Stumbling Along

Stumbling onto Paradise

tnj4884 — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 22:02:00 GMT

On what would turn out to be our last day in Palolem, we walked down to the far south side of the beach so I could sit in the shade of the boulders that separated Palolem from the next beach, while Mikko sat a meter away and worked on his tan. Eventually, we got curious about what was on the other side of the boulders and decided to check it out.

We walked the path up and over the boulders and found a small little beach call Colomb. It was maybe 30 meters wide and had a couple of beach huts and a couple of restaurants. After being told by the restaurant on the beach that their bungalows were 1000 rupees, we decided to ask the owner of a small restaurant set up in the treetops. He offered us a much nicer bungalow than the one we had in Palolem for 600 rupees and this bungalow was set up on the rocks in the treetop with a great view of the beach a few meters below. And, it would only be a 10 minute walk to Palolem if we wanted to take advantage of their wider range of eating options. We told him we would take the room for the following night, but decided to keep walking to see if we could find an even better deal.

We walked about 10 minutes further along a sand/dirt path passing the occasional shops, restaurants and sturdier concrete homes belonging to locals and long-stayers and eventually came to Putnam Beach. We immediately knew that this was where we wanted to stay. It was everything that we expected to find when we initially set off for Palolem. It was about half the size of Palolem with the same golden sands and calm water (though a little murkier once you got in) but with much fewer people and an even more laid-back vibe. There were only a few shops on the street leading to the beach from the main road and the beach was dotted with the same beach-front restaurants (many with the same name as the ones on Palolem) and cabins but much less of both. We passed the first set of bungalows on the extremely quiet and almost deserted north side of the beach and the owner offered us a beachfront bamboo hut with attached bathroom for 500 rupees.

Since we had already paid for the night in Palolem, we asked if it was ok if we came the following day to stay for four nights. He said it was no problem, but we would need to pay a 500 rupee deposit to hold the room. We weren't 100% sure, so we told him we would look around and then come back. We walked about 20 meters and saw that the beach became more concentrated with restaurants the further down we went, and there were very few other beachfront bungalows. So we rushed back to take the room just in time to see him give the keys to two other girls he had just checked in.

We were disappointed and were about to head up the beach to see what we could find, when one of the girls asked the manager if it was ok that they were only staying one night. As soon as we heard that, we turned around and the manager was looking at us with a big grin on his face. We were about to pay the deposit when we realized we only had about 100 rupees on us, since we hadn't planned on going out hunting for accommodation. But luckily, he said that as long as we were there by 11am the next day it was no problem.

The next day we moved into our lovely bamboo hut, with a porch overlooking the beach and the waves breaking just 20 meters from our doorstep. We spent the next few days waking up, jumping in the water, grabbing breakfast, reading on our porch or on the shaded sunbeds in front of the restaurant that shared an owner with the huts we were staying in, jumping back in the water, eating lunch, more relaxing, one last jump into the water, then onto the beach for the amazing sunset and grabbing one of the tables set up on the sand in front of the restaurants to enjoy dinner on the beach by candlelight. Then off to bed to repeat the whole thing the next day. Truly living the good life.

On our last full day, we decided to take a canyoning trip that had been offered to us by a French guy handing out fliers on the beach. We met at a restaurant in Palolem at 10 that morning, got our equipment and a quick orientation and headed out in Goa Jungle Adventure's open-topped jeep with our guide Chris and another German guest named Flo. It was a bumpy 45 minute jeep ride through the small town Chawdi nearby, through stepped fields and small villages and finally winding up the mountain filled with thick jungle, enjoying the amazing views while holding on to the jeep to keep from flying out as it bumped along. We finally reached the edge of the national park that housed the canyon, Sauri, that we would be descending and picked up our local 'guide' Jay, whose main job was to watch the jeep while we were gone.

Once we were parked and in our wetsuits with our bags with water, harness and helmet we heading into the jungle. The trek to the river was about 25 minutes. The first 10 were up a steep incline, where we realized how out of shape we'd gotten during these two months of traveling. Once we hit the river we followed it down the canyon, wading through the waters, climbing along the rocks, abseiling down waterfalls and jumping (the highest jump being 8 meters) into shallow pools. Stay tuned for the video we made with our GoPro!

Afterward, we headed back through the woods (another steep hike) to the Jeep and on the way back stopped for a beer and an omelet sandwich.

We've been spending the rest of the little time we have left in Putnam relaxing and enjoying the beach before we head to the craziness of the Holi Festival in Hampi tomorrow.

Photos: Misc for blog entries

tnj4884 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 19:32:00 GMT

Sorry this is just a mix of photos to put in my blogs since my linked flikr photos can't be inserted into textx

Some much needed R&R in Palolem,Goa

tnj4884 — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 21:39:00 GMT

After 16 hectic days traveling around Rajasthan in Northwestern India and 5 expensive days in Mumbai waiting for the next train south, we finally made it to Goa. And, for the past 7 days, we have been trying our best to do as little as possible, just relaxing in our beach-side bungalow, listening to the waves and taking a much needed break before embarking on our trip around southern India.

After weeks of searching with no luck, we finally found a train ticket out of Mumbai to Margao in southern Goa. It left at 5:25 am, but despite the early wake up, the views of the sun setting out of the train windows made the trip bearable. Eight hours later we arrived in Margao, a fairly uninspiring town that acts as the main transit center for south Goa. We grabbed a rickshaw to the bus station, and were hit with a bit of luck when we found a bus heading to Palolem in five minutes.

The bus, though full with seated passengers when we left the station, filled quickly with people as we made stop after stop on the way south. The ride was cramped and hot, but cheap and lasted only about an hour.

We had chosen Palolem, because we were told it was a nice relaxed beach devoid of the crowds, parties and Russians that dominated Goa's northern beaches. But, when we stepped down off the bus, we were a bit disappointed at how touristy the town seamed to be. An Estonian guy who was on the bus with us, pointed us to the Beach and we walked down the small sand road, crowded with shops selling the standard spices, scarves, hippy-wear, leather sandals, etc and small restaurants while tauts followed us offering over-priced AC rooms and beach front bungalows. Knowing that it was coming into low season and prices were negotiable, I turned to the tauts and said if anyone has a room for 400 rupees, let us know or else we weren't interested. Most backed off, but one said he could get us a bamboo hut with attached bathroom for 400. We followed him about 100 meters down the beach from the main road and he led us to a shaded cluster of decent looking beach huts about 100 meters from the edge of the water.

We hadn't seen any other beaches in Goa but had heard that Palolem was one of the nicest, and in this we weren't disappointed. Golden sands stretch along the kilometer or so long beach rimmed with palm trees, beach-side restaurants, bamboo huts and brightly colored, stilted bungalows. There were more people than we had hoped, but it had a laid-back atmosphere and you could see it was a 'couple beers after dinner' sort of place. The view at sunset clenched it for us, and we decided to stay there for a couple extra days (we had originally thought to stay 5 days) to recharge our batteries and plan the next step of the trip.

Our first night we were approached by a guy selling sunrise dolphin watching tours the next day. The price was decent at 600 rupees each (about 9 dollars), and he said that if we didn't see dolphins we would have to pay a cent. Mikko had never seen dolphins, and I can't ever get enough of them, so we figured why not.

The next day we woke up early to be at the meeting point on the beach at 7:00am. The sun was rising and the beach was almost empty. The boat was a wooden boat, typical for fisherman in the region, shaped like a giant canoe with a long wooden runner sticking out from its right side. We (meaning the boatsmen and Mikko, since someone had to stay back and film it all :) ) pushed the boat into the water and hopped in. The sea was calm and beautiful with an opaque silvery shine that was flecked with gold where the rising sun hit it. The sky was slowly turning from pink to violet to blue as we motored out around the small island, Monkey Island, that jets out at the end of the beach. On the back side we went past another beach and then all of a sudden the boat driver points and says 'dolphins'. Sure enough three dolphins were swimming along occasionally slicing the waters surface with their fins to get a gulp of air. Then they would disappear for a while and someone would spot them or another small group of dolphins a few meters away. This carried on for about 20 minutes always keeping out eyes out for the next dolphin sighting. Then, we were dropped off on the nearby Honeymoon Beach to look around for 10 minutes before heading back to Puntam.

The rest of the time in Palolem we spent, laying on the beach, playing in the calm, warm waters and eating delicious meals at the beach-side restaurants. We even found a restaurant showing the latest Hobbit movie (which we had just missed out on in Mumbai and were instead forced to see the new 300). The quality of the projection wasn't great, but it was better than seeing it on our 14 inch laptops.

