| Diving in the Similan Islands | |||
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I learned to dive on this trip, doing the four-day PADI Open Water Diver certification in the Similans. The Similans are just amazing--by repute one of the top ten dive sites in the world--and certainly lived up to their reputation. I saw the most amazing coral reefs--hard and soft corals, giant sea fans, sea cucumbers, thousands and thousands of brightly colored tropical fish--and sea turtles, fluttery lionfish, flotillas of barracuda, and a manta ray, too. Sadly, I don't have any underwater photos, but if you get a chance, go diving there and see for yourself. |
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| Giant boulders create vast seascapes beneath the surface...the water is gorgeously turquoise, and the sand is perfect white powder. Paradise! | Me, Mike, and her husband Pete, about to descend for our last dive. | Me and Mike, my scuba instructor. | The Loy Kratong festival on board the ship...this is a major Thai festival that involves lots of candles on floats. Pictured here is a crew member and our divemaster, who had a major rock fetish. (He loved the granite boulders.) |
| Miscellaneous Photos | |||
| Wat Suan Mok is a temple in southeastern Thailand, near a small town named Chai Ya. It's a forest retreat founded by reformer Achaan Buddhadasa fifty years ago, to allow monks and others to retreat from the world in quiet meditation. |  |
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| Suan Mok offers silent meditation retreats for foreigners every month, taught in (heavily accented) English. The retreats last 10 days. | Me at Wat Suan Mok, with Achaan Po, the abbot (left) and Tan Medhi, a very enthusiastic younger monk who gave many of our dhamma talks, and led the chanting most nights. |
Me in a sarong. This method features a halter tie around the neck--very good for bathing from a public cistern, as it doesn't fall down. |
A not particularly good photo of me as Japanese tourist lady. The bun really defines the outfit. |
| The border to Myanmar (Burma), where I went on Nov 12 to renew my Thai visa. This is at the very southern tip of Myanmar. |  |
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| I kid you not: this is the Thai immigration bureau on the Burmese border at Ranong, Thailand. | And here is the Burmese immigration bureau on the other side! This is the first time I've dealt with an immigration officer in tank-top undershirt. No kidding. | The inside of a Buddhist temple on the Burmese border village. This village exists basically as a trap for tourists renewing their Thai tourist visas, but the temple was quite nice. | |
