City Scape...

...whoever said cities couldn't be beautiful??? it seems that everyday we get something new to look at, be it spectacular sunsets, stormy skies and lightning shows, or even firework displays provided by the fancy hotels along the river.

Here are just a few of the things we get to see from our balconies.

Just a few of the sunsets within our first few weeks here.

We get about 2 firework displays a week. The photos are a work in progress. It took us quite a few attempts to get remotely clear pictures.













And obviously with all the rain we're having, we get a few of these...

Even when the sun's gone down and there's not much going on the view can still be pretty cool.

Life in Bangkok

Well, so we’re back from the beach and turquoise water into the rain and the smog. The first three weeks back it seemed to do nothing but rain. Not the usual torrential downpour kind of rain, more like the constant grey drizzle that my home town is so famed for. At the time all I did was complain about it as I had been looking forward to spending all my free time before school started getting even browner. Now I realize how nice it was having weather about 10 degrees cooler. Bangkok currently has a heat index rating of about 47 degrees, and believe me that means it feels really stinking hot.
After all the worry about sorting out work, getting jobs was actually very simple. I wasn’t so worried about myself; female teachers with reasonable experience, TEFL certifications and real Degrees are like gold dust out here. Schools always prefer employing women as they figure they’re not just here for the sex life.... Anyway, as it turns out both Nick and I found work really easily. He nearly ended up getting a promotion in the first week when the main Grade 2 teacher didn’t turn up. Don’t think he liked the idea of so much responsibility straight off, so far he has managed to hang on to his Grade 2 teaching assistant position. 3 weeks in and our department alone is still 4 teachers short. People really weren’t kidding when they said there was a teacher shortage. Seems that all the new rules and regulations have scared everybody off. It’s a bit silly really, there are loads of really experienced and good teachers out here but they just can’t get the work as they haven’t got degrees. Instead the students just go without a teacher...round of applause to the Ministry of Education for that one.
By the time we had sorted out work and had been back in Bangkok for a couple of days, we realized that the apartments that we had gone back to (the same building Nicole and I had spent a couple of years in), really weren’t so nice anymore; dirty walls, dark corridors, dirty furnishings etc etc etc. Not only that but the traffic really has gotten worse. Take a city that’s roads are at a standstill half of the time anyway, throw in another 3 or 4 years of traffic increase and what do you get?? A desperate run for the Sky-train and Underground as everybody else queues an hour to get a mile or so down the road. Then again it takes a braver person that me to get on an Underground system in a city that’s foundations are constantly sinking and shifting. Anyway, we decided to look for an apartment within walking distance of the school. We got a little bit carried away and have now landed ourselves with a monthly rent far greater than we had budgeted for. As much as I hate spending unnecessary cash and generally take the budget option wherever I can, I’m really enjoying the treat of living somewhere a little bit more luxurious. We have a beautiful 2 bed apartment that has great views, loads of space, leather sofas, 2 balconies and a nice pool. It’s quite a step up from the £25 a month studio I started off in. It also has a kitchen which is both a blessing and a curse. It means that we can have people round for dinner, but it also means I’m having to cook more than I have in ages.
So now we’re all settled, all we need is for people to come out and visit us. Our first guest arrives on Monday and is coming with empty bags and a desire to do little other than shop. I’m really looking forward to doing yet another tour of the shopping areas I’ve already made myself very familiar with over the last few weeks. I’m hoping that we have somebody come out to see us once a month...sometime around payday so I can use it as another excuse to shop, go out, and generally spend money. Saving can start later!!

Return to a small island...

