Sitting at Nitty's restaurant, cafe, and budget hostel in Khao Lak, I'm happy. I'm tired and my back hurts, but a chair and a coffee milkshake are starting to work their magic.
I'm in Khao Lak for work. I put a half day in at the office this morning (Saturday) and then hopped on the motorbike for my first ever foreign-road trip. I've traveled plenty, but as I started the two and half hour drive north to Khao Lak, I realized this was the first time I've ever done any long distance driving out of the country. There was an indescribable relief as I headed across Sarssin bridge, which connects Phuket to the mainland. It wasn't indescribable because it was an enormous feeling, but because it was so odd. It was like being aware of the problem of being inside all day, but only once you had one foot through the door -- already striding toward a solution.
I picked up a pad of rice with fried onions and some fried chicken for lunch. I ate them in a small shelter next to highway 402 and a rubber plantation on my the way up. The seasoning on the fried chicken, especially the better stuff, always amazes me. It takes a specially seasoned meat to make you ponder the flavors almost every time you have it. I know Jackie won't be leaving Thailand until she's got the recipe for a good cashew and chicken dish; I wont be leaving until I can make a mean Thai fry chicken.
I got the second half of Saturday off this week because I'm actually on a business trip. Funny to think of me being on a business trip. (There is a lot about my life right now that I would have never expected ten years ago, even one year ago, most notably becoming an editor.) It;s a business trip because of the dive column I'm supposed to have prepared in two weeks.
I'm still struggling to get my fins under me and figure out what the dive community is like here and what matters to them aka our readership; however I'm making some progress. A dive company in Phuket, Sea-Bees, has a branch up here in Khao Lak, which is the famous jump off point for liveaboards heading to the Similan islands. I was put in contact with the manager, Marcus, up here and he offered to help me out. So I came up to interview him today and I'll be diving with them tomorrow morning for free (ethical journalism?).
The interview went well -- I think. It's so strange to be jumping into such a skill based profession like journalism with no training or experience. Obviously, the training is doing the work, but there is so much confidence, tact, and art to interviewing and this was the first professional interview I've ever done in my life. Luckily, Marcus is a happy, balding German, who was glad to talk. I struggled to move the conversation towards my original goal (wreck diving), because apparently the Andaman sea doesn't really have too much in the way of wrecks, which surprised me. I had thought that given that the areas nautical history dated back to ancient times with the trade routes running from China to India there would be plenty of wrecks -- apparently there just isn't much to wreck on around here. None the less, the interview was good. I started getting a feel for how to do an interview and I also got some insights into what's important to the divers in this area.
I'm excited about the dives in the morning. The first dive of the day is going to be a dousy! With it just being a couple days since Loy Krathong (full moon of the twelfth month of the lunar calender) visibility on the wreck, Sea Charter, is going to be low and we might be dealing with a strong current, but we wont know until we drop down. The real issues is the depth. The wreck starts near the recreational dive depth limit of 40m, so we're going to be using Nitrox (thankfully I got my enriched-air certification) to extend our bottom time. No matter how you look at it, this wont be an easy dive, but it should be a pretty exciting one. The second dive will be an easier dive at some sort of sunken tin mining structure, which I'm also excited to do.
The issue of the Phuket Gazette that came out this week made me proud. Each week I've been more and more involved in the final product and this week I hit the trilogy: editing, layout (the first time I laid out a page it took me an entire day!) and contribution. It's the first time my name has been in a publication. It kind of feels like it's "self-published" because I'm on the editorial team and knew that it was going to be published, but I am published! Jackie and I were going to celebrate last night, but after dinner we were both tired so we had a drink, played a couple hands of cards in bedroom and then crashed out.
I'm in Khao Lak for work. I put a half day in at the office this morning (Saturday) and then hopped on the motorbike for my first ever foreign-road trip. I've traveled plenty, but as I started the two and half hour drive north to Khao Lak, I realized this was the first time I've ever done any long distance driving out of the country. There was an indescribable relief as I headed across Sarssin bridge, which connects Phuket to the mainland. It wasn't indescribable because it was an enormous feeling, but because it was so odd. It was like being aware of the problem of being inside all day, but only once you had one foot through the door -- already striding toward a solution.
I picked up a pad of rice with fried onions and some fried chicken for lunch. I ate them in a small shelter next to highway 402 and a rubber plantation on my the way up. The seasoning on the fried chicken, especially the better stuff, always amazes me. It takes a specially seasoned meat to make you ponder the flavors almost every time you have it. I know Jackie won't be leaving Thailand until she's got the recipe for a good cashew and chicken dish; I wont be leaving until I can make a mean Thai fry chicken.
I got the second half of Saturday off this week because I'm actually on a business trip. Funny to think of me being on a business trip. (There is a lot about my life right now that I would have never expected ten years ago, even one year ago, most notably becoming an editor.) It;s a business trip because of the dive column I'm supposed to have prepared in two weeks.
I'm still struggling to get my fins under me and figure out what the dive community is like here and what matters to them aka our readership; however I'm making some progress. A dive company in Phuket, Sea-Bees, has a branch up here in Khao Lak, which is the famous jump off point for liveaboards heading to the Similan islands. I was put in contact with the manager, Marcus, up here and he offered to help me out. So I came up to interview him today and I'll be diving with them tomorrow morning for free (ethical journalism?).
The interview went well -- I think. It's so strange to be jumping into such a skill based profession like journalism with no training or experience. Obviously, the training is doing the work, but there is so much confidence, tact, and art to interviewing and this was the first professional interview I've ever done in my life. Luckily, Marcus is a happy, balding German, who was glad to talk. I struggled to move the conversation towards my original goal (wreck diving), because apparently the Andaman sea doesn't really have too much in the way of wrecks, which surprised me. I had thought that given that the areas nautical history dated back to ancient times with the trade routes running from China to India there would be plenty of wrecks -- apparently there just isn't much to wreck on around here. None the less, the interview was good. I started getting a feel for how to do an interview and I also got some insights into what's important to the divers in this area.
I'm excited about the dives in the morning. The first dive of the day is going to be a dousy! With it just being a couple days since Loy Krathong (full moon of the twelfth month of the lunar calender) visibility on the wreck, Sea Charter, is going to be low and we might be dealing with a strong current, but we wont know until we drop down. The real issues is the depth. The wreck starts near the recreational dive depth limit of 40m, so we're going to be using Nitrox (thankfully I got my enriched-air certification) to extend our bottom time. No matter how you look at it, this wont be an easy dive, but it should be a pretty exciting one. The second dive will be an easier dive at some sort of sunken tin mining structure, which I'm also excited to do.
The issue of the Phuket Gazette that came out this week made me proud. Each week I've been more and more involved in the final product and this week I hit the trilogy: editing, layout (the first time I laid out a page it took me an entire day!) and contribution. It's the first time my name has been in a publication. It kind of feels like it's "self-published" because I'm on the editorial team and knew that it was going to be published, but I am published! Jackie and I were going to celebrate last night, but after dinner we were both tired so we had a drink, played a couple hands of cards in bedroom and then crashed out.
Congratulations on your trilogy of success. I am so pleased for you.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Isaac! Keep up the good work. How were the dives?
ReplyDeleteEditorial comments: First dive was only down to 33 meters. Marcus actually isn't bald just balding with buzzed white hair.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Isaac!
ReplyDeleteAnd I like the "editorial comment" above. Being Tom's barber and wife, there is a HUGE difference between "bald" and "balding!" Just ask any "balding" dude!
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ReplyDelete