Phuket - Bangkok down to Singapore in 2 weeks

by Lynz 22



I left mum, dad and michelle in bangkok airport on the saturday night and got another overnight train down south again, this time to Phuket which is an island off the western coast of the mainland. Arrived at the hostel which was in the middle of nowhere and pretty much empty which was rubbish, it wasn't even near the beach so i didnt really know what to do! Got chatting to 4 people in reception after a few hours and went for dinner and a drink with them so that was fine but they were moving on the next day so i decided to as well!!

Moved up the west coast of Phuket to Karon beach and a different hostel - was in my room 10min and immediately felt 1000 times better - two other people in my room, oli and sarah, and they turned out to be some of the best people iv met on my trip so far!! Spent a couple of days on the beach and then went with oli and 2 swedish guys on the tuesday night to Patong, the nightlife area of Phuket, in order to watch arsenal v liverpool in the champions league quarter-final cos the match kicked off at 1:45am and nowhere in Karon would be open that late!! So we weaved in and out of all the ladyboys dancing on tables outside the bars in Patong and found a place that said they were going to show the match - was fantastic!! Liverpool won 4-2 and we got home about 5am, absolutely brilliant night.
I spent one more day in Phuket (extremely hungover) then decided to head over to Ko Phi Phi island for a couple of nights. Met 2 californian friends travelling together, Katrina and Rory, and ended up spending the next 2 days with them which was really cool. Ko Phi Phi got affected really badly by the tsunami and they are still trying to repair the damage and rebuild what was destroyed. We went on a bit of a hike one morning up the hills to the viewpoints and the cafes all have pictures of what the beaches and the boat dock looked like before and after the tsunami, it was completely different actually being there and seeing the destruction rather than seeing it on tv. Overall the island was really nice tho, there are no cars so it's a lot more peaceful than the mainland, lots of shops and cafes and a few bars and lots of places that rent out scuba diving gear and organise beginners lessons etc. We decided for our second night that we would do the tour that takes you to Maya Beach which is where "The Beach" was filmed! So the first night we sat in a bar where they played the film as Rory and I had never actually seen it...!! It was pretty weird to be honest! So anyway we left the next day at 4pm and did snorkelling in a couple of spots on the way to The Beach, fantastic fish and coral and such turquoise water, was really beautiful. Maya Bay itself was lovely, white sand and a pretty cool sunset!! There were about 20 of us on the tour in total and we had dinner, did a bit of night-snorkelling in the water and just generally chilled out on the beach, then grabbed some mats, pillows and sleeping bags and went to sleep! Until 4am that is when a thunderstorm broke out and we had to retreat into tents that we had put up as a precautionary measure earlier!!
The next day we went back to the main Phi Phi beach for a while then I got a boat over to Krabi back on the mainland, and Rory and Katrina went back to Phuket. I spent just the one night in Krabi before sitting on a bus for 12 hours down to Penang, an island off the west coast of Malaysia. It was actually Thai new years day which is also known as the water throwing festival - when it began it was simply a handful of water being sprinkled over people as a celebration but these days it has progressed into a full-blown water fight!!!! It was amazing being on the bus driving through total mayhem on the streets. Groups of friends and families take huge vats of water into the back of their pick-up trucks and drive around throwing water over anyone in the streets, over motorcycle drivers, spectators, anyone!! They are all brandishing super soakers and all sorts of other water-projecting devices, the funniest thing was watching an elderly lady using her water gun to soak a teenage guy driving by on his motorbike!! I had to switch buses halfway and the first bus dropped me off at a tourist office with 5 teenage girls outside, completely soaked and faces covered in flour (another part of the tradition!) I get out of the bus and this one girl considerately says to me "give me your bag"...............so I give her my bag and another one pours a bucket of water down my back whilst a third paints flour on my face!! I then had to sit in the tourist office for 40min with locals laughing at me, then got on the second bus for 5 hours down to Penang!
I'd booked in at a hostel in Penang which was pretty empty when I got there but 10min after me another girl arrived - called LYNSEY!!!! She was from San Francisco and was also travelling round the world on her own - we decided to go for a walk and explore the town (we were staying in Georgetown, the capital of Penang). We ended up having dinner in the Little India district altho recognised nothing on the menu so just told the guy to bring us a few things which turned out ok!! Had a drink in a local bar too (alcohol is so expensive in malaysia tho cos it's primarily a muslim country) and we were joined by a few local old men who were supporting their friends singing in a band in the bar. The band members were all about 60yrs old, malay, ponytails and leather jackets and singing the eagles and rolling stones! although strangely the bar was empty except for us and their table of friends!! So these 2 old blokes come over and are chatting away to us in their best english as they polish off their bottle of Jim Beam and they try and persuade us to join them in their next round - a bottle of vodka! But we politely decline and escape back to the hostel before things get too raucous!