We were happy to stay relax there for the rest of our time in Goa, until after 3 days we stumbled on a real hidden gem!

Pushkar and the Price of Karma

tnj4884 — Sat, 1 Mar 2014 20:30:00 GMT

According to the Hindu religion, the god Brahma dropped a lotus flower and the town of Pushkar sprouted up from where it landed. Unfortunately for the deity, he also had a love affair here which enraged his first wife. She cursed him, saying that only in Pushkar would he ever be worshiped. Today, Pushkar is home to one of only three temples dedicated to Brahma in all of India, and the main place of worship and pilgrimage for the creator god. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, whether you're a god or not.

We had heard good things about Pushkar, and Bisham suggested that we might want to use the extra night we had after cutting our trip short in Ranthambore here. As soon as we pulled into the hotel, we were sold. A big room with a terrace over-looking a garden and multi-tiered swimming pool, fast wifi, HOT water and for once we weren't freezing at night and forced to sleep in a fleece sweater. When we dropped off our bags and went to explore the small town of 15,000, we were also pleasantly surprised. No one begging, trying to sell us stuff or drag us into their shop. That sealed the deal, three days it would be.

The town is centered around a holy lake which, along with the Brahma and about 100 other temples, attracts tourists from all over India. Around the lake are a string of markets, hotels and restaurants and more Western faces than I had seen since arriving to the country. Along with attracting Hindus hoping to give a blessing of luck and prosperity to their family and more devout pilgrims coming to pay homage to Brahma, it seemed that Pushkar attracted all the soul-searching, harem-pant wearing, wannabe hippies not currently taking up space on the beaches of Goa. It was almost impossible to find a foreign tourist not dressed up in some sort of 'traditional' Indian garb they had bought at the market the day before.

While it's hard to say Pushkar is more touristy than Agra, it is touristy in a different way. It has a kind of alcohol-free Koh Phi Phi, Thailand sort of feel to it. All the shops sell the standard spices, trinkets, saris, pashminas and camel leather shoes, but a few extra shops specialize in what I would call Indian fashion for western backpackers. That is to say, clothes that travelers put on to feel like they're blending in and becoming a part of India, but that you will never actually see any Indians wearing. Like the baggy crouched, harem pants my friend Kevin refers to as 'I went to India and bought these pants' pants. This style is very similar to fashion sold in Thailand, Egypt and every other place where people feel the need to peel off their Abercrombie and exchange it for batik pants and a crocheted vest.

All this aside, Pushkar is a nice little laid back town that's easy to walk around, has very few beggars or pushers and has great, cheap vegetarian food as well as some delicious home-made pastas and wood-oven pizzas. And, it allowed us to finally stop and catch our breaths after a few hectic days in Rajasthan.

On our second day in Pushkar, we decided to head down to one of the Ghats (small pools around the lake where Pilgrims bath in the holy waters). We were warned of Brahman priests who would push you to bless your family for the price of a small (or not so small) donation. One such priest, suspiciously riding a motorcycle and wearing a track suit, found us in front of the Brahma temple and placed a small red flower in each of our hands. He said if we went to a ghat, to throw the flower in the water, bless our family, give a small donation and we would be given a Pushkar Passport (a small string tied around your wrist signifying that you had blessed and donated) and then would be free to roam the streets of Pushkar hassle free. If anyone bothered us to donate to a temple, he said, just show them your 'passport'.

We had read as much, and so thanked him and headed to a nearby ghat. Two seconds later, he parks, hops off his bike and is leading us (with a swagger that was more drug dealer than Brahman priest) to what he ensures us is the best ghat. Wearily, we followed. Once at the ghat, he showed us to a little stand where we were given a metal plate with colored powder, rice, sugar, some flower petals and a whole coconut. He told us to take off our shoes, touch the plate to our heads, and then we headed down the steps to the edge of the water. There waiting was a Brahman priest (this one at least dressed all in white). I sat in front of him, and Mikko followed our motorcycle priest to a spot a few meters away.

I was told by the priest that I was to repeat after him, and began chanting names of gods and random other Hindu phrases, most of which I couldn't understand so I just mumbled along trying to match his tone and pronunciation as best I could. He then explained that the red was for blood, yellow for family, sugar for a sweet life and rice for nourishment (or something like that). I never did find out what the coconut was for. We chanted more, he asked me the names of my family members and then more chanting.

Then, he popped the million dollar question. How much money was I planning on donating. Mind you, we hadn't even finished blessing my family yet. I told him 300 hundred rupees was all I could afford. He tsk tsked and said that was too little. I asked how much, and he asked, "How much is your karma worth?". I thought about it for about half a second and answered, "300 rupees" (5 dollars). He explained that Indians give rupees and usually 5-10,000. Foreigners should give dollars or euros, 50-100 of them. I explained that: first, I have no dollars or euros as I'm traveling in India and my country of residence uses neither; and second, I don't have that kind of money to spare. Eventually he accepted the 300 rupees, finished blessing my family and journey, tied on my Pushkar passport and led me up the stairs to the donation window where I gave 300 for me and 300 for Mikko (who's track pant priest apparently gave him a much less traditional blessing ceremony and spent most of the time on the donation part). They had agreed on 100 rupees - after Mikko's initial suggestion of 20 rupees - but they kept us apart clearly seeing that I would give more money as I obviously valued my karma more than my cheap boyfriend. After payment I was given a government-approved donation receipt, though I doubt it will be tax deductible.

Our pockets a bit lighter, but Karma-meter nicely recharged, we headed down past the ghat to the edge of the lake where the faithful were bathing in the holy water. I thought I should seal my newly purchased karma with a little dip of my toes in the lake. But, after one look at the greasy film, rotting flowers, pigeon feathers and other mystery particles floating along the edge of the water mixing with runoff from the streets, I figured the receipt was good enough.

Though all in all, I can say that Pushkar has been a highlight with it's lazy pace, sunset views from the mountain-top temples and scrumptious vegetarian food. But, if anything happens on my trip or to my family, I will be coming back to Pushkar and demanding a refund. (It is, however, quite possible that this post will cost me a couple of those Karma points I just earned)

Recap of our first week in India

tnj4884 — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 20:19:00 GMT

As with most people who first arrive in India, I was prepared to be blown away by bright colored Saris, spice-laden food and a culture as vibrant and rich as both. However, as with most people, upon arriving in Delhi my first thought was OH GOD GET ME OUT OF HERE!

A cluttered chaos of sounds, smells (some good, but most bad), honking horns, begging children, scamming tour agents and a chill that was amplified times 10 in our hotel room, Delhi was an assault to all my senses and a jump into an ice bath of culture shock. I have never been a fan of crowded cities, and have felt similarly disenchanted by Bangkok and Cairo. But I also knew that Delhi was a necessary stop, where we could recharge our batteries and get some much needed internet to plan our trip. I will say that the Red Fort, India Gate and Lotus temple were worth seeing, but a quick one day tour of the sights is more than enough. Like most big cities, the key is to take your time and explore, ignore the touristy sites and just spend your time exploring the city, small markets, shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and just getting lost in the city and seeing where it takes you. We unfortunately didn't have time or energy for that, and therefore used Delhi as a base to plan our trip and gain our bearings. So, if you have more time, I'm sure Delhi has quite a lot to offer. We did have a bit of time to meet with a friend of a friend of Mikko's, and he took us to a great Raggae bar on the south side of town which had great music and dancing, delicious chicken strips and some overly priced rum and ginger ales.

We came to India with no real plans and just a loose idea of places we wanted to visit based on a 2 hr stint of internet research we crammed in between working 50 hr weeks and trying to tie up all our loose ends in Sweden. With an unspecified amount of time on our hands and bank accounts still fairly well stocked, we wanted to leave our plans open and just 'go with the flow'. Well our flow hit a dam. I was warned that tickets for trains need to be booked in advance, but thought surely there were ways around that. We wanted to spend a couple weeks exploring Rajasthan by train and bus and sat down with a map to try and figure it all out. We checked erail.in for train availability and it said that we would need to wait 5 days to get a train out of Delhi to Bikaner, and the thought of 5 more days in Delhi was not appealing.

