Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Sorry it has been so long but Koh Rong had very limited internet and only had internet for 4 hours.
Island life treated me extremely well. After 6 weeks we all became a very close knit group and friends for life. A typical day began with an early start (very early if it was your turn to do breakfast, porridge or pancakes), but well worth it to watch the sunrise over the river our house is built on stilts over. Then it would be off to do some diving with us normally doing 2 dives, which involves counting fish and invertebrates and then identifying the coral in the area. I saw numerous fish I had never seen before and also witnessed a nudibranch spawning where we counted 58 in 40m x 5m, normally you would see 2 in that space. There was as some of you may of heard a naked dive. For those of you who don't know the diving tradtion for your 100th dive is to go naked. So i de-kitted and was demoted to lay the tape out so I could watch out for sea urchins and clams that have a tendency to trap things!
I think the highlight of island life had to be the camping. We set off in the morning to 5 mile beach (its 5 miles long by the way), and anchored the boat and waded to the beach with hammocks, a cooker, cooler, basically everything you need to camp for 3 nights on a deserted beach. However the first night there was a huge storm that ripped through our camp. Although we all got soaked watching the lighting bolts twice a second strike around us from our hammocks was quite an experience. Then there was quite alot of laughter as the wind blew down the tree Jonny's hammock was tied to, missing him by half a metre.
During our time on the island we went back to the main land for 2 nights as it was Cambodian new year. The tradtion is to have a bbq and go out along the beach and drink til the wee hours. The best tradition however is to throw buckets of water and talc powder, which the local kids love doing as you walked down the street.
Well I arrived in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh two days ago after a 14 hour bus journey from Kampot in Cmabodia where I spent the night. The contrast to island life here is huge. With a population of 10 million and 5 million bikes crossing the road is an experience in its self. You have to just go for it and they all drive around you but it does take some nerve. Went to the war museum yesterday which showed some harrowing pictures from the war of destroyed villages and of deformed children after agent orange exposure. Although it was very biased and being used as a propaganda tool, you can't fail but to see the horrible truth in some of the photographs. Today involved a trip to the infamous Cu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong used to hide under ground. Lets just say I got quite a laugh from other tourists watching me crawling through the tunnels with me managing to only get stuck the once. Its hard to believe that some men stayed down there for 6 years with many becoming blind because they hadn't seen day light for so long.
Tomorrow I begin my journey north to a town called Da Lat in the mountains. I've heard its even cold up there! Hopefully going to do some canyoning and maybe white water rafting to get my adrenaline fix.
I should be able to up date this alot more often in the coming weeks so it will be good to hear from people.
Much love tom
- comments
Mum Hi Tom . Great to read your blog and hear your news . I wasn't sure that the rumour about the nudist dive was true , but so it appears to be !!! I know your trip to Indonesia led to a jump overboard in your birthday suit , so I hope that you keep your clothes on when back in Newcastle in the Autumn as its not so warm there as you know ! It must be such a contrast now to what you have experienced over the last 9 weeks .And seeing now how awful human kind can be .......... We are all doing okay . Dad has met up with Neil this evening as he is over from the USA briefly and there is some rock n roll happening in the garage with Ste and co , So the neighbours get Saturday night entertainment !! I have been working for the M&S lot today , so have now got my feet up with a glass of cold wine as I thought I deserved one!! We have some nice photos of Harm and Haylees wedding now as well , which was a happy day for everyone there . We will be able to share them on your return . They sent there regards to you too. Hope that we hear from you again when you get chance . Take care and love ya loads . Mum xx
'The Lacy's' Hi Tom We all really enjoyed reading your recent news, but covered Izzys ears when reading about your nude diving!!! Some amazing experiences, so just keep on enjoying yourself and we look forward to reading more. Take care and have fun 'The Lacy's' x
Gramps Hi Tom Good to hear all is well. In fact, sounds better than "well". Hope you enjoy your break in Vietnam before the hard work starts again. I'm thinking of prospecting a new muddy walk (we're in for more rainy, cold weather this week) ... Love Gramps xxx.
Grandma O'Hare So glad you had such a good experience on your island. The memories will stay with you for life. We've all miss you. Sending you buckets of love.