The next day we wandered round the streets of Penang, it's slightly cooler than thailand but not much, and still very humid. We had a nightmare on the bus system all day which was frustrating but we managed to go see a reclining buddha and temple, then eventually got out to Penang Hill after trying some local dishes from street vendors for lunch. We went up Penang Hill on the funicular railway and wandered around on the top, great views of the city/island, then decided to walk back down which turned out to be really really steep! There was some sort of hikeathon going on and as we were going down we were passing runners and cyclists heading up this steep hill, including one cyclist who had Celine Dion belting out on his little bike radio - whatever motivates you!!!!!
We saw at least three different types of monkeys as we walked as although it was a tarmac road it was surrounded by the jungle vegetation of the hill. Wandered through the botanical gardens at the bottom then realised we had missed the last bus back to Georgetown - thankfully a guy who had done the marathon thing who we had spoken to earlier spotted that we were in a bit of trouble and drove us back to the hostel in his air-conditioned 4x4, magic!!!
Left Lynsey the next day and got the 5 hour bus down to Kuala Lumpur. Staying at Hostel Cosmopolitan that Oli (who I met in Phuket) had recommended to me, really nice little place just out of the centre but right next to the Chow Kit monorail station. Met 2 guys in my room called Kevin (from Shropshire) and Colin (Irish) so we went out to the Chinatown area of KL and found somewhere for dinner then wandered around the city (Colin was tour guide, he'd been here a few days!). As we got off the monorail in chinatown though the sky cracked and a huge thunderstorm broke out, we got absolutely soaked through! Water was flowing down the street like rivers, all the poor motorbike drives were trying to shelter under big bridges becuase it was just impossible for them to drive, it was crazy!! There were pictures on the front page of the paper yesterday showing some of the flooding so it must have been slightly unusual altho there has been a short thunderstorm each day we have been here. Anyway it cleared up after dinner and the air temperature had dropped a lot so we walked around the city for a while and went right up to the base of the Petronas Twin Towers which are really spectacular by night, so sparkly!!
Colin left the next day so Kevin and I went up the Petronas Towers and also the tall KL Tower which had great views from the top. We had lunch at a curry place next to the hostel which Colin had recommended and as he was such a good tour guide the night before we thought ok, we'll give it a go - I am so surprised Kevin and I aren't sick today, we had a plate of rice and kev had some rock-hard bit of beef in sauce and i had mutton in sauce - the rice was bordering on cold and the meat was luke-warm, definite food-poisoning conditions!! Plus they charged us a ridiculous amount (well, still not a lot in the grand scheme of things but for what you could get for the same price elsewhere it was a lot!!) Unfortunatley we hadn't exchanged details with good old Colin so we'll never get to tell him.... In the afternoon there was a thunderstorm (obviously!!) and we were pretty much the only tourists out at the Batu caves which is normally a very popular tourist spot. We climbed the 272 steps up to the cave entrance, it's basically a Hindu religious centre and they have a huge festival every January at that location. The caves are carved in limestone and there are lots of monkeys around which you are told not to feed as they may get violent!!
Today we did a hop-on, hop-off bus trip around Kuala Lumpur and stopped off at some key areas around the city which was good, although I have to confess we did cave at lunchtime and went for a MacDonalds....at least there you know what you're getting, right?!?!?!?!
Went back to chinatown tonight for dinner with another guy who kevin had met earlier in his trip and we wandered round the market afterwards trying to get some bargains - as usual I was a terrible shopper and bought a grand total of nothing whereas the boys bought board shorts, normal shorts, t-shirts and watches!!!! Never mind, less for me to carry I suppose...?!?!?!

Leaving KL tomorrow and going by bus to Melaka, about halfway between KL and Singapore where I fly to Australia from on Saturday - the two boys have said there's a really good hostel there so I may as well spend a night there on my way!
All in all, these last 2 weeks have been the most unstructured of my trip so far but they've also been 2 of the best I think in that I've just been able to make on the spot decisions about where I want to go the next day and not have to involve anyone else, but also I have met some of the best people on my trip so far which has been fantastic!!
Looking forward to Oz now...!!

Phuket - How normal people go on holiday

by burningmatt



I've been enjoying my time off the beaten track immensely. The people you meet are, on average, pretty interesting folks with a sense of adventure. So Singapore and Kuala Lumpur left me a bit cold - too big, too impersonal - and Georgetown on Penang was way nicer to be in. It's a compact, lively city with great food and a few interesting sights.

It's also a popular visa run destination for Thailand, meaning that people head there for as long as it takes to renew their Thai visa before heading straight back to Thailand. You get a funny mix of people there as a result. It's pretty interesting, or sometimes kind of funny. Example: I met two girls from Bristol who made me laugh by complaining about Penang a lot and saying things like "oh, I didn't know you could get Indian food in Penang". Now, for those of you who don't know anything about Penang, it's famous for its food partly because it has a substantial Indian population, and it has to be impossible to walk round Penang for long without finding an Indian restaurant. Anyway, I thought it was funny, because they'd clearly not bothered to look round before deciding they didn't like the place.