As with anyone staying in Paharganj, the crowded backpacker slum near the main baazar, we were constantly approached by tour operators offering a private car and driver tour around Rajasthan to avoid the hassle of trains and buses. We were skeptical at first, but after some research, it seemed like this could very well be our best option to get out of Delhi asap. While I had imagined long train rides with scenic views of the Rajasthani countryside, the reality is that you very rarely have a window seat, the trains are often delayed or canceled and you are a slave to their preset timetables and destinations. With a car and driver, we could stop where we wanted to stop, enjoy driving through the countryside and small villages and avoid dealing with overly aggressive rickshaw and taxi drivers at each destination we visited. After checking out a few and being less than impressed by the prices, we were approached by a tour agent from Invicta Tour N Travel. We were pleasantly surprised when the price was 10,000 rupees lower than the cheapest offer we'd heard and they had books and books filled with handwritten reviews from past customers. The total cost for car, driver, accommodation, all gas and taxes-tolls, tiger safari, elephant ride and overnight desert camel safari and train ticket to Mumbai was 27,300 rupees ($440) per person for 16 days. We took a day to think it over, and then decided to give in and book through them. So far, it looks like we made the right choice.

AGRA

We headed out to Agra with our driver Bisham - a man small in stature, but with the biggest, whitest smile almost always plastered on his face - early in the morning. The rain that had plagued us in Delhi was finally letting up, but the sky was thick with fog. We heard from Mikko's brothers that when they went to see the Taj Mahal the previous year, they couldn't even see the building because the fog was so thick. I spent the entire ride hoping that we would be spared that misfortune, but the more we drove the thicker the fog became. At one point the visibility was down to about 10 meters. Luckily as the afternoon hit, the sun finally burned away the last of the mist and by the time we got to Agra at around 3:00 in the afternoon the sky was clear and the sun was shining.

We decided to relax at the hotel, grab a bite to eat and head out to the Taj Mahal near sunset. We were a bit worried when we saw the huge line, but were quickly ushered to the empty tourist line where we got our ticket immediately, and then were given complimentary water and shoe covers for entering the mausoleum. I would strongly suggest going early in the morning or late in the afternoon, the light was great at sunset and there were not many foreign tourists. You pay about 20 times as much for a foreign ticket, but the perk is that you get to go to the front of all the lines.

This place was more beautiful than we had imagined. So, no matter how touristy it seems, it's worth a visit.

ENTERING RAJASTHAN

After the crowds and congestion (most of which was in my lungs due to all the smoke, smog and dust) in Delhi and Agra, once we rode between the two pillars marking the border of Rajasthan it felt like I could finally breathe both literally and figuratively. The world opened up into green fields dotted with the bright red, yellow and orange Saris worn by the women working in the fields. The countryside is village after small village with brightly colored markets, cows, goats and pigs, children playing in the streets, teenagers playing cricket with makeshift wickets and men chatting (and napping, lots of men napping) with cups of Masala chai in hand.

This was the India I had been waiting for. But, it wouldn't be fair to say that this is the real India. India is just as much the fancy suburbs, nightclubs, and high end fashion in Delhi as it is the filthy streets of Paharganj and the lazy countryside villages in Rajasthan. I appreciate all it's many parts, enjoy exploring and experiencing all it's different sides, but prefer the more laid back feel of Rajasthan to the suffocating chaos of Delhi.

RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK

Shafi from Invicta told us that we would only need 1 night in Ranthambore, but excited by the idea of exploring the national park, we told him to book us in for 2. As soon as we pulled onto the main (and only) road with nothing but mostly run down hotels and some higher end resorts, we realized that he may have known what he was talking about. Turns out not only is there nothing to do in the area around Ranthambore, but you can only enter the park through one of the tiger safaris. We were booked for a tiger safari the next morning that would be finished by 10:30, so we told Bisham to cancel the second night and head straight to Jaipur after the safari was over.

Not much to say really about the park or the safari. We woke up at 5:45am for a 6:30 pick-up that eventually showed up around 7:15. We were the last ones to climb into the canter (an open jeep that seats 20 people). It was freezing outside, and though we'd bundled up in anticipation, once the canter got moving down the road to the park we were borderline hypothermic. All the other guests had been given blankets by their hotel, but our hotel seemed to have thought that since we were from Sweden we would be fine without them.

The park was unexceptional, we saw boar and deer, a crocodile, stags, boars and more deers. But no tigers :(. Our tour guide didn't seem to be too worried about our disappointment, since he spent the majority of the tour faced backward looking at us or talking to the driver instead of trying to spot us a tiger.

JAIPUR

The pink city, Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. The city got it's name from the pink color used on all the buildings in the old town. It has a couple million people and all the colors, sounds and smells that characterize an Indian city, but was noticeably more relaxed than Delhi. The Old City is filled with markets separated by the wares they sell (food, blue pottery (a local speciality), gems, fabric, kitchenware, etc). I read that Jaipur was a city struggling to keep up with it's growing population, but compared to what I'd seen elsewhere, it seemed to be doing alright.

Our hotel was 8km outside the city in Amer (Amber), a small town famous for it's palace and fort. The Amber Palace was by far one of the highlights. We took a 15 minute elephant ride up to the top. I was hesitant about the elephant ride, because I know that the animals are often abused and overworked. But some research showed that these elephants are well cared for. You can take a tour and see where the elephants live and how they are cared for through Elefantastic, an initiative started in 2012 by a veteran elephant driver to allow tourists to do more than just ride the elephants but learn about them and how they are taken care of. Once at the top, you can explore the many courtyards of the palace and enjoy the views of surrounding mountains and the fortress wall that snakes around them to protect the village nestled in the valley below.

Another highlight of Jaipur was the Peacock roof restaurant. Located in the new part of the city, it is brightly decorated with lights, plants, flowers and shrines, with a giant peacock canopy covering its lounge area. The food was great. Mikko had the Laal Mass, a deep red lamb curry that is the specialty of Rajasthan. The price was great, the service was great, the food was great. It was definitely worth the hassle we had to go through with Bisham to convince him to drive us the 35 minutes to get there.

Since I have been slacking on my blogging, this is all a bit rushed. But, I just wanted to give you all a little heads up on what we've been up to until now. I'm going to be better about writing posts and trying to fill them with more interesting stories and less rambling recaps.

Photos: Delhi and Taj Mahal

tnj4884 — Sun, 16 Feb 2014 21:09:00 GMT

Paradise in the Seychelles on a Budget

tnj4884 — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 19:22:00 GMT

The Seychelles have always been a dream for us. As a diver, I imagined clear blue water, 28 degrees, 30 meters visibility and full of fish and colorful coral. For Mikko, the dream began after seeing a documentary on the Seychelles showing a mosquito free, spider free, snake free paradise with pristine beaches, beautiful women and great seafood (I will take this time to note that there are indeed mosquitoes and GIANT spiders, so not sure which documentary he watched). But, the island paradise was always just a dream because of expensive flights, ridiculously priced hotels and restaurants and expensive diving....or so we thought.

When we started planning this trip, we decided on India and South East Asia because they were warm, beautiful, have extremely different cultures than our own and, most importantly, they were CHEAP! Some of the cheapest countries in the world. Our budget was limited, so we wanted to be in places where our money would stretch, but we could still afford to do what we want, stay in decent hostels/hotels and eat, eat, eat, eat.

Then, we stumbled on a cheap flight from Johannesburg to Delhi with Air Seychelles via the Seychelles. The flight was one of the cheapest, but the layover was only a few hours. We searched instead for a multi-destination flight with a 4-day layover in the Seychelles and found one for only $85/€62 more. That would make the total cost for the flight from Johannesburg to Victoria, Seychelles to Delhi, $480/€350. But, there was still the problem of accommodation. We searched hostelworld and booking.com, but the cheapest places we found were a couple of guesthouses for $137/€100 a night. Then we searched airbnb and couchsurfing and were pleasantly surprised. On couchsurfing, we found a local woman, Julienne Alphonse, who rented out a large room with bathroom, kitchen and balcony for $68/€50 a night including breakfast and home-cooked dinner. We did some more research and found out that buses around the main island of Mahe cost about $0.40/€0.30. Diving would be a bit more expensive, but more on that later.

The Accommodation

We landed in the evening, and Julienne was waiting at the airport to take us back to her place, which was only a 5 minute drive away up the mountain. Her house was big and beautiful with a view of the mountainside and over Mahe's main city, Victoria. She shared the house with her family, which quickly became our family too: Robert, her husband; Savio, her 21 yr old son; Camilia, Savio's girlfriend; Alisa, her 11 yr old daughter; Tanya, her 8 yr old niece; Sean, her 6 yr old son; Zarah her adorable 3 yr old daughter; cats, kittens, dogs, roosters and even some giant tortoises. The house was huge, all the kids had their own room, the animals were kept in the back yard and our apartment was upstairs, so it never felt cramped. The room was clean, had two double beds, a bathroom with shower and hot water and a little kitchenette. It was almost as big as our apartment back in Stockholm, haha. And, the view from the balcony was great.