Ok, so while I was definitely enjoying myself underwater in Tioman, after 7 days of early nights and quiet evenings reading I was definitely itching to get back to that little island of oh such great debauchery...Perhentian Kecil. Nick and I left Tioman with the intention of heading up north as quickly as possible. All going to plan we were to be back on the beach within around 24 hours. Of course things rarely go to plan... the twinge in Nick’s ear turned into a really nasty ear infection overnight that came with a raging fever and that seemed to be immune to antibiotics. We had to call halt to all plans and instead I rushed around town to find us somewhere comfortable and air-conditioned to hole up in. Once I managed to get Nick across town I then had to walk back and forth in 38 degree heat ferrying all our luggage from room to room. A very hot and stressful day indeed, think the locals thought me slightly deranged as they watched me trundle back and to with bags.
After a partial recovery from Nick, we made our way north and out to the Perhentian Islands. Argued as being the most beautiful of Malaysia’s Islands, they have “with crystal-clear aquamarine water and white-sand beaches” if you are to believe the guide books. From my numerous visits over the years I have always used it as the place to compare and rate all other places against. The islands advertised themselves as quiet, with nothing to do but dive, read and chill, and with alcohol prohibited. This meant that the type of people who made it over to the island went there regardless of forecasted boredom and lack of a party and were all really cool. More to the point a whole heap of alcohol and partying was always to be found. Long Beach had all the best bits, calm blue water (well most of the time anyway), powder white sand, low key wicked parties, and a small community where everyone (even the tourists) knew each other.
So...did it live up to expectations on my return...? Well, I’d like to say that Nick instantly fell in love with the place as I once did, but in actual fact it was a huge disappointment. As we pulled up to the beach, I could see that although white and sandy as ever, the sand that wasn’t covered by brightly coloured umbrellas had diggers churning it up as they trundled back an forth in front of the sunbathers. The diggers obviously there to play a key part in creating the largest and ugliest concrete monstrosity that I’ve ever seen, slap bang in the middle of the beach, directly in front of the dive shop where I used to spend most of my time. To make matters worse, it’s predicted that the building (that is apparently the bright idea of the government) will take 3 years to complete. 3 years of locals suffering and business owners moving out.
You can probably see from the pictures, that this beach really is spectacular. Imagine a 50 metre by 10 metre metal barge being towed into that picture and being left on the beach as they unload and dump all the building materials next to where you’re trying to soak up that relaxing holiday dream. Doesn’t quite fit does it...? The irony of it is this; it was the first time I’ve ever been charged a national park entry fee onto the islands. A fee that will no doubt be going straight into the destruction of a beautiful place that many people will now never go back to.
Ok...so that was possibly my longest rant yet! We did end up having a nice time on the island, we did some really cool dives, and met some more wicked people. And, if you turned your head to the left slightly, you could almost forget what was happening up the beach. While the partying front was never going to live up to past standards in the absence of the old Coral Sky crew, we did manage one big night in Palm Tree where I went back to making an idiot of myself on the dance floor. Some things will never change.

Bangkok to Tioman

So...we finally made it, back to the land of smiles. Back to the warmth; back to life with islands on the doorstep; back to cheap food, affordable taxis and days of shopping. It’s amazing what memories stay with you when you leave...and what memories get conveniently left behind. Back to the damp, sweaty, cloying heat and its induced exhaustion; back to the stinky overly ripe streets, drains and klongs; back to the stationary traffic and horrifically long journeys; back to that out of breath and close to dying feeling gained when climbing the steps to the sky-train in 36 degree heat; back to packed department stores full of shuffling people with no sense of direction and a strange desire to stop dead when disembarking from any and every escalator. Oh yes...it’s good to be here.

We arrived in Bangkok about a month ago, I was so excited to get back that it was bound to be something of an anticlimax. I had built it up for so long, telling Nick and just about everybody who would listen about how great life used to be. When I arrived I felt so nervous that it wouldn’t live up to everything I had made it out to be, that I found it all to be more than a little bit stressful. I found myself constantly apologising to Nick for everything...sorry for the traffic jam, sorry you’re sweating, sorry it’s raining etc etc etc. Anyway, after a few days of this we flew down to Singapore and I let myself relax back into beach mode.
We spent one night in Singapore (a slightly unnerving place, hardly a car on the roads and far too little rubbish to be in Asia) before heading up into Malaysia and catching a very seasick inducing ferry over to Tioman Island. Tioman was just how I remember it, quite a few bars and restaurants yet never quite managing to provide a decent night out. Every restaurant serves the same dishes badly and the bars aren’t really set up for a mad night out. While on land was lacking in that certain spark, the diving lived up to all my memories of it and we dived everyday and could have done more. It is nudibranch heaven, even I managed to find stuff and I seem to be going blind.

The pictures are the view from our balcony (what can I say, we splashed out, seem to struggle with the whole budget backpacker thing now), one of the cool nudis and a cuttle fish.

Bureacratic Stress

Ok, just a quick rant…..