Then I got to Phuket. Normally the idea of going to Phuket would be anathema to me, seeing as it's Thailand's version of Cancun. It just makes practical sense, as I'm going on a four day dive boat trip and I needed to visit the dive centre in Patong, plus I wanted to fit in a day kayaking in Phang Nga bay and all these trips collect from Phuket or Patong, plus I need to arrange transport to Bangkok for the day after the dive boat. Clearly basing myself somewhere small and out of the way was going to make that harder. Patong is everything I expected. I'm not complaining, but really it's trashy as all hell, and it's full to bursting with sunburnt, rowdy holidaymakers who don't seem to give two shits about Thai culture - they've come all the way from England/Russia/Australia just to get drunk, get laid and get sunburnt. The beach is a vast sea of sunloungers.

The evenings are buzzing and lively, and contain at least 57 varieties of wrong. There's a guy on one of the main streets, where three bars compete for musical supremacy with a cacophony of rock, who stands there with a very unhappy-looking iguana getting people to pay to have their photo taken while holding it.

It's actually hard to go on errands. The Somebody Else's Problem field appears again - not in that things are hard to find, but that you have to look for them by trying to catch glimpses out of the corner of your eye. Why? Because if you make the mistake of looking directly at any shop you are immediately pounced on and subjected to the hard sell, sometimes physically grabbed and dragged towards the displays. It gets tiring and time-consuming extracting yourself from these sellers, so I've had to adopt the Bodysnatcher Pose™: pretend you've been possessed by an alien with no emotions and walk intently but at a relaxed pace down the road staring into middle-distance and ignoring anyone who tries to talk to you. It's the only way to get from A to B without buying lots of tat that you can't fit in your rucksack.

Oh, and while I remember, all that business with the Thai visa? Pffft. I decided not to bother with the visa, because I found an onward flight online for about the same cost, so I qualified for the visa on arrival at the border. Did they care? No. They stamped me in for 30 days without asking for anything.

Phuket - Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and the middle of

by mjripple



So Kuala Lumpur wasn't much to look at. I checked out the Petronas Towers, the tallest towers in the world, and wandered around for much of the morning. While waiting for my ticket up the towers, though, I met a really nice Malaysian guy who I then went to have tea with at a nearby Indian place. He told me a lot about how SE Asians want to be as western/ American as possible, which explained the number of Starbucks, which rivaled San Francisco in number. It was very interesting to hear what he had to say about these people, straight from one of their own.

The towers were incredible from the ground, but again, not much to see from the top. This was partly due to the fact that you couldn't actually go to the top, just about halfway up to the skybridge. I got some great pictures though, which hopefully I'll be able to post sometime soon.
Other than that, the city was pretty nasty. I ventured over to Chinatown, which was nothing but rows of stalls selling fake Gucci, Rolex, etc. Nothing to do, so I headed back to the hostel.

The next day I caught the bus to Singapore to meet up with Dad. Just buying the ticket at the bus depot was a thing in itself. People yelling at you from every direction, trying to get you to come buy from their company. In the end I went to the booth that didn't have anyone dragging me to it, just to prove them wrong. I considered it a moral victory.

After a fairly uneventful 7 hours on the bus, I got dropped off on a street corner in the middle of Singapore. I had no idea where I was, and there were drunk Asians everywhere. They all had something that looked like baby powder on their face, but I didn't hang around long enough to find out first-hand. After a few miles of walking, I reached the hotel, only to unload my stuff and take a cold shower. Since our hotel was in the Little India area of Singapore, they had a huge night market going on in the street, so I went outside and snapped a bunch of pictures. It was kind of wierd being the only white face for blocks, but no one seemed to pay any attention to me, so I didn't mind. After a while I caught a cab to the airport to see Dad... his flight was late and didnt get in until almost 1 AM. I was happy to see him, but we were both exhausted so we just went back and crashed.

Singapore is a beautiful, clean city, but definitely not geared towards tourism. It's cleaner than Disney World, but at the exact opposite end of the spectrum for entertainment. We had a great time there, but in the end we were really having trouble finding interesting things to do. Considering we were only there for a day and a half, that says a lot about their view of tourism.
So after some late night searching last night, I found us a flight from Singapore to Phuket, Thailand for something like US$80 apiece. An excellent deal, made even better by the fact that we would have had to spend 12 to 16 hours on a bus otherwise. Right now we're at a hotel north of Phuket, in the middle of nowhere. Very hot, and a few mosquitos, and no AC in the room, but I'm in Thailand and you're in Louisiana, so I can't complain.

Well we all know the best way to go to sleep in the heat is 5 or 6 cold beers before bedtime, so I'm off for my nightcap. Maybe I'll be able to post some pictures tomorrow. We'll be out snorkelling all day... I'll have to see how it compares to the Bahamas.

