfortunately for me I woke up that night really sick. It figures I eat tons of street food, and don't have a problem with sickness, but the one time I spend a little more for a nice dinner and I get sick. I had already bought my ferry ticket so I had to go to Ko Samui. The trip over was a little miserable because I still felt weak, and couldn't really hold down anything.

Being sick from the food poisoning made me homesick as well. All I wanted was to be in bed and near family. When I got to Ko Samui I took a songthew, which is just a pickup truck that has benches in the bed to Chaweng Beach. Chaweng Beach is the beach with all the night life. I figured if I felt better I could still try to go out. That didn't happen though, I just felt like babying myself so I got a room with air conditioning, and hot water, took a long shower and watched movies in the cold. It was great. I felt silly for even going all the way to Chaweng Beach with not going out, because this morning I had to take a songthew back to Nathon Pier, where I originally was at, and get a room here. My ferry tomorrow takes off at 8 am so being on the other side of the island wasn't acceptable.

Oh well I still enjoyed my hot shower and air conditioning. I'm spending the day mainly relaxing. I got my room here and have been using the internet to figure out how to send myself money via Western Union because I lost my ATM card in the beginning of my travels and then I booked my hostel for tomorrow night in Bangkok. I have a couple days ahead of me of traveling so I'm going to spend some time reading and walking around in whatever city I'm in.

One thought that I thought was interesting was that I was thinking about how I'm beginning to feel more comfortable with nomad status right now. I thought about home sickness and then thought about what home was defined for me. Is a space that holds all your possessions? Is it because you bought a couch, or a car, or a house, that it becomes a home? I don't believe the material defines home for you. If you can feel at home in yourself and in your heart then you can be at peace where ever you are.

I don't have much more to report but keep reading and I'll keep updating.

permalink written by  Kirk on September 3, 2012 from Ko Samui, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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Heating Up and Winding Down

Ko Tao, Thailand



Hi everyone. Hope every one reading is doing good. I finished my scuba diving certification this morning. Yesterday I went out on two dives around an area called Twins.
There is two twin peaks under the water here we swam around, and then we went to another area called White Rock, which a big white rock that peaks a couple meters from the surface. Both dives were amazing, but I got chased for a little by a trigger fish at one.

Trigger fish are these fish that eat coral so they have sharp teeth. They're called trigger fish, because when they are going to attack they have a small fin on the top of them that sticks up like a trigger. They are also an aggressive, territorial fish. They have a territory that is a cone shape of where ever they are to the surface so if you ever run into one you should swim on your back straight out of their territory, and defend yourself with your fins if need be. Don't go up because then you're still in their area since it gets larger as you get closer to the surface.

It wasn't too scary since I knew what I was supposed to do. I'm glad that my reaction was to not freak out and instead to think about what I was told to do. The final dives this morning were back at Twins, and an area called Buoyancy world, where they've set up multiple metal shapes and swim throughs on the bottom of the ocean you can play in. After that we went to an area called Pei Wei. It was amazing, because it was much deeper, there is also a shipwreck right near there that we swam over to.

Doing these dives got me so excited to do more with scuba diving. It is such a beautiful experience to be able to be a part of an underwater environment and see all the amazing creatures and formations of the ocean.

After the dives last night I met up with Stacy, Carl, and Stefan, the Aussies, for Stefan's birthday.

We went to a bar restaurant initially to watch the sunset, followed, by another beach bar, and then another beach bar. At night time there was lots
of fire dancers on the beach, which were mesmerizing to watch. At one point Carl even got into the action and one of the fire dancers taught him to do a fire dance with these two chains with balls of fire on the end. As he got comfortable with it he entertained us by dancing around as
he twirled the balls of fire. It was so much fun. I had wished that I didn't have to leave early, but my dives this morning were at 7 am. I'm still a pretty early riser here so it wasn't too hard to get up that early.

Now that I have my certification I'm ready to meet my friends and do some diving in the Philippines in a couple days. For now I will spend one more night here in Ko Tao and then I will head to Ko Samui for 2 nights, fly back to Bangkok, and then on to the Philippines where I will be for the rest of September. This trip has been amazing so far and I feel blessed and lucky to still be at the beginning of it. It's had challenges, but I've felt grateful to be in a position to take on those challenges. I continue to grow and change, as we all do, and strive more and more to live and love. I hope all is well with everyone reading. I'll keep you updated as usual as things go along.

permalink written by  Kirk on August 31, 2012 from Ko Tao, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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Oh Happy Days

Ko Tao, Thailand


As you all know I'm still on Ko Tao getting certified scuba diving. The dive course is going good so far. I finished all my academic work yesterday
including the final written test and passed, and I did all the confined dives demonstrating skills in the pool. Today I'll be going out in the boat for my first Ocean dive. I'm really excited since the scuba here is supposed to be some of the best in the world, of course any tropical location you look online tends to say that.

