Bangkok (Nov. 16-18)

Bangkok City. Good to be back. No flood waters that I can see. The locals are frustrated that tourists have dried up (pun intended) in response to flood concerns. Can;t say I blame them.

I had a great exchange with a server in a resturant the other night. It went lke this:

Me: Is the veggie roll deep fried or is it raw?
Her: No
Me: No?
Her: Yes!

Classic. Although usually the Thai default word is 'yes'.
Had a great dinner the next day with Cherry, Patrick and their friend, Danish Thomas at Red Sky outdoors on the 53 floor of the Centara Grand. Braised beef ribs with garlic sauteed spinach. Very nice. The view was astounding.

Then a bit of last minute shopping and headed home. The trip to the airport was inexpensive (nearly free) but needlessly difficult (I chose to cary 4 bags on transit rather than take a taxi -lesson learned!).

Bye till next trip!

Kata (Nov. 14-15)

There's not much to be said about lazing around in Phuket (Kata Beach) other than the fact that it is just what I needed after the dive trip!

I was lucky enough to connect up with Don, my original diving instructor. He lives in Phuket now with his family. We had dinner at his place, Thai-style: a bowl of rice each, some veggies and some meat. We caught up under the CFC light their low, cinderblock house in the workers part of the island (i.e. no sea view). It was great to see him again and have dinner in a real Thai-style home.

Diving at Similans (Nov. 9-13)

Had a great dive trip to the Similan and Surin National Parks. Saw so much including octopodes, Napoleon Wrass, a seahorse and the elusive Ghost Pipe Fish! Beside the rare finds, the underwater landscape is simply stunning - swimming through it is a pleasure. It was nice to see that Khao Lak Scuba Adventures continues to operate in a manner that stresses marine conservation above all else.

After 4 days of diving (aka accumulating nitrogen) including early wake-up calls, I was ready for some down time! I got dropped off in Kata Beach, one of Phuket's most southern spots, which looks fine for a few days. Had a lovely tom yum goong (spicy shrimp soup) and fell into bed totally knackered.

Out of reach

I'll be diving from Nov. 9-13 in the Andaman Sea, and thus out of e-mail contact until then! Talk soon.

Bangkok (Nov. 7-8)

Pulled into Bangkok and made the reassuringly comfortable trip via rail link and SkyTrain to Sathorn area without any incident. Walked past sandbag-ensconced towers to Cherry and Patrick's lovely tower in the Sathorn financial district. They have a chic apartment with a commanding view over the Bangkok sprawl. It was great see Cherry again and meet her man.

We caught up over breakfast the next day and then I did my typical Bangkok errands: a proper massage at Health Land and money changing, etc. Spent some time by their pool and met up with Miyu Miu in a hip place nearby for a quick drink -the Nepal cold (the one everyone has) damped down my energy so I went to bed pretty early.

Leaving Kathmandu (Nov. 6)

"When you left town,
time stood still..."

-The Brakemen

The trip out of Kathmandu deserves its own post. Mark kindly took me to the airport in the hotel's van. On the way we passed the riverside ghats where bodies are cremated. No smell this time.

At the airport, it was chaos. The trip from front step to jetway took nearly two hours and included two bag x-rays, one manual bag search, and three different pat downs. None of this redundant security provided any sense of comfort as each search was done my disinterested guards half-heartedly. Once asked me if I was carrying a knife in my bag (no, just a few machetes).

Took my place in the goodness of business class (amidst the wealthy Thai holidaymakers) and soaked up the great food and wines.

Arrived in Bangkok to familiar, reliable comfort of a place I have been many times. Adjusted my watch ahead 1:15 mins (yes, Nepal is ahead of GMT by a 45 minute increment!) and trained into the city and straight to Cherry and Patrick's place without incident.

Kathmandu (Nov. 4-5)

Caught the bus back to Kathmandu marked by a gradual increase in the traffic and intense air pollution. Stopped by a fair trade shop and then hung out with a group of Mark's mates, mostly Nepalese hotel owners in the same area. I learned a lot about the industry from the operator's perspective. They regularly encounter guests who do not pay, who do not honour reservations and who complain about practically everything. They often relax the rules for travellers who "seem nice" (like the girl who rented a bike without making any deposit) and reneg on the agreement (she returned the bike, sans payment, outside the guesthouse in the middle of the night).

Ate a terrific meal of soup and crispy rice. After finishing the soup I learned that it was made from a "forest chicken" (grouse?) that had been hunted illegally in the nearby nature reserve.

Spent the next day visiting several temples/shrines in Durbar Square, and eating chat, a mishmash of leftover samosas, onions and veggies. Hard to describe but tasty.

The highlight of the visit may have been a visit to a Nepalese home for traditional dinner (dhal bhat). There were lentils, peas and cheese (mattar paneer) and the ubiquitous fried potatoes (these ones coated in crunchy hemp seeds). Most guests ate with their hands, but I refrained on the grounds I might embarrass myself.

PS: photo is Mark's illustrious guesthouse in Kathmandu!