I hope everyone is doing well... I'm having a great time but missing you all. Looking forward to your comments!

Day 1 - Phuket, Thailand

by SigChi79

We had a smooth 3 hour flight from Hong Kong direct to Phuket on DragonAir. The first noticeable difference in Phuket was the temperature as we arrived to a sunny 90F. We are staying at a beautiful resort located on Karon Beach. Evidently this area was not very affected by the Tsunami storm which hit further north from here.

On our drive from the airport our first impression was that Phuket is much cleaner that our area in China. They also drive on the left hand side of the road, but seem to have much better command of their driving skills than the Chinese. Since this is officially a “business” trip, I get to stay locked up all day listening to presentations while Janis gets to sit on the beach and listen to the ocean. Some things just aren’t fair. Sunday we plan to travel out to on one of the outer islands called Phi Phi Island. We’ll report back with another round of colorful photos of the sun and sand of southern Thailand.

Thai Boy Fishing

Crossing Guard

Resort Pool

Resort View

Many Flowers

Phuket - 28.3. Muay thai

by JanneJanne

Muay thai eli thai nyrkkeily. Myöskin Boss Towerissa majoittuva ja samaa koulua käyvä Ossi Heikkilä on reenannut rankasti thai nyrkkeilyä heti toisesta viikosta lähtien, täällä Bangkokissa yhdellä kuuluisimmista saleista, Lumphini parkin vieressä.

Hän sai erikoisen matsin eteensä matkatessaan Phukettiin. Nimittäin hänelle oli tarjolla ensimmäisessä ottelussaan thaimaan maaperällä heti titteli. Hänen onnekseen hänelle ei oltu kerrottu ollenkaan kyseessä olevan tittelimatsi, joten yllätys oli varmasti erikoinen. Se kuulemma oli vain hyvä asia kun ei tullut jännitettyä ottelua liian pitkään. Itse otteluun ei eksynyt meistä vaihtareista kuin yksi norjalainen, mutta sopivasti paikalle oli löytänyt aika paljon suomalaisia huutaan Ossia. Ottelu meni Ossilta nappiin vaikka jo ensimmäisessä erässä teloontui toinen jalka lähes potku kyvyttömäksi.

Muay thai - Ossi Heikkilä

Ottelun edetessä yhä enemmän yleisöstä alkoi kuulua Finland, kun Ossin lyönnit upposi ja polvi kävi terävästi vastustajan leuka perässä. Tuomari keskeytti ottelun kolmannessa erässä vastustajan enää vaikuttaessa kykenevän jatkaan ja Ossin ilta kruunaantui saadessaan ison vyön ensimmäisestä matsistaan. Palattuaan Bangkokiin Boss Towerille muutamaa päivää myöhemmin oli Ossin kannustaja joukko heti vastassa. Samana iltana hieman juhlistettiin tapausta ja katsottiin video matsista. Hienoa Ossi!

Voitto!

Tuota vyötä hän ei saanut voitettuaan, mutta saa ostaa itselleen toisen samanlaisen.

Phuket - I have officially melted!

by seppyandjon



ok - I knew it would be hot, I like the heat - but running for hours on end in this weather is seriously difficult - when I am not running I am trying to work on my assignments for my masters - I can tell you - there is a permanent imprint on my company law notes where I have melted into them! - pity one cannot learn by absorption.

But training is going better - we are just getting out there and doing it. Jon did some research on running in humidity and it basically said - suck it up and do it- so that the approach we are taking.

14 days until admin day of the Marathon Des sables - it is creeping up.

Phuket - easter egg hunting in the andeman sea

by genevievez

hey everyone!

well i've come to the final destination in my thai tour and i am here in phucket...pretty much summed up phucket is where all the old men come to find young pretty thai girls or lady boys (i have met a few thus far..remarkably woman like...) lol... anyways krabi was great i just spent my time relaxing there and doing a bit more schopp-ING (thai for shopping) and scored a super cute chanel watch for like 10 bucks! ahhaha i love my life!...

tomorrow i leave early in the morning for a dive trip up to the similan islands i'ts an overnight dive trip where i'll do 7 dives including a night dive which i'm rather excited about!

they have these yummy little pancake thingys that come around like hot dog stands after the bar here...they're amazing i'mt hinking of bringing them to canada along with the thai workers....
i dong have a lot of time right now but remind me when i get home to tell the story of the 3 story free fall from the rooftop of our hotel (not me!)

anyways hope everyone is having a great easter
lots of love

gen
xoxoxo

ps i miss you all and i wish i was there for easter so much! :( xoxoxo

Phuket - baby carrot bliss...and Thailand!

by Kimberly Michele



Here i am on the beautiful beaches of Thailand and I have no idea why my writing is italized. if you are seeing this slanted, no it is not because you or i have had one too many Mai Tai's or because i have been washed away by a giant crystal-clear wave, it is because of a boring old technical glitch in this computer. nothing special or fancy, just a weird Thai computer. who knows.

anyways, last i blogged, i was about to enjoy my final night in Shanghai. and enjoy I did-actual spinach lasagna, pumpkin soup and real red wine! yum! we had drinks with some friends before they headed back to Beijing and then had our delicious dinner. following dinner, we decided to visit the spa for a Chinese reflexology foot massage! it was great! Katie and I got them together while Topher opted for a full body massage. It was great! I learned hot, cold and pain in Chinese! could come in helpful one day, although I am not sure i remember.