Last week, seeing as I recently seem to have turned into a ‘super-organized’ bod and because I want my next adventure to include ALL the necessary documentation, visas and a fresh new empty passport for the Thai immigrations approval, I thought that I’d get a head start, book my flight ticket early and arrange visas etc etc. Don’t want to get turned away from the plane and stuck for a week like I did in Egypt.

Anyway….have been investigating one way flight ticket and visa requirements, I checked with the Thai Embassy and they say I need a non-immigrant B visa to get a work permit, told them I knew that but I'd get it from Malaysia when I go on holiday, they say I can only get it here, from my place of birth. This definitely has neverbeen the case before, and the problem is I can't get it here because my school won't give me the documents needed for the visa until I go over there have the interview, meet the board, and show my degree.

So...can't get the B visa without the documents that I won't get until I go over there and give them my documents which I can't do unless I get a visa. THEN they tell me 'you do know you need a police check to get a teaching permit in Thailand now don’t you'.... to which I say ‘no….I didn’t know I needed a police check, how long does that take....?’ '5 weeks' they say.....

Then....Gill from work (who's generally well informed for a scouser...) tells me it costs about 100 quid to get a police check. 100 quid for that, 100 quid for visa....aaahhhhhh.

Just tried to call Nicole in Thailand to just get the info on what she had to do when she went last March but...can't get through.

So....phoned the police and found out that the check I need does take 5 weeks but only costs £10 and they will post it out to wherever, but….I need to have 2 forms of picture ID to take with me to the station. Problem with this is I need to send my passport off for renewal asap otherwise it won’t get back in time to be sent of for the visa that I’ll never get!!
This is turning into an organizational nightmare and I'm completely exhausted from trying to deal with all this while doing overtime at work.

Why is it so difficult to do things the official way….?

Beautiful Manchester....

Just wanted to post this picture that I’m quite impressed with (even if I do say so myself…). Took this over the weekend, during which I did little more than laze around feeling very sorry for myself with a major head cold. Nick and I were housesitting for his dad in Bowden and I managed to peel myself off the couch to see this sunset. It was one of those times where you’re really happy to have a camera with you, even if you do have to turn it on 3 times to take on picture because the battery’s dead. Anyway, still feeling sorry for myself and behaving like a complete space cadet at work so feel I’m in need of a half-day. Daytime TV here I come.

Part 3....

Last week Nick and I went away to Zell am See in Austria for a weeks snowboarding. It was a far more successful trip than last time, with me being able to board every day and remain largely bruise and concussion free. It was quite strange to get back to it after 2 years’; I knew that I had to be able to do everything as I’d done it before, but it seemed harder and scarier second time around. I have a real issue with the fact that you’re supposed to throw your weight down hill when your mind is screaming at you to lean back and brace yourself. Had to start completely from scratch but got the hang of it quite quickly. Did have a dicey morning where Nick and I went right to the top of the mountain, planning to test our new skills all the way down; scared of heights so the lifts are kinda hard to deal with anyway, then got to the top and found that I had to deal with edges of piste that dropped off into nothingness. Anyway, a major panic attack ensued which continued all the way back down the mountain, a journey that I made from the safety of the cable cars. Soon got my confidence back and was back to flying down the slopes in a mostly controlled (but sometimes completely uncontrolled) manner. Can’t wait to go again, thinking of Japan for Christmas.

As for further travel plans, I now have my departure date set, the flight has yet to be booked but the leaving do is planned. I have been offered a job at my old school in Bangkok, which I am absolutely thrilled about; it was hit and miss as to whether I’d get a job again there as it’s such a good school, but they seem eager to have me back. Hopefully Nick can get a job there as well, they’ve shown interest in him for a job teaching part PE and part remedial classes. This is every teachers dream job; getting to run around outside doing something fun for half the time, then get to relax back in the air-can teaching small specialist groups the rest of the time. Thanks to Nicole we have an apartment sorted already, she’s leaving us with a pretty much fully equipped pad while she heads off for a few months of beach bumming (otherwise known as 'becoming a dive instructor). If all goes to plan then we’ll get there at the start of April, dump bags and head straight off to Tioman and Perhentian islands in Malaysia to catch up on our water time for a month or so. Can’t wait. Think I’ve forgotten everything. God help me next time I have to teach a course.