The best part though was not the food (a different creole dish every night, and she made sure that we tasted all the local fish, including Octopus and shark, picked every local fruit possible so we could try them all, and had a cold glass of freshly made juice waiting for us every evening when we came home), but the family. Julienne has the biggest heart of anyone I've met. Her principle concern is that you feel at home and have a good time. During our 4 days (which turned into 11 days), she took us on a tour of the northern half of the island for the cost of a tank of gas, and took us out with her family to the night market in Victoria, the Sunday Market in Baie Lazare, clubbing in Victoria and would have done more if her kids didn't come down with the flu :(.

The Weather

Since this was not our main destination, we didn't have much flexibility regarding the dates. We arrived at the tail end of wet season, which lasts from December until about the middle of March/April. Lucky us, when we arrived, the island was hit with 3 days of torrential downpour. There were mudslides, flooding and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to houses, agriculture, etc. Now, keep in mind that we booked 4 days in paradise. So, as soon as we realized that it was going to rain during the whole duration of the stay, we checked how much it would be to change our flights. After some checking by Eithad Airways' (partner with Air Seychelles) customer service rep, they found us a flight leaving one week later for a change fee of only $60/€44. A small price considering we'd come all the way to our dream paradise for diving and beaches and couldn't enjoy either. So that's how 4 days in paradise became 11.

On the fourth day, the weather cleared, the sun came out and stayed out until we left (when the winds were picking up and the clouds started rolling in). In short, if you come in the rainy season, it may rain. Rain in the Seychelles sucks since there isn't anything to do. On the plus side, when you stay with a family like we did, you can hang out around the house, watch movies, play with the kids, enjoy some local Seybrew beer and still have a great time! And rain or shine the temperature year round is between 27C and 33C with a water temperature of about 28-30C, and low season means beaches all to your self.

The Islands and Beaches

If you want to stay on a budget, I would suggest staying on Mahe. The other islands are said to be even more beautiful and in high season they might have slightly less tourists, but food and accommodation is more expensive and ferries are between $68/€50 and $90/€65 each way.

There is plenty to do on Mahe and the beaches are some of the best in the world. Every beach we went to was clean with white sand and blue water. They were rimmed with palm trees and ranged from 100 meters to several kilometers wide.

Most of the island is covered by mountains filled with thick tropical rainforest. Tropical fruits like starfruit, papaya, guava, mango, breadfruit and a million other fruits I'd never heard of hang from the branches of every tree. The flat part of Mahe is very narrow around the edges of the island and in some places non-existent. In other places, they have built extensions to the island using sand and soil from the ocean floor to add more space for houses and roads. There are the main roads that go around the island and a few, well-placed, winding mountain passes that provide shortcuts when you need to get from east to west or vice versa.

We had some beaches to ourselves, and there were a few tourists on the other beaches, but only a handful. The most crowded beach was Beau Vallon. This is the main tourist beach and home to most of the dive shops and water sports. The beach is beautiful and has lots of restaurants and bars along the way, but is filled with resort-type tourists too lazy to explore the rest of the island.

One of the best beaches we went to was Anse Royale. It has a barrier reef a few hundred meters offshore, so the water on the beach is flat as glass, crystal clear and varies from clear turquoise to ice blue to sapphire. It's a favorite for locals, easily reached by bus and has a couple nice restaurants, ATMs and some small shops.

Also great was Anse Grande. The current makes it dangerous for swimming, but it's fine to wade in and play in the waves. This is also easily reached by bus, but there are no restaurants and just a little shop on the road. But this is perfect to buy some water, beer and snacks for a picnic. We were all alone on this almost one kilometer long beach.

My favorite beach was Anse Soleil. You take the bus to Quatre Bornes, and then walk about a half an hour (20 minutes of which are uphill) to get to the beach. But the walk is on a paved road through the jungle, you can pick low-hanging fruits to nourish you along the way, and the road is dotted with colorful wildflowers and cute little houses and artisan shops. When you get to the beach, you find a great restaurant (a bit pricey, but they all are), and a small but clean crescent shaped beach, with clear water and lots of palm trees for shade.

Also worth doing is the trek from Bel Ombre to Anse Major. The walk from the bus to the beginning of the trail is about 30 minutes. But, Julienne decided to pack up Zarah and come along, so we took the car. The trail is fairly easy and is half jungle, half open views of the ocean. These are some of the best views of the island. The walk is a little hairy at times, and you realize that one small step would send you sliding down the rock and plopping into the ocean a couple hundred meters below. That said, for about 85% of the hike Miss Zarah decided to walk by herself (she's been coming on this hike since she was 1 1/2 yrs old). She climbed up and down the rocks like a pro, only accepting Julienne's help when she was forced to on the steeper or less protected bits. There are only moderate inclines, and a well trodden path of dirt or stones making this hike good for anyone from age 3 to 70. The hike takes a total of about an hour. Despite its name, Anse Major is quite small. But the rain water from the mountains makes a great freshwater lagoon to swim in if the sea is to rough. It also makes a great kiddy pool.

There are dozens of other beaches we didn't visit, but on our tour with Julienne around the island and from the window of the buses, we saw them all. And, I can say that they are all amazing. Most places have a couple great beaches, but in Mahe, all the beaches are perfect. So, just hop on a bus and pick a different one to visit every day. But many of the beaches don't have restaurants, so bring water and snacks though there is usually a little shop nearby.

Diving

The diving in the Seychelles is known to be some of the best in the world. They work hard to protect their reef and its biodiversity and have several protected Marine Parks. You can see everything from the small to the large.

We booked our first dive with Big Blue Divers in Beau Vallon, since they were one of the cheapest and offered a 10% discount in the tourist guide you're given upon arrival at the airport. We did one dive in the afternoon at a site called the Aquarium. The visibility was poor due to the recent storm, but the fish life was incredible. We saw lionfish, pipefish, angelfish, morays, parrotfish and a nudibranch. The fish were swarming in the hundreds. It definitely lived up to its name. The cost including all equipment was $68/€50.

Timing the second day of diving was a bit tricky. We wanted to wait a few days for the visibility to clear up, but get the dive in before the next storm came. We checked every weather site available and decided to play it safe and dive a few days later. On our walk back from the first dive center we passed another center called Ocean Dreams. We decided to pop in and check the prices, and they were the only shop on the island to offer a discount for a 2-tank dive: $116/ €85. Even better, they were going to The Lighthouse, which we'd heard was the best dive site on the island.

We did a 2-tank dive to Kap Mantoopa and then The Lighthouse - two of the best dives of my life. The visibility was a bit better, 20 meter or so, and on the first dive we saw 4 white-tipped reef sharks, eagle rays and thousands of tropical fish. On the second dive, we saw octopuses, barracuda, a turtle and a group of 8 eagle rays. The reef was in great shape, and there were fish everywhere! And, it turns out we picked the right day, since it became a bit windy and cloudy the following day and stayed that way for the rest of our trip.

Budget

Like most places, the Seychelles can be as expensive or as cheap as you make it. It helps to find a cheap flight and have a look at couchsurfing and airbnb for cheap accommodation. Many will include breakfast and dinner, and if not, get one with a kitchen as restaurants are expensive. Just send me a message if you want Julienne's email address. There's a discount if you are only one person staying with her.

To save on food, cook at home, stay somewhere where food is included or eat at local take-aways where food costs about $4/€3. But, be careful because most close at 14:30. Food in the supermarket is cheap and so is beer and wine (both of which are insanely expensive at restaurants and bars).

Taxis are also expensive, so use the buses. They go everywhere, but unfortunately you usually have to switch buses in Victoria. When you arrive, get a good map and a bus schedule at the bus station's office. It only costs a few cents and will save you a lot of hassle as some buses don't run often and most buses stop running at 18:00.

In total, we spent for 2 people (excluding flights and diving):

12 nights accommodation with breakfast and dinner = $821/€600

Food (including a couple lunches at restaurants and a night out on the town), transportation, etc = $510/€372

Total cost per person per day: $55/€40.50

Not bad! Of course, this is about double our budget for the rest of the trip, but it was worth the splurge.

There's a Camel in my pool

tnj4884 — Wed, 2 Sep 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Life is Dahab has been fairly uneventful. Work has been very slow, and way too many days have been spent in the shop surfing the internet. So we have been looking into our other options.