The next day we headed down to Hong Kong. Upon arrival, i was so surprised to see that it actually looked like New York. like completely. it was rainy and gloomy but pretty warm and humid (ahhh...the pretty hair is back!). anyways it was nice to know that i would get a much welcomed break from all the terrifying Chinese food of the past few weeks. We opted for an Indian buffet for dinner that night and just hung around. I was happy to be back in familiar food territory! Hong Kong really is an international city which offers just about everything! (we even spotted an Outback right above a TGI Fridays).

We were staying on Kowloon Island (just a hop, skip and a jump away from Hong Kong) and spent the next day exploring Hong Kong. We went up to the peak on a tram ride to take in the amazing views and then took a twisty, turny bus down to Stanley where we quickly walked through the market and had lunch. We then headed back to our island by ferry to meet up with some cousins of Katie and Topher. They took us for Easter Sunday dinner to a Japanese restaurant that was great! They were so concerned with making sure they got enough vegetarian food for me that i had to roll myself out of the restaurant when we were done!! it was a lot of fun spending time with them...even though we had desert that looked like googly eyeballs.

The next day we headed to Zhong Shan to check out Katie and Topher's family village. it was crazy! We had a bunch of contacts and ended up arranging things through the offical overseas office. we were picked up at our hotel and whisked away immediately to the mayor's office to pick him up! we had our own paparazzi and everything! no joke! it was really cool to see a really old village and how well it was maintained over all these years. there was even a picture of their family up on the walls (although a bit dated...time for a new pic Chans!) they were like celebraties eventhough noone in their family had been back to the village in 20 years! we also were brought to a park, monument and the cemetary where some distant family (their grandfather's great-greandfather) had been buried! afterwards they brought us to dinner in the largest restaurant i've ever seen. i knew it was going to be scary when earlier the guide guy was asking if we have eaten dog or rat before. (katie's later response....if given a dog to eat, i'd ask for a rat! ahhh!!) the place was nice and we had a huge table in our own private room. i was the bravest vegetarian ever. they were sure to order tofu for me-but it had meat bits on it. i picked them off and ate the tainted tofu....yucko! it was so scary! who knows what else scary i ate but the whole thing was terrifying. the only thing i wasn't afraid of was the beer. i survived and noone was served dog or rat (that we knew about). they did eat pigeon and chicken feet though.

that night we wondered around the town which was really nice with a great walking street full of shops. the next morning we were taken to breakfast by another one of their contacts (the son of a friend of the brother of the babysitter or something) which was again scary and then brought around the town some more. it was very nice, but had to end in another scary lunch. seriously everyone just wanted to feed us awful things (good for them...not so good for veggie girl). i survived and that is what matters. we headed back by boat to hong kong and had a huge Italian dinner (pizza, eggplant, bread, wine!)

The next morning we went to the airport and then found a Megan at the gate. she wasn't looking so good after having had a 14 hour flight with a puking girl next to her. yuck. poor her-but i was super happy to see that she had a bag of baby carrots and cookies! i ate up those carrots so fast! our flight was short and pretty uneventful and we were happy to arrive in Phuket! We made a quick stop at the dive shop to get fitted for stuff (them...not me...i'm just a snorkler!) and then headed to our hotel. we had dinner on the beach last night after bumming around the pool a bit. today was a full on beach day (starting at 6:30am-thanks jet-lagged Megan)! I am blaming it on the jet-lag, but really-that's just Megan, although she has concluded that she probably can't actually be on the amazing race because she doesn't do so well with long flights. sorry those dreams are crushed. I was very happy to be able to order a salad for lunch today but the dressing was horrible! i couldn't eat it at all but my roll was soon followed up with a yummy ice cream cone. i am thinking of sticking with plain salads, french fries, pizza and fruit for the rest of my adventures.

unfortunatley i am too lazy right now to upload pics. maybe later. tomorrow we are going on an overnight boat adventure (diving for the rest of them, floating for me) and then will be doing some elephant trekking and stuff later on. fun fun fun! alright, wish me luck that i don't get eaten by a shark (i don't want anyone to have to make that phonecall!).

Avoca Beach SLSC is at it again - Phuket here we come for the second time!

by Avoca Thailand Project




2008 Project

In December 2007, Avoca Beach SLSC sponsored four Phuket Lifeguards to visit Avoca Beach to gain experience in the Australian surf and to learn Surf Life Saving the “Aussie” way. The Lifeguards gained invaluable experience during their summer visit and all attained their Bronze Medallion. They have returned to Phuket with wonderful experience and memories and have begun to train their own lifeguards in the skills taught to them whilst in Avoca.

