Well it's all going tit's up and no mistake.
Quick recap. Left Koa Chang after my non-snorkel and headed south. Figured there would be plenty of cheap snorkel daytrips there (ha ha..aha ha ha..that's the sound of me laughing derisively at myself) that I could go on and practise my breathing, get confident etc. before splashing out on a PADI course (a beginner's scuba diving course) which are quite pricey, about $400 (this keyboard doesnt have a pound sign... halve $400 and you have it in pounds). So I rock up at Khoa Lak and discover that the visibility off shore is no good and you have to go further afield. Near here are the Similan Island which are supposed to have some of the best coral reefs and dive sites in the world. Unfortunately as they are some way off shore and because they have such a good reputation and as this is such a busy tourist destination and as Thailand is SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE a day's snorkel there costs $80 which is more than I can afford. One woman I spoke to was unsure if there were any offshore snorkel opportunities in this part of Thailand which would make a few practise trips prohibitively expensive if I want to still be able to afford to do a PADI.
I'd decided, what the hell, hang the cost, best dive site in the world and all that, i'll do it as long as one of the dive centres had a prescription mask so I could see what the hell was going on (I know when you snorkel nothing is too far away from you but I didnt want to take the chance and spend $80 and not be able to see anything. The trip I missed in Koa Chang was $15 which wouldnt have been too expensive had it been a visual failure. By the way, the snorkel trip I did in Cambodia was $9 and the cost of a snorkel trip in Vietnam was $6 plus free bar) but no-one did (scratch that, no-one had one for hire but a couple did have them for sale.. a snip at $80 and upwards). Nha Trang is Vietnam's premier dive site and the two PADI courses I asked about there both had prescription masks so I figured that Thailand would be sure to have them too. I would pay $15 for a snorkel trip with no prescription mask but there is no way I would pay $80 and no way I would pay $400 for a PADI cousre (which ends with a open ocean dive so good visibility is essential) without them. The Similan Islands is one of the best sites in Thailand making Khoa Lak one of the main dive centres so the fact that they dont have any doesnt bode well for anywhere else in the country.
Khoa Lak itself is okay I guess but it is really built around diving so there isnt a great deal else to do here. The beach is nice but, as I realised in Koa Chang, the trouble with beaches (and I think you tend to forget this if you havent been to one in a while) is that they are in fact fantastically boring if there is nothing else to do on or near them. At least at the beach in Sihanoukville in Cambodia you were constantly being hassled by children pedalling bracelets, women selling fruit and crayfish and offering massages and pedicures, and hideously disfigured guys who'd lost both arms in mining accidents or had their legs blown off by landmines asking for money so it kept things interesting. Also there were bars along the sea front that you could afford to drink from. Not the case here, there are bars along the sea front but as I believe I mentioned earlier Thailand is SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE!!! Was it this expensive in the North? I cant remember. I dont think so. Stick a beach or sea view onto something and you can stick a few more zeros onto the price. That's the reason no-one from Cornwall can afford to buy a house there.
Also, with regards Khoa Lak, I havent seen this many old fat ugly Germans in one place since....well I'm delighted to say that I have never seen this many old fat ugly Germans in one place before. There were almost certainly more in Pattaya but they tended to blend in with the other fat ugly tourists whereas here they stand out. And the odd thing is that when there are large groups or families the young ones are all toned and muscular and fit and Aryan looking and the old ones are bloated saggy sacks of crap. There seems to be no transition period. Do they reach a certain age and just swell up like Spanish women after they get married?
Enquiring minds want to know.
I'd decided, what the hell, hang the cost, best dive site in the world and all that, i'll do it as long as one of the dive centres had a prescription mask so I could see what the hell was going on (I know when you snorkel nothing is too far away from you but I didnt want to take the chance and spend $80 and not be able to see anything. The trip I missed in Koa Chang was $15 which wouldnt have been too expensive had it been a visual failure. By the way, the snorkel trip I did in Cambodia was $9 and the cost of a snorkel trip in Vietnam was $6 plus free bar) but no-one did (scratch that, no-one had one for hire but a couple did have them for sale.. a snip at $80 and upwards). Nha Trang is Vietnam's premier dive site and the two PADI courses I asked about there both had prescription masks so I figured that Thailand would be sure to have them too. I would pay $15 for a snorkel trip with no prescription mask but there is no way I would pay $80 and no way I would pay $400 for a PADI cousre (which ends with a open ocean dive so good visibility is essential) without them. The Similan Islands is one of the best sites in Thailand making Khoa Lak one of the main dive centres so the fact that they dont have any doesnt bode well for anywhere else in the country.
Khoa Lak itself is okay I guess but it is really built around diving so there isnt a great deal else to do here. The beach is nice but, as I realised in Koa Chang, the trouble with beaches (and I think you tend to forget this if you havent been to one in a while) is that they are in fact fantastically boring if there is nothing else to do on or near them. At least at the beach in Sihanoukville in Cambodia you were constantly being hassled by children pedalling bracelets, women selling fruit and crayfish and offering massages and pedicures, and hideously disfigured guys who'd lost both arms in mining accidents or had their legs blown off by landmines asking for money so it kept things interesting. Also there were bars along the sea front that you could afford to drink from. Not the case here, there are bars along the sea front but as I believe I mentioned earlier Thailand is SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE!!! Was it this expensive in the North? I cant remember. I dont think so. Stick a beach or sea view onto something and you can stick a few more zeros onto the price. That's the reason no-one from Cornwall can afford to buy a house there.
Also, with regards Khoa Lak, I havent seen this many old fat ugly Germans in one place since....well I'm delighted to say that I have never seen this many old fat ugly Germans in one place before. There were almost certainly more in Pattaya but they tended to blend in with the other fat ugly tourists whereas here they stand out. And the odd thing is that when there are large groups or families the young ones are all toned and muscular and fit and Aryan looking and the old ones are bloated saggy sacks of crap. There seems to be no transition period. Do they reach a certain age and just swell up like Spanish women after they get married?
Enquiring minds want to know.
posted by Ben at 11:27 PM
1 Comments:
Well, something had to go wrong sometime, and hey! gives you something to moan about...
I admire the way you keep your blog up to date: I spend most of my time at home and don't often get round to putting anything on mine...
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