When we first came started at Octopus divers, we met this group of Americans that were doing some diving. Most have moved on or gone back to Alexandria (they are all studying there), but two have been sucked into the Dahab lifestyle. Laura is a 19 year super genious. No really. She won't tell you, but you can put it together from the peices of her life. She quit school at around 16, never receiving a diploma, but was accepted into university. Now she is taking a year doing a program in ALexandria (she speaks arabic and hebrew) and turns out next October, she has already been accepted into a Masters program in Archeology at....OFXORD! Yes, 19 and accepted to Oxford. But she is very humble and most of this information was leaked to me by Tom.

Tom is also in the program. He is an Air Force kid who has moved around a lot. He just finished studying Arabic at a university in Texas. He is a Lader Day Saint, who has spent a couple years a while back as a missionary in Brazil. He has 8 brothers and sisters, but only one mom :). He is a funny guy, plagued by constant kidney issues. He told me a funny story yesterday about how he had some kidney stones before he left. They started acting up when he got here, and he saw a doctor in Alixandria. The doctor expamined him and gave his diagnosis...Blue Balls. Hilarious! And not only that, he prescribed some medicine and told him to go the pharmacy and get a testical supporter. hehehe. What on earth is a testical supporter? No one knows, and I think Tom just went with the medicine.

Anywho, so these guys are now doing some diving with Divers Down Under (our boss refused to give them a good price). Jimmy and I know the guys at Divers Down Under, because we stayed a few days at Seven Heaven, the adjoined hostel. It's a very chill place with a nice backpacker feel, but not the annoying partying that hostels in other place have (Dahab is not the place for nigthlife). We have been out with all them a few times to have some sheesha (water pipe with flavored tobacco Mom just in case you thought it was something else), and celebrate our friend Mohammed's Birthday party. It was fun. We hang mostly at the Funny Mummy. Its a reastaurant and sheesha cafe. Its not really any different than anyother place. They all serve a mix of local and western food. Have a no or few proper tables. Its all rugs and cushions and low coffee tables. All right on the water, all with a view of the mountains of Saudi Arabia across the the Gulf. A nice place to chill.

During his party, Mohammed wowed us with his tricks. He can set 7 objects and have two people touch one object each for 5 seconds. He will turn around. Then he waves his hand over the objects and can tell you which ones were touched and who touched them. The trick with knowing which objects were touched by feeling the heat that is coming off. THen he can tell who touched by looking at people's faces. He says they all have their special tells. It sounds simple, but other people tried it, and its not that easy at all. He used to practice for 3 years back in Jordan, where he's from.

So back to the job situation. Mohammed was saying he would like to hire some new instructors and after talking, me and jimmy decided why not. Our shop is dead. And the boss and co workers are starting to get on our nerves. So i am leaving as soon as I get paid. Divers Down Under is one of the busiest shops in Dahab, but Mohammed is the manager, and it has a laid-back backpacker feel. You only teach backpacker clients and its just a much nicer place to work. Plus, we could make up to twice as much. And, no more shop hours. When we have students we work, when we don't we are free.

But, before I forget, I have to mention the camels in my pool. So JImmy and I were enjoying our normal lunch of Koshary ( rice, pasta, tomato sauce, lentils, chickpeas and fried onion, all for 60 cents), when we see two camels run down the street. No one was riding them, no one was behind them just 2 camels. Hmmm we thought, that's unusual, even for Dahab. Then about 3 hours later we were sitting in the shop and we saw two camels run past us into the resort. Oh S*&^, we thought, and ran out. We were just in time to see them both take a flying leap into the pool. We couldn't believe it. All the staff and many of the guests were gathered around watching these two camels swim laps in the pool. They got in, but couldn't get back out. Finally some staff jumped in, and managed to usher them to the shallow-end, but they still couldn't get them out. Finally they got a wooden board and put it under one of their back legs. Then they lifted the front legs over the edge of the pool. It looked so painful for the camels, they were screaming and crying. THey were being pushed and pulled, screaming the whole time, but eventually they got out. They were a bit shaken, but after a few moments they regrouped and trotted off to the road and then broke into a sprint up the street. God only knows what other adventures they got into. It was by far one of the highlights of my life.

So, now, I am hoping to switch shops and enjoy myself a bit more here in Dahab. All work and no play makes Tracy a cranky girl.

Adventures in Real Estate, Desert-Style

tnj4884 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:34:00 GMT

We would like to get settled in as soon as possible, and therefore the apartment search began immediately. We saw a couple nice places in the Bedouin neighborhood, but they were asking more than we wanted to pa y (that's what we get for going to a real estate agency). So we decided to try a different tactic.

Our boss found us one apartment for a little more than 100 Euros. It looked ok, and we were very rushed to make a decision, so we took. It it was a one bedroom with small kitchen and dingy bath. There was a family living in it when we came, but we were told they would be gone when we came back. We were hesitant to kick someone out of their home, but were assured it would be no problem. A few hours lated when we came to move in, that family was still there. Upon seeing us, they welcomed us in, and began moving their stuff out. It was very awckward and made worse when we realized they were moving their stuff onto the roof, where they had a small shack set up for all 5 of them to live. We moved in, but we weren't comfortable with the living situation. While we realized they would rather have the money and live on the roof. We felt uncomfortable being the rich foreigners living in their house (they still kept their family photos on the wall) while they lived in a makeshift shack on the roof. WE decided to move into a hostel the next day and continue our apartment search.

We were off to do some "work" - our boss told us to get out of the shop and spend the day snorkeling to get to know the dive sites- and we passed a dive shop we had exchanged emails with prior to coming here. I stopped in, introduced myself and of course offered my services as a freelance instructor. I also mentioned that we were looking for an apartment. He introduced us to a guy who walked us down to meet another guy, Karim. Karim happened to be a freelance divemaster and the hostel we were staying at. We told him what were looking for, something basic, one bedroom, clean, air-conditioned (its like 100+ here all day long), and he said to meet him at the hostel at 9 that night and he would show us a few places.

After some snorkeling and a quick dinner, we met up with Karim and "real estate agent" or the local equivalent. Basically he was the guy that locals went to when they wanted to rent out their apartments. We spent the rest of the evening walking around looking at studios, apartment, and houses. The agent would call and then walk us to the house, Karim spoke on behalf of us, speaking with the owners and haggling down prices. We realized, how luck we were to have him, because there was no way we would get to see these places, or get good prices without his help. Place after place we went to, looking at apartments, Karim yelling in arabic to get us a good deal.

One apartment was especially interesting. We were shown a one bedroom in a nice area in the local part of town call Asalah. It was ok, but looked a bit like a hotel to me. We were told by the guy showing us the house that we would have to speak to the owner to know the price. We were taken out back where 3 men were sitting on a mat, drinking tea and smoking cigarettes. We were introduced, asked to sit and were offered a drink as is customary. Then we began to negotiate. The apartment was 2,000 Egyptian Pounds, way more than we wanted to pay. We told him this and he said he could go a bit lower, but still not to where we wanted. Karim and him began to "discuss" in arabic and we sat patiently as they went back and forth. Though it sounded like an argument, I had realized that was just the tone they spoke in when talking business. A few minutes later, the man explained that he couldn't go any lower. We said we understood and thanked him for his time.

3 hours in, and everyone was exhausted and we headed to the main road to catch a cab into a cab, when the guy who showed us the apartment said he had one more place he could show us. We were taken to a place in the same area as the dive shop where we worked, an area called Mashraba where a lot of locals lived. We were greated by the owner who laughed, remembering yelling "My color" to me earlier that day. He owns a shop on the main strip called Mr. Spice. We joked and said he was the Spice Man. He said, no he was the Spice Boy, the Spice Man was his uncle and had a shop up the road. We had a chuckle and were taken in to see the place.

Like every other house in Dahab (and most arabic places) all you can see of the house from the outside is a stone wall. YOu then enter into through a gate and find a garden. (Arabic people like there privacy and have their back yards either behind a wall or sometimes in the middle of their house) This particular house had a white stone wall with a wooden door. The garden is nice, small but it had a few trees, that provide a nice shady spot to sit and read. When we entered the house, were were amazed. You entered into the living room, which consisted of a low table with some cushions and rugs on the floor (egyptian couch), THere was a TV with satellite (though we found later that it was mostly egytpian and italian channels). It was beautifully decorated with wall hangings and stained-glass lanterns. There were two large bedrooms, a beautiful bath tub and hot water. A large kitchen and a sun roof. It was perfect and it was 1,500 pounds (our asking price). They said they would throw in an AC for only 150 more pounds a month. We said we had to think about it, but my mind was made up. It was the same price as most of the small studios we had seen and we could have our own house.