During the Thai Festival of the Waters in April 2008, another Avoca Beach SLSC team will visit Phuket to demonstrate water skills to school children and hold a Surf Life Saving demonstration showcasing the surf sports and skills on the beach and in the water in events such as board paddling, swimming, ski paddling, surf boat rowing, beach sprints and beach flags.

Generous donations of craft and equipment have been made by numerous Surf Clubs and individuals and these have been transported to Patong Beach prior to the arrival of the Avoca Beach team. This equipment will form the basis of the gear necessary to start a surf life saving club in Phuket and will remain in the possession of the Thai people.

Again the project has been supported and endorsed by the Australian-Thailand Institute, Avoca Beach Surf Life Saving Club, Surf Life Saving Australia, Surf Life Saving NSW and Surf Life Saving Central Coast.


The 2008 Team

John Mitchell

John is our Project Manager and a Master Builder. He is a Life Member and Vice President of Avoca Beach Surf Life Saving Club and has been an active member of the surf club for 43 years. John holds Bronze Medallion, Advanced Resuscitation and First Aid certificates and a Level 1 coaching certificate. John has won a number of State and National medals in individual and team events as well as in surf boat rowing.
John has recently built the community a new state of the art surf club. John holds a Centenary of Federation Medal for his organisation of the “Rowing Sturt’s Steps” project which involved the rowing of a surf boat down the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers in 1999 and 2001. John is married with six children - his family, including grandchildren, are all members of the surf club.

Alistair (Slim) Peebles

Slim joined Avoca Beach SLSC in 1973 and was an active patrolling member for eighteen years. He was one of the first to gain an IRB Driver’s Bronze. Slim has gained over 14 Surf Life Saving awards and has been Club Captain, Branch Superintendent, Manager of Competition and a Member of the Board of Examiners. Slim is a Life Member of Avoca Beach Surf Lifesaving Club and has recently been granted Life Membership of the Central Coast Branch of Surf Life Saving. Slim has been a successful IRB competitor, Manager of club, branch and state teams touring within Australia and Overseas.


Craig Anderson

Craig has been a member of Avoca Beach Surf Life Saving Club for 18 years. Craig holds his Bronze Medallion, IRB Drivers Licence, Senior First Aid, ARC and Defibrillation awards. He is a Trainer and Assessor and is actively involved with the training of new candidates for their surf awards and certificates. Craig has been a Patrol Captain for 12 years.

Craig is a keen surfer and fisherman and works as a builder and TAFE teacher. He loves Thai food and is keen to foster good relationships with the Thai people to establish the culture of Surf Life Saving in their country.

Karen Douglas

Karen joined Avoca Beach Surf Life Saving Club in 1986 when she gained her Bronze Medallion. Since then Karen has gained a number of awards including ARC, Defibrillator and Spinal Management certificates. Karen has been the First Aid Officer for the club over the last 8 years and is an active Masters’ Competitor in individual surf events as well as surf boat rowing. She can now call herself a true blue “Bronzed Aussie” with a 3rd in the 2008 Australian Championships!
Karen is a local General Practitioner working in the local communities of Avoca Beach and Terrigal. She is actively involved in the promotion of good health and illness prevention and is a member of a national committee for the setting of Quality in Health and Practice Standards and Accreditation for Australian General Practice.


Peter Saint

Peter joined Avoca Beach Surf Club in the 2001 season completing his bronze medallion, silver medallion, Patrol Captain, Senior First Aid, Advanced Resuscitation Certificate, Defibrillation, IRB Driver and Spinal Management courses. Peter competes at masters level in most beach and surf events and also surf boats at a branch and state level. He has held the role of Vice Director of Life Saving at the club for the last three years.
Peter is a sign writer and has 12 years experience in the nursing industry. He is a single dad of one daughter and has lived in Avoca Beach for the past 16 years.

Jane Kirkpatrick

Jane has been an active member of Avoca Surf Lifesaving Club for 6 years. She presently holds her Bronze Medallion and Spinal Management course certificate. She is updated on CPR annually through work.
Jane is a registered nurse, presently working in Immunisation particularly the 1 to 5 year olds. She has past experience in Community, Midwifery and Child Health.
Jane is married to David and has 2 children -Danny and Hannah


David Stalley

David began his career as a composer and sound designer, afterwards completing a degree in visual media production. He is currently creating a documentary on the sport of surf boat rowing. Surf lifesaving culture is very strong in Australia, putting those involved in a position to pass on their knowledge and expertise. David is looking forward to documenting this training program that will teach and encourage Thai Surf Lifesavers to protect and save lives in their own country.


