Catch up in Khao Lak

Well…it’s been a while since I let you know what I was up to and with more changes just around the corner, I figured now was a good time to catch you up on my latest travels and adventures…

I’ve had such an amazing year!

2 months doing marine conservation and education work on Naifaru in the Maldives...

...another 2 months teaching English to kids in Pokhara, Nepal...

...a month trekking around the Mt Everest region...

...a couple of weeks visiting new friends and exploring the sites of Malaysia...

Street food KL style with Cara and Matt

Deepavali Festival with Kumutha and her friends

...and for the last 5 months, I’ve been living on the west coast of Thailand in a small town called Khao Lak spending most of my days underwater. 

Yep, that's me in the front!

A year ago I would not have dreamed I would be where I am and have done what I have. I couldn’t conceive leaving my secure job, home and routines to irresponsibly travel around the world pursuing passions, dreams and new adventures. In keeping with my orderly lifestyle, I planned a 5 month sabbatical - albeit with no return flight home. But when the end of the 5 months approached, I realised I was in no way even remotely ready to return home. So I found a reason to stay abroad!

I decided to return to my love of the ocean, marine work and diving and signed up to do my Dive Master (DM) course with a crowd called Wicked Diving (wickeddiving.com). The DM course was great for getting my brain working again. Physics, physiology, chemistry, biology, maths and medicine. There were fitness tests to train for. And then there was finding out about the latest equipment, trends, standard updates, the best places to dive and how to run a successful dive business.

There were 3 guys doing the DM course with me. Chris and Kelvin from the UK and Jan from Switzerland. We all got on really well…most of the time…and a silly camaraderie quickly grew between us. It felt like we constantly bickered and joked around but were prepared to help each other out with just about anything (diving and non-diving related!). Julio, our instructor was a smart cookie with a wealth of diving knowledge and experience and I felt so lucky to be part of such a cool team.

Chris...

Kelvin

Jan

Julio

DMTs relaxing after a tough day...

The 6 week course flew by! In between the theory lessons, we got a whole lot of practical experience in the pool, on day trips and on Wicked’s live-aboard boat - the Mariner. We did 3 live-aboard trips each, we helped out instructors with open water and advanced courses, we practiced guiding divers around dive sites and learned all about keeping people safe above and below the ocean’s surface.

Wicked is not just about diving either. They support a local Burmese school and an orphanage and have a cool environmental programme running. We visited the school and helped them set up a recycling programme during our course and I’ve since helped out with building an artificial reef at one of the dive sites (more on all these in future posts). To me, the depth and breadth of Wicked’s philosophy and actions fit so well with my own values that it was a no-brainer to sign up with them. 

Taking recycling bins to the school

The kids displaying their artwork

Khao Lak is a reasonably quite town. It’s basically a 3km main street lined with dive shops, massage places, restaurants, bars and touristy shops. There are a couple of small side roads with hotels, hostels and homes tucked away in the trees. The area is surrounded by bush with lovely waterfalls hidden away at the end of narrow, unsealed roads. And there’s a beach. A long, sandy beach broken up by large outcrops of rock with uninterrupted views out to … well, the open ocean! 

Main road of Khao Lak

Homes down the side streets

New friends to make :)

Chong Fa Waterfall

Khao Lak beach

Khao Lak is one of the beaches that was hit hardest by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. There are a few reminders of the devastation that hit - large, empty beachfront sections, flowers and cards tied to trees and the police boat that was carried 2km inland. Otherwise, the town has bounced back and continues to attract tourists to it’s shores.

The police boat

I love it here. My lifestyle is so simple compared to what it was back home. I have very few possessions with me and I don’t miss what I used to have. My days are filled with diving, chatting to people, studying and plenty of downtime in between to explore. I’ve learned to deal with strange ants, scorpions and snakes. 

The scorpion in my bathroom...

The snakes on my balcony...

I go for a walk on the beach or a swim in the ocean most mornings that I’m not diving. I walk for 10 minutes in my bikini, shorts, singlet and jandals to get to work. I can’t recall a single case of ‘Monday-itus’. I’ve even got used to my very limited clothing choices and having only 2 pairs of shoes. (Such a change from the extensive wardrobe and 70 pairs of shoes I have back home!!! I understand Mum is currently raiding my wardrobe :))

Every day has brought a new experience, a new person or some new food across my path (or plate). I miss my family and friends back in NZ but have made so many more friends from all over the world that I am never lonely any more. 

So what’s next in store…well, I have a few plans starting to take shape. I’ll let you in on them as they firm up - and after I’ve told you a bunch of stories about some of the cool sights and experiences I’ve had here. Watch this space!