We told Karim we would take, a contract was drawn up, and some money exchanged, and we were told we could move in the next day. The grand total was 1,650 pounds a month (about 200 Euros), making this the nicest and cheapest apartment we had ever had.

We moved in yesterday and it is so nice to have a lovely home to come back to. It is just another thing making me believe that Dahab is a dream come true.

Desert Dreaming in Dahab

tnj4884 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:17:00 GMT

Continued... I will cut a long story short. Dahab is amazing. It's a small town located on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. A few years ago, it was just desert camps run by the Beduoins (local traditionally nomadic tribe). It has grown a bit, but still leans more to a backpackers escape than a resort location. The entire town is bordered by the red sea, and if you look across the strait, you can see the mountains of Saudi Arabia (a beautiful sight at sunset).
The locals are mix of Bedouins, Egyptians and foreigners who came and couldn't bring themselves to leave. There is a backpacker/hippy vibe and the streets are beaches on one side, covered with outdoor restaurants and coffee shops, where you can relax on a cushion, smoke some shisha (tobacco water pipes which you smoke what looks like charcoal, but is flavored tobacco), and shops on the other (all sorts of touristy knick knacks - I get referred to hear as "My Color" and it tends to get me quite a good discount:) There are camels (domestic and wild) that roam the streets, and goats in munching trash in the Bedouin neighborhoods. If you turn your back to the sea, you see desert, and mountains. Turn back around and its like seeing an Oasis, palm treas and clear, warm water.

We are working for a guy named Ayman who owns a few shops. We are working out of a shop Octopus divers, that he just took over. He wants our help to run it, and turn it into a "proper" shop. So we spend our days sitting in the shop, surfing the web. Or out diving with students. So far we have been just doing some snorkeling and diving to get to know the dive sites. The diving is amazing. It is such a refreshing change from Spain. Here you wade out from the shore and then drop into coral, hard and soft, so many colors, so many fishes. Soooooo amazing. I hope to be able to afford and underwater camera soon.

So all in all, I am very happy and excited that, so far, everything has worked out here in Dahab. In my 3 years of travel, I can't think of a place I have loved more.

I'm BAAACCCCKKK Bloggin

tnj4884 — Sat, 8 Aug 2009 22:21:00 GMT

It has been far too long, and I have found new inspiration in my current home of Dahab, Egypt. Since I last wrote, I left australia to get my Dive INstructor certification in Honduras. I made a stop in the states where i saw the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Vegas, Yellow Springs, New York, but most importnantly my amazing baby nephew. Then to Roatan, Honduras, which was lovely, but expensive and hit hard by the economic melt-down (as were my savings in the now worthless Aussie Dollar:( ). I then left to Mexico to become a underwater videographer. Great experience crap pay even crappier boss. Left when Swine flu hit fearing for my health, sanity and financial well-being. I then headed to Miami to visit my loverly mother and then to Enkoping, Sweden to visit Jimmys friends and family. Sweden was great, cold, but it was nice to see where Jimmy came from. We then were off to Spain for our first real instructing job. The company was crap, the town, Port de Pollenca, in the northwest of Mallorca was beautiful. I didn't want to overstay my EU visa and hurt my shots at Swedish residency, so with 10 days to spare, we fled to Egypt, where my story now begins.

We left on the 5th at about 11:00pm on a cramped EZ jet flight to London Gatwick. We spent 10 hours there, sleeping on a couch in the waiting lounge. THen it was off to EGYPT.

After a 5 hour flight, land came into view. The sun was setting, so the view out of the window was tinted with red and oranges. All you could see was the silouhetes of mountains and stretches of deserts. When we landed, the heat almost knocked me down...have to go, this is to be continued.

Kimberly, Kakadu...and TOWNSVILLE

tnj4884 — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:06:00 GMT

I know it has been a while, and I don't really have much time. A long story short a month ago we left the pearling boats for good, after a very interesting harvest. We did a trip to Litchfield National Park and then down the Gibb River Road in the Kimberly. It was filled with kangaroos, wallabies, goanas and DINGOES!!! Then we went to Kakadu and Katherine Gorge for a week before heading off to Townsville. I'll upload pictures soon, which will illustrate just how amazing it was.

I have now been in Townsville for 2 weeks. I am working for crap wage at a restaurant until some office work turns up. Townsville is great 25 degrees C (77 F) in the middle of winter. We got a 2 bedroom apt for 160/wk that is 2 mnutes walk to the beach. It is a lovely little city, with nice beaches, great diving and a great outdoor culture (also there are always fairs and festivals to entertain me for free on my little time off). So things are great. In september we will hopefully be sailing around the whitsundays helping to crew a boat and starting our course in reef conservation through Reef Check australia.

More details soon!

AUNTIE Tracy!!! And Pearling Boat Life

tnj4884 — Thu, 8 May 2008 15:45:00 GMT

First of all....I'm going to be an AUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok ok. So we arrived on the 12th to broome in western australia and were met with 35 degree heat in the worlds smallest airport (though I have since experienced smaller). We decided to stay at Cable Beach, a decision that was not regretted. Unlike the cramped and crowded beaches in Sydney, Cable beach spreads over kilometers and kilometers of white sandy beaches. The water is blue and the warmest I've ever been in (made thailand seem like a joke).

So we spent a couple days relaxing and exploring this small town (the biggest in Norhtern WA) and then on Monday headed to Grunt Labour Services to talk business.

We were disappointed to hear that our dreams of being pearl divers would not be realized. One, because they don't hire women, and two, because they don't hire travellers. So we put our names on the list for getting work as chippers/deckhands on the pearling boats and were told we would find out in a week or so if we can get in on the next "swing".

Money was tight, so we decided to get jobs - me at a cafe/restaurant and jimmy doing laundrey at the backpackers/resort we were staying at. Finally we were told that they got us work with Kailis, one of the larger pearling companies, and we were leaving the 23rd. The pay was 150 a day and food and accomodation were included. We would would two weeks on the boat and then get a week off. Finally things were starting to work out again.

We were met on the morning of the 23rd by a small seaplane, which would take us on our 90minute trip to the boat, the Capricorn Lady. The seaplane trip was an experience in itelf and the view was amazing.

I dozed off a bit and Jimmy shook me awake and pointed out the window. I saw blue ocean dotted with hundreds of little islands. All completely uninhabited and covered in red rock and green bushes most about a half kilometer across if that.

On the boat things were a bit hectic. We were shown our bunks (me and jimmy were in the 8 person bunk in the bottom level) and given a tour of the boat, which was much smaller than expected. We spent the day get the boat ready for a 24 hour steam to the farm we would work this week (we would steam back and do the farm we arrived at a week later). I was nervous and felt out of my element. But i quickly learned how to tie the various knots and what needed to be done to prepare the boat.

We were supposed to steam that night, but the anchor chain got knotted up, so we were given our beer rations (a carton of mid strength beers, for $35, which was to last for the week at a limit of four a day - a loosely enforced limit). and had a couple of beers and went to bed.

We woke up at 5am, fixed the chains and headed off... it was nice to get paid to do nothing, but was a bit boring...all there really is to do is read or watch movies.

Blah, blah, we arrived...so i'll go ahead and paint you a picture of my average day.

I wake up at 5:30 and throw on my work clothes, brush my teeth and have a cup of tea (if there are any mugs). At six, we head onto our individual cleaning boats and head to our lines. Each line has about 85 or so panels with 6 to 8 shells in them. One person pulls the panels, which can weigh up to 13 kilos out of the water, but there dropper lines, hoists it onto the boat and puts it through the cleaning machine wich rinses it with hi powered jets of saltwater. It comes out the other end and the other people on the boat use wood chisels to chip off the barnacles, jelly like sea creatures, oyster shells, itchy fire weed and other crap that grows on them .then one person tosses the panel back in to the water. This goes on until the last panel is done. then the line is taked off the winge and and we go along and count the exact number of panels, and move on to the next line. At 8 we have Smoko, where we get a 15 minute break and some food is brought out (ex:spring rolls, yogurt, sandwhich and fruit...a lot of food). Then back to work and then at 12 we are taken back to the Cap lady for lunch (45minutes and just as big as smoko) and then back on the boast and we finish at about 3, head to moor up the boat and back to the big boat to enjoy a much needed mid strength beer.

The rest of the day is spent fishing, going to one of the beaches, watching movies, reading, chatting, having a couple more beers and watching the sharks, dolphins and crocs that hang out by the boat waiting for scraps or the schools of fishes that swarm the boat in the evening attracted to the lights.