Jessica Barnes

Jess is an U/17 Competitor of Avoca Beach SLSC. She has been an active member for over13 years and has achieved Branch and State Medals through individual and team events, as well as her SRC, Bronze Medallion, and IRB crewman certificate. Jessica is a Year 11 student at St Joseph Catholic College. Jess enjoys being a part of Avoca Beach Surf Club as a competitor, a coach, and a member. Jessica has coached and age-managed nippers for two years after completing her time from U/6 to U/14 as a nipper. Jessica has achieved Nipperette, Junior Competitor of the year, Most Improved Board Paddler, and Junior Club Person of the year. Jessica has been Club Captain of Kincumber Swim Centre and was runner up for Junior Surf Life Saver of the year for the Central Coast. Jessica is today hoping to complete her HSC and continue to become a life member of Avoca Beach Surf Club offering her ability and talent to every aspect of surf life saving with children and older members of the community.


Liam Jackson

Hi Everyone. I am Liam Jackson. I’m 18 years old and have been in Avoca Beach Surf Club for five years and have loved every minute of it. I hold my Bronze medallion, IRB Crewman’s Certificate, ARC and Senior First Aid. I have won medals (including several gold!) at State and Australian Championships.
I live and breathe the beach and like long walks along the beach when the sun is setting.

Aaron Benson

I have been with Avoca Surf Club for 8 years, and still love it as much as I did when I was a nipper. I am a current Sate and Australian medallist. I am a first year apprentice carpenter and work for Matt Mitchell in Avoca Beach.
When the opportunity came up for me to go to Thailand I was a bit apprehensive, as I usually just compete, but I am very excited now about the trip and have no idea of what to expect. I hope that we have lots of fun and educate the Thai people to swim and learn to love the water that they live off as much as we do.


Jack Mitchell

Jack is 19 years old and lives at Avoca Beach. He is a 4th year apprentice carpenter in the family business.
Jack has been a member of the Avoca Beach Surf Club for 14 years and has won 3 Australian gold medals along with a number of state medals in ski paddling. He has also competed for the surf club in IRB racing and holds a bronze medallion.


Abbey Buchal

Abbey is 19 years old and lives at Avoca Beach. Abbey has been a member of Avoca Beach Surf Club for 3 years and has won a state medal in surf boat rowing. She holds a Bronze medallion and basic first aid certificate. Abbey is a qualified personal trainer and currently managing a Virgin Entertainment store.

Matt Anderson

Matt is an apprentice carpenter and a member of ABSLSC since he was a 5 year old nipper. As a nipper Matt loved to compete with his club and has won three state medals. Gaining his bronze medallion and Senior First Aid in 2006 Matt has been rowing surf boats in the U/19s and recently won the Peters Boat Series and the Central Coast Branch carnival. Matt has also won Australian medals in boat rowing in 2008.
Matt plays rugby for Avoca Sharks and is looking forward to the new season with the U/19s.
Having met the Thai Lifeguards on their stay at Avoca Beach, Matt is looking forward to revisiting Phuket and sharing training and competition skills with the boys.

Travel In Phuket - Happy Easter

by seppyandjon



Happy Easter to you all - only eggs I saw today were of the hard-boiled variety. I decided that Seppy mightn't see the funny side of it so no Easter bunny here. Nice day on the beach instead - Jonathan is a li-lo bully!

We received a few details of how the logistics of the marathon des sables will work - I've copied them here (really the only interesting bit is that there is a 5 and a half hour bus trip after we land in Morrocco. At least they provide some packed lunches :-)


28 MARCH 2008
• 3 charter flights have been reserved from Paris. The time at which you must be at ORLY SUD airport will be communicated to you by post.
• Handing-out of road-book. Arrival at OUARZAZATE
• Immediate transfer from Ouarzazate to bivouac (350 km - 5 hours 30), lunch-packet ; Arrival at 1st bivouac, dinner and night at bivouac

29 MARCH 2007
• Breakfast at bivouac; administrative, technical and medical checks.
• Following checks: free day, lunch and dinner at bivouac.

30 MARCH TO 05 APRIL 2008
THE RACE
• Beginning of self sufficiency in food: from breakfast 30
Jonathan gets a haircut
Go fast stripes are includedMarch breakfast to breakfast 05 April .

05 APRIL 2008
END OF THE RACE
• Bus transfer to hotel in Ouarzazate , lunch packet; collecting of personal affaires, dinner and night at hotel (1/2 pension)

06 APRIL 2008
• Breakfast at hotel.
• 10H00 to 17H00 - distribution of Tee-shirt MDS - MARATHON DES SABLES shop to Hotel Azghor
• Free time, lunch not provided;
• 14H prize giving ceremony - cocktail Hotel Azghor
• Dinner and night at hotel (1/2 pension)

07 APRIL 2008
• Breakfast at hotel. Free time the morning, lunch not provided
• Transfer in from hotel to Ouarzazate airport. Departure flight
• Arrival Paris (see your flight ticket).

