Late blogging...

I'm back... just. The high season is in full swing in Phuket. I'm actually pretty tired and in need of a break now but I wanted to give you some photos. This will go some way to giving you an update since my last post. So here is a summary of what has been going on with me and my life in Phuket...

December - January saw Mik and I celebrate Christmas and New Year. We even went as far as buying a new Christmas tree this year but most of it was work work work. I cannot complain, this is the best time of year for the diving industry and Sub Aqua Dive Centre in Karon (where I am Manager) had a great couple of months! Back home at our place, Mik and I managed some treats kindly sent to us from family and friends in UK. As presents to ourselves I bought Mik a new Trek 3900 mountain bike and he got mine a complete make-over after my Dad kindly boxed it up and sent it to me here in Phuket.

Presents from family under the tree with my sparkly Xmas shoes

Awesome present from my MUM - Huddersfield Town garden gnome!

Our new Christmas tree complete with presents from family in Spain and UK

Here is my bike - could not get new front forks to match but happy to have it back in my life and working

And here is Mik's shiny new bike complete with fancy disc brakes

Also through January and into February we got involved with the Rawai-Naiharn Dragon Boat Club. It means we have new friends that are not just divers (as much as i love my scuba diving friends) and it helps in our endless crusade to keep ourselves fit (or get fit!). The club have monthly quiz nights that are always a laugh and good social events such as the BBQ we had on the beach last Sunday but here we are doing what we were all brought together to do!

And from February through to March there has been much dragon boating and working. Work hard and play hard and all that! I actually managed to go out diving myself which is not something I do too often since i am generally Managing the Dive Center rather than actually out diving. Of course I had to get some memorable photos to prove it and to show you...

Hanging out on Racha Noi's plateau - spectacular soft corals and current!!!!

Me and my buddy head into the current above these beautiful pinks and purples

No manta this time... but the great HUMANta

A captain never abandons the ship - unless of course he is Italian!

Just hanging - a great relaxing day out of the office!

That brings you up to date since that dive only took place last week! I must mention that the diving photos were all taken by a visiting Instructor Philippe Lecomte and I am happy that he was willing to share them with me and you.

I guess the next post will have to be after my 30th birthday party which takes place exactly 2 weeks today. Crikey! Time really does fly. Ciao for now!

High season, back to it....

Well folks, not an awful lot to report. Things got slightly more sensible after the run of birthdays and October start-of-high-season parties, and I have now managed 8 weeks solid back at the gym so I am almost back to a fitness level that I like.

Mik got a promotion at work. That was great news - he is now working at Worldwide Dive And Sail, if anyone was wondering. Worldwide Dive And Sail website

I am still at Sub Aqua Dive Center Sub Aqua Dive Center and while we had a busy October, the flooding in Bangkok had a knock-on effect so that the end of November was deathly quiet. This always makes me miserable because I would rather be busy but hey, it is December now and the outlook looks good again.

Joshua's birthday cake

Khao Soi Pai Restaurant on Kok Tanod Road, Kata

Back in October, on 31st, we helped friends James and Ning celebrate the opening of their new restaurant in Kata. It's called Khao Soi Pai and specialises in the Northern (Chiang Mai) dish of Khao Soi Noodles. Finally we have a local restaurant that delivers a good Khao Soi! Also this was their son, Joshua's 1st birthday so it was a double celebration!

Our Kratong in celebration of Loy Kratong Festival

Then in November, there was the Thai festival of Loy Kratong. Mik and I opted to buy a more environmentally friendly Kratong this year made of biodegradable materials, since every year it doesn't seem fair to dump pins, plastic, and goodness knows what else in to our local seas and lakes! We put a piece of hair, a candle, a finger nail and some coins in as is the tradition and then watched our Kratong float away under the light of the moon... That should be us lucky in health, love and money for another year!

Also in November, to help me prove that i can get fit again after the marathon in June, I opted for an easy 6km run as part of the 'fun stuff' at the Phuket Laguna Triathlon Day. I ran in 29:03 so was pretty happy with that considering I am not at my optimum fitness level. I really want to do the full Triathlon in 2012. My biggest concern is not the training but rather all the gear I will need like a triathlon suit and decent bike. If I have the confidence (and the cash) to support my needs, I am definitely up for it... or I will opt to join a 'team' triathlon where I would just do the run section. But I would rather have the challenge of completing the whole thing. We will see.

Me participating in the 91.5fm 6km fun run

Next stop is Christmas. We haven't put our decorations up at home yet but I did make a bunch of lovely Christmas cakes that have been seeping in brandy ever since and we now have a terrific collection of wrapped presents in the corner of the living room from our family in UK and Spain. It feels quite Christmassy already! Also, I made Mik a chocolate advent calendar!!!! Not as easy as it sounds but he has always said that he misses them from home so what better thing to do than make him one - 24 windows to open, each with its own Christmas-themed image and piece of Lindt dark chocolate behind.

Hope to have more photos for you after Christmas and New Year... here in Phuket, Thailand!

Wedding Thai Style - am I married?

Here I am at the beginning of June, wanting to update you on my exciting life in Phuket, Thailand. I have remembered to come back to my blog - impressed??

Truth is, May was a quiet month consisting of marathon training, more marathon training and even more marathon training. I am sat at my office window now with my left leg up on a chair because it has been killing me. I find myself thinking to more exciting Mays gone-by. I don't have to think far back... 22nd May 2011 marked the one-year wedding anniversary of a couple of Mik & my closest friends, James & Ning. I never blogged it then and I should have so here it is... A Thai wedding where I may have even ended up married myself!

As background, Ning (who you see 2nd from the right, sitting next to me) was born in a small village near Loei in the Isaarn (North-East) area of Thailand. As is Thai tradition, when she agreed to marry James, the ceremony was back in her home town among family, close-friends and the entire village! Mik & I were most touched and honored to be invited along, with our roles tenuously explained to us as 'kind-of' best man and maid of honour.

We went with the flow... so here I am in my traditional Thai 'wedding dress' (yes, the confusion certainly began here!) and Ning's sister is preparing my hair and make-up.

 

It all began about 0530am! Preparations were made for the monks arriving from the local temple - this included lots of food arriving! I seem to remember the monks arrived about 0700am and the proceedings began.

There was a lot of chanting by the monks while James, Ning, myself and other members of the 'congregation' knelt on the floor with hands and fingers pressed together as though in prayer. At certain points during the chanting we were meant to reply but my Thai being somewhat embarrassingly useless meant that I just tried to look the part rather than get everything right verbally! At this point, James & Ning also gave alms to the monks directly.

In the above picture you can see the Head monk is chanting and, with what looks like a bunch of flowers in his hand, he is tossing water at us all. This followed water-pouring by Ning & James which is a very important part of the ceremony as this is the point where they are officially made husband and wife, and their marriage is blessed.

Next up was the big feed - quite amusing to see the community drinking bottles of 'Chang' beer at 0800am! I waited until about noon before I could stomach it. All good fun :-)

Then we returned to Ning's family home for the presenting of gifts and the dowry, before we - Ning, James, Mik & myself - were asked to be seated in a line so the village community could come to tie the pre-blessed string to our wrists and donate money for our futures together.
Yes... This is where the confusion really hit. Why were the villagers giving money and string to Mik & I??

The final step was for James to parade the village before entering the family home and sweeping Ning off to the nuptial bed as prepared by the 'elders'. Enough said ;-)


All being told, this was a wonderful day, a wonderful experience and something unforgettable. I was made up to be a part of it. As for whether I am now married to Mik or not... Who cares? It did lead 3 months later to a ring being presented with the words, "Well, the string won't last forever". Awwwww...