So after two weeks (14 days of working) I am covered in little scratching, sandfly bites, have a shooting pain in my now only parshally mobile fingers and soar arms and shoulders and have a rash on my fingers and upper arm. All in all it was a good, time, the people on the boat were cool and the work was not that hard...a bit messy but i bet i'll have really toned arms.

So a fortnight later, we were on the plane headed for our week off. Back in broome, we are just rlaxing and I am going to start taking some big chunks out of my debt. It's nice to be on land. We are going to stay in broome this week off. But we plan to hire a van and travel and camp around the rest of WA.

So i'm off to relax by the pool and do some much needed unwinding.

Employment

tnj4884 — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:07:00 GMT

Well, I came to Sydney on Wednesday and started work Friday. It wasn't as easy as it sounds. I had to sign up for every temp agency known to man and spent hours and hours sending my resume out for every job imaginable. I eventually landed a 2 week assignment in sales...and by sales i mean telemarketing.

That same day, I managed to get a trial at a restaurant in Darling Harbour. I was pretty excited, but not holding my breath since they would probably not hire me when they found out my visa is up in 7 weeks.

So on Friday, i took the train up into the Northern Suburbs (Chatswood) and to my surprise the hour-long commute wasn't so bad. The company is called Maximizer and they are a software company that makes a contact management system (think Outlook, but much more efficient). If you are a small business, it's worth taking a look at.

Anyway, Maximizer just launched a new version and are offering an upgrade promotion (over 40% off!!!). The offer lasts for two weeks, so my job is to call people who have purchased the software and ask them if I can send them an email about the offer. Simple.

It's a bit better than telemarketing, b/c it's not cold calling, and I don't have to try and sell them anything, just get permission to email them (which 90% of the clients give me). I was surprised how quickly the time passed, and the people in the office are really nice. And the fact that they give everyone a beer at 4:30 on Friday's doesn't hurt. It's not the greatest job in the world, but it will be fine for two weeks (anymore and i might go crazy). And it pays $20/hr plus super.

The trial at the restaurant went well. It's a typical overpriced Darling Harbour restaurant, Italian, with about 100 tables. My job was good and drink runner. It was good, no thinking, just taking plates and drinks out. I did manage to burn my thumb pretty badly on a plate, and my new, $20, black closed-toe work flats gave me blisters on my heels, but all in all not too bad. The manager said I did really well, and I lied and told him I'd stay for 2.5 months. He said he really liked me, but would like someone staying a bit longer, that he was waiting to trial two more people Saturday, and he would call me by MOnday. I'm not holding my breath. Anyway, he would have to see my visa eventually, so whatever.

So anyway that's it, been catching up with people and readjusting to city life (although i think of Sydney more as a big suburb with an ugly downtown). Jimmy's visa went through and he should be here on Tuesday...Yea! I'm taking it easy, not spending any money (i gave myself a $30 grocery limit) and thinking about what I will do in April when my visa runs out.

Trop Fest is Sunday (big film festival) so if it isn't pissing down rain, I'll go to that. Oh yeah, how could i forget...SYDNEY SUCKS! It's about 20 degrees windy and raining. It apparently has rained 30 out of the past 60 days and is due to rain 15 out of the next 30! Up north, Queensland is flooding (an area that has had extreme drought for over 100 year) and everything is topsy turvy. Makes it a bit hard to deny global warning.

All i can do is hope that the weather will clear up now that I'm here. Crap weather does make it a lot less depressing being crammed in an office all day though. Ok, well that's it for now, i'll update you all if anything interesting happens (not likely)

A Penny for the Poor

tnj4884 — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:31:00 GMT

Well, well well...I can't help but to laugh at my current financial situation. Actually, I can't help but to laugh at my situation all around.

I have a whopping 255 AUD to my name a maxed out credit card with a balance of 4,200 on it (US) and another one with 300US... I also have dipped into my overdrawal on my us checking account ot pay off the $200 bill on my card.

Should I be panicked...Of Course...Am i panicked..a bit.But hey, at least i'm a divemaster.

So since i last wrote, things were good in Phi Phi, I finished my DMT and survived my snorkel test, though it ended with me spewing in an ally and being taken home on a trolly. But i survived nonetheless and traditions must be upheld.

I tried to find work as a DM, Phi Phi Scuba screwed me over, b/c they don't hire their DMT (unless you want to work for free) and there was really no work going on the island. I did a brief 3 day stint selling dives for island divers (not as bad as I heard) but then got wind of a Dm position at Scool divers.

Scool is the newest and one of the smalles dive shops on the island. It is thai owned and run, which is nice an the people were cool . but unfortunatley, there was little work. So going out of my mind one day, thinking how it sucks not to be diving and not to making money and wondering why i was still on Phi Phi, I called the airline. And unlike the million times i called before, they actually had a flight out on the 12th.

I was soooooo happy. I could get a whole other week in Sydney to start making some money back. I was sad, b/c i would have to leave Jimmy (swedish boy i had been dating behind...he is waiting for his visa for australia to go through).

So I decided to book a 25 hour bus to singapore tosave money, but of course, it was Chinese new years, so the price was double. But whatever, the cheapest flights was 7,000 baht (more than 200 dollars). I left on the tenth to head to Krabi an when I got to the pier in Krabi, i realized that I didn't know where my passport was. I called Jimmy and Judith, my ex roomate and she foundit ina drawer in our old room. Shit!!!!!

My bus was leaving in five minutes,and it was the last bus and my only chance to make it to singapore in time for my flight. I was in a panick. Jimmy got Gop (the thai lady that ran Phi PHi Scuba) to give the passport to the captian of the afternoon ferry. that meant that I wouldn't get it until 4pm that afternoon.

I checked (and had several people back in Phi Phi check) for any flights trains or anything that could get me to Singapore in time. The only thing was a flight from Phuket that would cost 10,300 baht (350dollars). Seeing as i was dead broke I prayed for another option. For a while it looked like that was it. But after wondering Krabitown for 45 minutes, I found an internet cafe that actually had Skype that worked. I managed to call SIngapore airlines with my last dollar of credit and after 20 minutes on hold found out that there was one seat on the flight leaving the 13. the next flight would be on the 29th!

Great, I booked it and shelled out another 2,300 baht for another bus to singapore. I got a room at the travel agency and stayed in reading the rest of the night, trying not to think about the money i lost and focus on how lucky i was to get the next flight.

The next day at 11 i left on a cramped minibus to penang. 8 hours later, i was swtiched to a "proper" bus to sit out the rest of the ride. I was so exhausted from the stress of the night before and tired from lugging my heaving backpack PLUS all my dive equipment. And of course, the bus was freeezing cold and i got the only broken seat.

Whatever though, just happy to be on my way. At about midnight, the bus broke down and it broke down a couple more times later. Somehow, though, we made to Singapore by 9:30am. I should be happy to be early, but seeing as my flight doesn't leave for 14 more hours, I'm less than enthused.

So now i'm at the airport writing this, applying for everyjob available hoping to be working by the 14th. If not...well let's not think of it that way.

I have my old room back in Marrickville where i can stay for free until i get on my feet and I have emailed all the agency's i registered with and told them i was up for anything available. I have an interview on the 14th with another agency and will do some walking around handing out CVs if i don't hear anytings.

I have faith in my employability and I'msure I'll find a job. I just want finally get back on my feet financially and start saving up and paying off the credit cards. I still plan on heading to france in april to make some real money on the boats. But since i found out i can get another year visa for australia, we'll see.

Well that's it for now. I'll keep you posted and try and get some picturesup if the OZ comps can read my memory card.

Exams and Snorkel Tests

tnj4884 — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:37:00 GMT

Yesterday, I passed my first 3 exams. They were fairly easy, but it's still a good feeling. The next two exams, physics and physiology, should be a bit more difficult. But it can't all be fun I suppose.

But i have to be honest. It hasn't been all work and studying. I have been enjoying some nights out, I went cliff jumping a few days ago on my day off, and two nights ago was a big night on the island...SNORKELFEST!

When a DMT (Divemaster Trainee) finishes their traineeship and becomes a DM, they have to pass one final test, a rite of passage that every DM has had to go through to enter the ranks of dive professional...THE SNORKEL TEST. A snorkel test is when you drink an entire bucket (pint of rum or whiskwy, a red bull and a can of soda through a funnel attached to the end of a snorkel. It's the divers' version of a beer bong. Well we had 4 people doing theirs in one night, so it was a big night indeed. Everyone from Phi PhiScuba was there along with most of the other DMs and Instructors from the other shops on the isalnd. The participants got absolutely wasted, but e else. Butthen again so did pretty much everyone else. I was feeling a bit sick (had a mild fever that afternono)and was working, so i stayed sober. After 12:00 or so, everyone headed down to Carlitos on the beach for some more drinking and dancing. It was a great night, and I have lots of funny pictures.