Stacy, one of the Australians I met on the way here, told me when she was scuba diving here last once and that she saw a whale shark. I know they have been seen here a lot, but I'm not sure if right now is the season for them to be here, fingers crossed though.

It was really nice after the class work I had today that I ran in to the Australians again. I had forgot to get there facebook information when we talked on the ferry so I wasn't sure I was going to see them again, but low and behold I did. Of course the populated areas of Ko Tao is small so I guess I was probably bound to run into them.

We all went to dinner and then just watched the sunset at various

bars and restaurants on the beach. I was happy to see that I can still make friends pretty easily out of my comfort zone.

Most of the time when I make friends it's because we work together or are in some situation where we'd have to talk to each other at some point. In Bangkok I didn't meet too many people, and I think was a little nervous because I was out of my element and wasn't sure how to start conversation, but it's nice to see that as I get more comfortable with traveling that the good social skills I thought I had are still present.

After my dive today I'm supposed to meet up with my new friends for

dinner. It's Stefan's birthday so we'll see how crazy that gets, but so far I've loved every minute of my stay on Ko Tao. I'm pretty sure the majority of my trip will be beach stays. At least that's how I see it right now. I'll let you all know how everything goes today. I have to dive today and tomorrow and then I'll have my certification. After that I'll spend a couple days on Ko Samui and then fly back to Bangkok for a night and then head to the Philippines to meet friends and do more diving. I hope all is well with everyone reading, and I'll talk to you all soon.


permalink written by  Kirk on August 30, 2012 from Ko Tao, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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Travel Day

Ko Tao, Thailand


So today I woke up around 7 am and showered and got ready for the day. I was in Ko Samui where I arrived last night. I had to take a ferry this morning from there to Ko Tao an island just north.

The hotel I was staying at had shared showers and bathrooms for each floor which is fine because I'm already used to staying in a hostel, but this was my first cold shower. I know that this will be pretty common in Thailand, because I've heard from people most of the cheap places don't provide hot showers. It wasn't horrible though. The water isn't freezing and even early in the morning it starts to get hot outside so the cold shower is invigorating.

After my 'refreshing' shower, have to stay optimistic right lol, I went and had breakfast and talked on Skype with my dad. I've talked with my Dad twice since being here and my sister once. It is great when I get to talk to people because I don't feel so disconnected from my old life, and Skype is great in letting you feel like you're in the same room with the person you're talking to.

After Skype I walked around the town a little before i had to go meet my ferry. At the hotel there was a really cute pug lounging on the counter. Apparently she is well adjusted to the island life.

Since this is island time the ferry of course wasn't on time, but it didn't bother me. I met some Australians and ended up talking to them before and for the entire ferry ride. It's crazy they're on the end of a long trip where they've just spent about 6 months in South America, and our now finishing their 6 week trip in Southeast Asia.

It's amazing. Every time I'm backpacking I always meet Aussies that are traveling for really long periods of time. I have no chance at ever beating them. It's like talking to the one up guy.
me: "I'm backpacking for four months."
Aussie: "Oh that's great. We just finished 6 months in South America and now are doing 6 weeks in Southeast Asia."
me: *smile with hidden jealousy*

Just kidding. It's great to meet other people who are out and about exploring the world as well. They were super friendly and made the ride more fun. Especially since the first ferry was so packed. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I was trying to get on board and didn't think about it. There were literally people hanging and lying on every inch of the boat. The seats floors deck were full. I didn't realize that the full moon part was going on right now.

The full moon party happens every month on the island Ko Pha-ngan. Which is the island right before Ko tao. From what I gather it's a big party stretching all over the beaches of the islands where everyone is smashed and getting more smashed all night. So the first half of the boat ride was cramped, but the second half from Ko Pha-ngan was really comfortable.

When arriving in Ko tao I new that this was what I've been looking for in my tirp.

There's something nice about being on islands. I always feel comfortable and relaxed, and the island is beautiful.

I took a taxi from the ferry and checked into the dive resort I'm staying at to get my PADI certification. I had to do about 2 hours of class room

work today and then I came to the reception to do a little freelancing work which has an amazing view of the ocean. I loved my experience in Bangkok, but I'm so happy to feel less of the hustle and bustle and more of island breezes. Tomorrow I'll be doing more of the dive class. I've posted a little of the pictures I've taken from Ko Samui and Ko Tao so far, but nothing amazing. I'll be adding to them though so keep looking. You can see that album at :
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4193395109797.174274.1132242665&type=1&l=cfc3615967

Talk to you soon.

permalink written by  Kirk on August 29, 2012 from Ko Tao, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
tagged KohTao and KohSamui

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Adventures in Motion

Ko Samui, Thailand


Ok so I have a lot to talk about since my last post so prepare yourself. As promised I drank a Redbull and stayed up late to go out to a club.
The gay club I was looking for was around others located near the Patpong Night Market, which is also incidentally a big sex district. It was interesting to see vendor's selling clothes and DVD's right next dildos.

