On Friday, the 8th of February, it will be three years since mom moved on to a different place.
To me, however, she is here as much as ever. Whenever I go for a hike, she is there with me, sharing a beer at the summit, avoiding “wiggly sticks”, and taking the occasional pee in the brush. When I see a beautiful sunset, or hear a bird sing, or spy a neat cloud formation, she is there.
One of my favorite singers, Eileen Quinn, sings a song entitled “Sailing On”. Listen to it, cry, and smile. It rings quite close to home.
[audio:09-SailingOn.mp3]
A few days ago we visited the waterfalls at Phra Thaeo Mountain. Phra Thaeo is in the north central section of the island. Some visiting schoolchildren befriended us as soon as we got to the park. They asked to have a group photo taken with us which we readily agreed to. Then we asked one of their chaperones to take this picture of us with some of the kids.
We spent a few hours hiking up the mountain exploring the various waterfalls and some of the local wildlife.
The local reptile population was fascinating. We spotted a number of skinks. One of the skinks managed to catch a large spider and we watched the skink devour the insect that was about a third his size. Jean thought the legs hanging out of the skinks mouth resembled a handlebar moustache. We also saw a very bright green lizard and frog.
The trees were amazing. One of the tallest types of trees we noted had a very unique trunk structure.
Another one of this type of tree had the roots exposed by erosion. Jean and I were startled by the length and structure of the root system. We also saw several examples of the beautiful Phuket Heritage Palm. This tree is only found locally.
For anyone planning a visit to Thailand let me share one of the plumbing features seen here that you won’t encounter much in the US. The picture below is of a pit toilet. You squat over it and do your business. You will usually find a bucket or other supply of water next to the toilet. Using the supplied scoop you flush. I learned from previous visits that it is always a good idea to carry your own tissue and some hand cleaner or soap.
The past two days we have been scuba diving. For me it is my initial open water certification. Learning to scuba dive has long been a goal of mine. Jean was certified in 1996 and has joined me for the class to serve as refresher training. It also gives us the opportunity to practice skills like buddy breathing together. The dive school is called Nautica Divers and we discovered them while staying in Nai Yang. The staff was so friendly and accommodating that we chose to make the 40 minute commute by motorbike to do our training there. Jean says our Swiss instructor Chris has beautiful eyes. I like him for his enthusiasm for diving and good communication skills. We finish our training tomorrow which coincidentally is Jean’s birthday.
A retired couple from Bakersfield, Lanny and Sybil, are on the staff at Nautica Divers. Sybil took some underwater pictures of us today that we hope to share with you on the next blog update. Lanny and Sybil split their time between Phuket and Bakersfield. We have invited them to join us for some sailing when we are all back in California.
3 February 2008
6:23 PM
Greetings from Kamala Beach!!
Today ends our first week in Kamala Beach and Jean and I have stayed busy. We are living in a small studio above the detached garage of a lovely home. The owner is an American expatriate who has been in Phuket for 20 years. He developed and sold two other homes on the property. The main house is wonderful, featuring 4 bedrooms and 5 baths. The home has a nice pool and is well set up for entertaining. The days of cheap real estate in Kamala are long gone. The asking price is about half a million US. Not bad considering a condo in Montclair would cost at least that much.
We spent the past week getting settled into our new digs. Kamala is a great little town but before I go into much detail I want to share a story. In 2006 I stopped along the road above Kamala Beach to admire the view. I took this picture and was entranced.
I made a promise to myself to spend some time in Kamala the next time I visited. Fast forward to January, 2008. Jean and I wanted to move out of Nai Yang to somewhere a bit more centrally located. This time of year the place to be in Phuket is the west side of the island. A nice breeze blows in from the Andaman Sea almost every day. Jean and I did not want to live in Pattong, Karon, or Kata Beach. Those places are all packed with tourists and way too busy. After spending a day or two in Kamala we decided to move here.
The town of Kamala stretches along the crescent shaped bay and into the hills to the east. We are a bit inland from the beach but in 5 minutes or so we can be enjoying the perfect water. Jean and I have made several visits to the beach. Although the waves are quite small we managed to catch a few bodysurfing rides. One night we enjoyed a moonlight swim. There are many beachfront dining options that allow us to savor great food with our toes in the sand. I will make it a point to take some more pictures of Kamala for a future blog update.