Well that is about all for now. THere is more, but too much to write about and I need to head home for a nap (still feeling pretty crappy). But i shall write again soon and tell you about my first Thai Christmas.

Oh and not to alarm you, but there have been predictions of a Tsunami on the 23rd, so everyone (mostly the locals) are in a bit of a panic. I don't think it will happen, but if it does, at least everyone will be prepared. So cross you're fingers!

Every Day is a Monday, Every Night is a Friday

tnj4884 — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:23:00 GMT

I can't remember who said it, but it sums up the divers life on Phi Phi pretty acurately, "Every day is a Monday, every night is a friday."

My average day starts when my alarm clock goes off at 6:30am. I usually snooze at least once, but then it's into my bathingsuit and getting my bag packed. We are all supposed to be at the shop at 7:15 on diving days. And then we sit, have some tea and by 7:45 we are heading down to the boat.

I really enjoy the days on the boat. There is usually about 30 minutes boat ride to the dive site, when you can relax and if you're going to the wreck (an hour and a half away) you can have a nice snooze. Then, it's time to suit up and do the first dive of the day. Then it's back on the boat for lunch, some diving off the boat and relaxing in the sun (and for me the DMT switching tanks, getting everyone water, etc.). Sometimes we snorkel to Maya Bay (where they filmed The Beach) and hang out there for 10 or 15 minutes.

THen it's off to the next dive site and dive number two. After that, it's back to the boat and back to the pier.

I usually like to head home for a quick nap and maybe a bit of studying (Physics and Physiology at the moment, which is not so fun). But if it's a nice day, i can study at one of the bars on the beach and enjoy a fruit shake.

After a shower, I head to work at 6. The flyering is so boring. It takes about 10 minutes to walk around the whole of ton sai village, so a 3.5 hour day of flyering goes really slowly and involves wandering the same streets over and over.

At 9:30, I drop the flyers off at the bar upstairs and head downstairs to the shop to see whether or not i'll be diving the next day and where. This is one of my favorite times of the day. Everyone from the shop is there and enjoying a good chat and a beer, waiting for their assignments. After that the night begins.

Like a good girl, I don't really go out too much. But being a party island, everynight is Friday. There are 6 or so bars packed with tourists dancing and drinking the night away. I usually head up to deco bar for th 30baht beer happy hour for the locals (that's less than 1 dollar). And then home.

So that is a little glimpse of my average day. More about he not so average days to come.

Life in Paradise

tnj4884 — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:08:00 GMT

Well the fun is over and the work has begun. I've spent the last week and a half busy off my feet. I dive from about 7:30 to 3 (been seeing a lot of octopuses and leopard sharks lately!) and then working from 6-9:30 or sometimes 12.

The diving is going really well. I just finished my Rescue Diver certification and am officially DMT (Divemaster Trainee). There has been a bit of studying, but things are really going to kick into high gear now. You have to learn a lot of dive theory including physics and physiology. So I am cutting my hours down, so I can learn to be the best (and safest) divemaster I can be.

Life on Phi Phi has been good. A couple nights ago, one of the English Divemaster's fought in the local Muay Thai stadium. He got knocked out in the second round, but he put in a good effort and it was nice cuase the DMs and instructors from a lot of the shops came to support them.

Yesterday was Santa Lucia, a Swedish holiday celebrating some dead Italian woman. Who knows...the Swedish are a bit weird:) If i failed to mention this earlier, Phi Phi is currently filled to the brim with Swedes. There are and average of 3-5 in every diveshop and I would say one in every 3 tourists is a Swede. All in all, I have always liked the swedes, and it's much better than being overrun by the English :).

Right now, I'm waiting for a couple of the instructors so that we can go on a visarun. We're going into Malaysia and then back and a night in Krabi. SHould be fun and will buy me (it's actually free) another 30 days...then if i stay (might pay off the course and go to australia to make some money) I will have to go to cambodia or penang to get a 90 day visa. Fun Fun, my life is filled with Visas!

If i don't write before, a merry xmas, happy chanuka and a happy kwanzaa to all.

Now that I am on skype, expect an xmas hello!

I'm a thai resident

tnj4884 — Thu, 6 Dec 2007 17:17:00 GMT

So i have been wandering around for the past 15 months, trying to figure out what Iam going to do with my life. I have been trying a lot of different things and hoping one of them sticks. I have been waiting for an opportunity that I can't refuse, one that will help guide me and give me a bit of focus. Well, I have finally found it.

As of right now, I have officially moved to Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. As you know, I came here to do my Open Water certification and then moved on. Well I loved diving, andhey offered me an internship. I would get all my certification for free. The program is four months and you spend the last two months woring off your fees. All I have to pay for is my cost of living and my equipment (about $1,000).

It is truly a great oppportunity. There are many internships available around the world. But most cost about $4,000 (my cost of living for the four months will be about half that) and they don't get equipment. And the free internships that include housing usually ask for a 6 month committment. So this is great. It is a bit sudden, and I need to go back to OZ for a visit to get all my stuff and say goodbye to everyone. But the problem is that I don't know if I'll have money for the return ticket back here, so it might have to wait.

BUt I iwill figure out all that later. I just got my accmodation sorted (i'll pay about 8 bucks a night). And i have a job bartending and passing out flyers for the bar above the dive shop to help cover my cost of living.

The main problem is money. I was supposed to be relazing and earnign money right now in australia. Finally I wasn't going to have to stress about my finincial situation. Instead, it looks like I will have to put a few thousand dollars of ebt ob my credit card. But it will pay for itself a hundredfold. Now, when i got o antibes, I can earn more money this april (3,000 euro a month) and pay of this debt in a month or two.

I will also have achieved smehting, instead of just wandering around. I will be a great diver when this is all over (diving almost everyday) and can work anywhere in the world. I think this will open aup a world of opportunity. And the fact that this educatio will set me back only a few thousand dollars is great in my books and well worth it.

So i now workfor Phi Phi Scuba Diving Centre in Koh Phi Phi, the island i sbeautiful and the diving is amazing. So I will keepyou posted...wish me luck!

Might move to Koh Phi Phi

tnj4884 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:35:00 GMT

Well, well, well. My former hell has become heaven, and I'm not sure I can leave.

Since i last wrote, I have been having a really good time in Phi Phi. A few nights ago, I ran into the really nice indian-English guy from the FMP and went out with him and an irish friend he ahd met travelling. It was nice to have some company, since I have been mostly alone in Phi Phi. However, I had to be at the dive shop at 7:30am to do my first day of actual diving, so i wasn't gonig to have a big night. Anyway, I'm a bit over the island party scene, and the one on Phi Phi is especially bad.

So, we went out for a couple beers to Raggae Bar. It's one of the main bars on the island and has a Thai Boxing ring the middle. the fights were obviously staged, but "Amateur Boxing" was hilarious. THey offer a free bucket to anyone who will get in the ring, so the there were two really funny fights featuring drunken tourists beating the crap out of eachother (only in thailand!).

The next day, I started my actual diving. My love nest was cramped by an american couple who joined my group. But all in all it was truly an amazing time. The girl from the couple had a panic attack at the start of the first dive, so we had to take her back to the boat. But after that it was great. I thought I would be scared, and it is a bit scary int he open water when all you can see is blue. But when we got to the reefs, all the fear was forgotten. Swimming around with all the fish is the best feeling. And being so deep in the water and seeing what is further down, and feeling (and being treated) like one of the fish is the best feeling.

Today I completed my last 2 dives (four total). In all, I saw: hundreds of different ropical fish, including Nemos, Lionfish, trumpetfish, puffers, as well as octopuses, giant sea turtles (the highlight), eals and the most amazing and colorful corals.

I loved it so much, that I really want to do my advanced course. But it will cost another 300 dollars. Which i don't have. But I am considering getting a job in the bar above the diveshop or somewhere else in town. After exploring the island (did I mention they filmed the beach here) and seeing the more calm and beautiful side of things, I really want to stay for a while. But I am nervous about money. I would be making A LOT more in australia and not having to pay for accomodation. Here I will probably end up breaking even (not including the dive course). I don't know. I have to take my final exam for the open water course and then talk to henry about the job, the wages etc.

We'll see what happens. But either way, I am excited!