I also cannot tell you how many times I had to tell people I didn't want to see a 'ping pong' show, even if it was only 100 baht. I had to keep telling the same people this too, because I couldn't for the life of me find this club or any of the other ones that were supposed to be around it. I must have walked up and down the street 5 times tell finally I gave up. As I was

in the sky train terminal above the street walking back to get on the sky train I finally saw the club. If you look at the picture on the left, that is the alley it was in, and then then the non lit up sign which I'm sure you can't see that's posted above the lighted ceiling, completely invisible from the ground is the sign that says 'DJ Station'. That was the club. So I went back down to the street and went down the alley and low and behold there were all the clubs and bars I had been looking for, unfortunately midnight wasn't late enough, because they were all empty, and I was drained, but I'm still happy I found it.

The next day I woke up and went to the Jim Thompson Museum. Jim Thompson was the American who moved to Thailand and made Thai silk famous. His silk's were used in the movie The King and I and he got designers associated with Vogue magazine interested in the fabric.
Jim Thompson became rich and famous and then at the age of 61 disappeared while visiting the Malaysian jungle. According to our tour guide there were many reasons this possibly happened. One he had no kids. Two he wasn't married. Three he collected artifacts and ancient Buddha statues that were broken, this meant your home would be broken. Four he was a horse sign, and the age 61 is the age horse's need to be careful. Aw superstition.

One thing that was cool at the house was the spirit house, which as you can see I'm scared of. The spirit house is built before you build your house, and then when you build your house you must build it so that the shadow of your main house doesn't touch the spirit house otherwise it brings you bad luck.

I ended up meeting some people who were from other countries, but now lived in Bangkok. I ended up going to lunch with them that day. It was nice to talk and socialize with others. We ended up eating at the hospital cafeteria near where I was staying, but unlike our hospitals there food was amazing. I got a Thai meal with two different entree items and a bottled water for 45 baht, about $1.60. Amazing!!

It was interesting at lunch they talked about many things. About how there was a noodle soup census done and the price of noodle soup in the last 7 years has gone from 20 baht to 35 baht. Now for Americans this isn't really a big deal, because that's still about $1, but if you live here that can be a very big deal if it's reflective of the inflation in the entire economy. That's a 75% increase, and when you only live on 10,000 baht a month, roughly $200, you are probably accounting for each baht you have. It made me appreciate what I have more.

From lunch my new friends suggested I should go to the Wat Arun

Temple, also called The Temple of The Dawn. It was really cool. I took a water taxi, and ferry over there and back. The total trip with admission was about 130 baht, about $4.

The temple is very old and beautiful. You can climb up it to get a look of the whole city, and of course in the prayer building next
to it are rooms lined with Buddha's.

After a long day I went back to the hostil, and got some dinner on the way at a hole in the wall Thai restaurant.

I got gaeng gai, read curry. Probably some of the best I've ever had. One of the guys I had had lunch with said that the Thai food in America can't touch the flavor of the food out here, and I'm inclined to agree. Maybe it's that I'm here that it makes it tastes better, but I think the spice and taste was just great.

I went to bed early, because i had to get up and travel to the Don Muaeng Airport to go to Surat Thani.

So when I woke up today to travel to the airport I had to take the sky train, subway and regular train, about 45 baht, less than $2.

After many transfers I made it to my plane :D

Once getting to Surat Thani I needed to get to Ko Samui tonight. To do this I took a bus and ferry to the island.
This cost about 721 baht, about $21. Arriving in Ko Samui was a little scary, because I didn't know where I was staying at yet, but that problem got quickly solved. There was a ticket stand at the ferry station where some ladies where selling tickets to the other islands. I have to get to Ko Tao tomorrow because I'm starting my scuba diving course in the afternoon. I booked a ticket with them and they told me right across the street was a cheap place to stay, and they were right. Only 300 baht for my own room, about $10, which also had
a great street food area across the street where I had dinner, some pad thai and a mango shake. Which cost about 70 baht, $2.

So it's definitely been a full couple days. I feel much more at ease with my traveling than I did at first. I realize that Bangkok is not Thailand. Just as New York City is not America. They are their own entities which you can't compare the rest of the country to. While initially in Bangkok I felt overwhelmed and a little scared at times I left feeling at ease and really finding a love for the city I didn't know I would have, but now being in the gulf and on the islands I feel I'm stepping into more of what I was looking for on this trip. While I love the temples, and movement of Bangkok I think I will enjoy the slowness and warmth of the islands. More to come stay tuned!!

permalink written by  Kirk on August 28, 2012 from Ko Samui, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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