Ok...think I’ve gone on enough. If you’ve bothered to read to this point then you really must be bored and in need of taking up a new hobby. So ciao for now, and for those of you who fancy a visit to Asia, Nick and I are getting a two-bed apartment with pool so you’re more than welcome to come and abuse our hospitality.

Part 2....

New Year was quiet, we caught up with Nick Downie (aka ex Pura Vida Nick and Tanja - English Nick), at his place in town. Spent the night drinking bubbly while watching fireworks over Manchester from his balcony. Slightly more chilly and definitely more relaxed than our last new year... Early in January Nick and I went down to London for a pre-birthday celebration for him. Rob from Reef Gliders in Roatan came over from Amsterdam to join us as it was his birthday too. The whole weekend involved an awful lot of drinking and eating, the pinnacle of which was Saturday night in Home Bar. It was great to catch up with friends from the Perhentians, Roatan, Paris, London and Leeds. It was also one for the diary as I'm sure it's the first time we've been out with Mr Austin without him exposing himself at some point in the evening.
Nick's actual birthday was spent at a luxury timeshare at Underscar in the Lake District (see pics above), a treat from his mum and step dad. It's nice to spend a day out in the hills and to come back for a relaxing sauna and Jacuzzi. Obviously this weekend, as did the weekend before, involved a great deal of food and booze. Having a little difficulty shifting the festive season excess at the mo.

A major catch up....Part 1

So obviously the blog turned out to be a great idea.... I’ve kept it well up to date with pics and interesting little ditties of all I've been up to. Yes, yes, I know I've been pathetic at posting stuff but when you have a job like mine there is little to talk about.

Christmas at home was surprisingly uneventful for me, Nick was away 'working' in Antarctica for the two weeks leading up to Christmas so my days were spent working long hours and going to the gym...how exciting indeed. Nick arrived back on Christmas Eve, minus his bags, which were in Madrid (a very convenient excuse for missing xmas pressies if ever there was one!!). Christmas morning was spent at my house, so I could join my mum for our traditional Christmas morning 'mucking out' of the horses together; something I hated as a child as it stopped me from opening my presents, but I like to think I've learnt a little more patience now. After that we opened presents with my family before heading off to Nick's mum's to open pressies there and have a rather drunken lunch. We then made our way round to Nick's dad's where we continued on our present opening drinking marathon. Kind of fun having to do the whole family thing three times.

The pic above is of home.

Roatan Reunion

This weekend we had our own mini Roatan reunion, while it was only a few of my favourite faces that were able to join us it was fantastic to catch up and gossip. It was just like old times; Dunk in trouble with his girlfriend, Jim shouting across the bar, Max and Fontaine all over each other, and Liz getting drunk. Only thing that was missing was me getting off my face, making a complete idiot of myself, and Nick having to carry me home. Oh yeah, that and the obvious lack of sun, sand and beachwear. It was great to see everyone, an awful lot of reminiscing was done, it makes it hard not to go on about Roatan when it’s pissing it down outside. The wet streets of London aren’t really an attractive backdrop for a lot of beach lovers.

Seems like everybody, bar Liz (who’s loving her new job as an accountant…no I can’t picture it either…), is desperate to get out of here. Unfortunately it looks like most of us are going to be stuck here a while. Max and Fontaine however, are really living the high life with Christmas in Europe and then crewing a yacht all the way to the Caribbean after a lucky encounter with some random guy in a bar. Their round the globe quest to find ‘the perfect spot’ for a dive shop has led them straight back to where they started. Nice one guys, reckon it was just a good excuse for a holiday.
Other people joined us; Nick’s London friends, who all have high-powered jobs and put us all to shame, and Jim and Dawn were as reliable as always and ready for a night out. To those conspicuous with your absence, the excuses didn’t wash and you’re still not forgiven.
The weekend was busy, and the next day Nick and I went to Brighton for a surprise birthday party for his friend Dave. The surprise involved day going for ‘surprise’ dive in the shark tank at the aquarium, and for all his friends to sneak in and wave at him from the tunnel underneath. While he didn’t choke on his regulator as apparently most were hoping, it all went really well. Think it was one of the most inventive birthdays I’ve been to yet, and although I don’t agree with aquariums and tanks, it was kind of nice being surrounded by fish again. Needless to say, the weekend turned into a very drunken one, and in my current out of practice state, took a lot of recovering from.