Phuket

by juvigiller

Koh Phi PhiWe were planning to go to The Little Mermaid Hotel on Kata Beach. At the minibus a Swedish lady recommended us the same hotel but she insisted that the hotel was on Karon Beach. By her guidance we dropped at Karon Beach.

At the first glance we didn’t like the hotel. But we stayed one week at that hotel and it was perfect with western management. Most of the guests were from Scandinavian countries. We paid 695 TBaht per night additional 200 TBaht for buffet continental breakfast.

The hotel is very near to the beach. Try to prefer the back rooms because the night life lasting until 03 am may not let you sleep. After dining two times outside we decided to have dinners at the hotel, best quality with reasonable price. We strongly recommend this hotel to the Phuket upper budget visitors. We have tried to discover the main beaches of the island. Patong is the most populated beach with a lot of shopping and night life. Karon is a nice beach with reasonable crowd.

The Mövenpick and Hilton take place on this beach. Kata is our favorite and Club Med takes place on this beach. Kata
Phuket 6Sunset at Karon BeachNoi (little Kata) is another quiet beauty . we spent two beach days at Kata and Kata Noi. At Kata Beach we found The Little Mermaid Guesthouse that we initially intended to go. We liked the place, far from the beach and 1200 Tbaht without breakfast. Taxis are relatively expensive. We learnt how the local buses run and we employed them all the time. 30 Tbaht each and they are in time. We visited Phuket Town two times. The first time we bought a new Camera, Sony T70 from Central Festival Shopping Mall . The second time we brought our Samsonite luggage to be repaired (wheels). We enjoyed shopping in the mall. There were upto 50 % sale on known trademarks. Unfortinately we have not enough place in our luggages so we could bought few items. Phuket has really deserved popularity by its beaches, cheap shopping , opportunity of island tours and vivid night life with sexy bars. Many western aged men are with a young Thai girl.

This way of living is widely accepted in this country. At this region of the world in April slowly slowly the rain starts. By May 1st low season
Phuket 3Street Sellerstarts. Therefore the crowds disappear eventually.

The hotel prices decrease considerably between May and November. The sea becomes rough and the beaches and the sea travel become risky. After spending a week on Phuket, we stopped five hours at Koh Phi Phi on the way to Koh Lanta by boat. We climbed to the famous view point (about 350 steps plus 300 mt up walk), but it really worths. We took few pictures and had our lunch there. Then we visited long beach by boat, it is accepted the best beach on the island ( Maya beach is on the other island Phi Phi Ley). Koh Phi Phi is a very busy tourist spot. Many large boats (200-300 passengers) well organized going in and out. There is no road on the island . The mean of transportation is only boat. In the late afternoon we left the island for Koh Lanta under a heavy rain. We got into Long Beach Resort . Lant is a peaceful island, you hear the whistles of the birds early morning and before evening. We rested at Long Beach Resort full two days and tomorrow we will close Thailand page. And

Phuket 7Lobstersopen Malaysia part ( last 10 days). We love you all.

Phuket, not sexy and not sleazy

by mike4980

beauty and the beast

Four days, not a pedo in sight, nowhere near as sleazy or scummy as ppl make it out and overall a really pretty nice place, thats the gospel according to Mike.

OK all we really did was go to Phuket gym, the beach and spend a lot of time in bed.

Finally, we took in a girly show. After a couple of nights of walking up and down the stip hoping to see something exciting we gave in and went for a gander at one of the many shows on offer. What we saw, despite being promised "ping pong", disappointed us quite a bit. Lots of slim, small breasted grils with pants on jiggling near a pole. Some simulated lesbian sex and nothing else. NO PING, NO PONG, NOTHING.

Ok, we apid no entrance fee but everyone looked bored, the dancers, bar staff and us punters too. The major highlight came when the girl asked us all for money, not quite understnading we asked what for and her response was to put her fingers in the shape of a V by her mouth and poke her tongue out. Never has oral sex made me laugh so much. Our response was the same as everybody elses, "bugger off". There are better tits on the beaches in Phuket and some curious piercings too...

The only major event that occurred was a police bust at our well priced, clean and spacious hotel. At 0600 there was a beating on the door down the corridor and yells of "police, open the door". Maybe that was our first and last experience of a pedo, but more probably somebody being picked up for bringing back a ho for some longtime loving.

Feeling frustrated at not working out for sometime I approached an extremely well built ozzy guy and asked him where the gym was that he was using. As luck would have it, it was simply around the corner from where we ate on our first day and not even 5 mins walk from A1 brothel...I mean guest house of course.

A few cheeky sessions in the gym and I see my fintess has gone and my strength totall out of the window. I was back to lifting barbells with polo mints on it again. I will be buff again, I promise myself that! Our ozzy friend was over to train at a thai kick boxing camp for a few months. nice chap but very green.

ripped off at his hotel, paying double at least, ripped off with his flight as well he flew to the destination before coming here that he need not have gone to. First time out of the contry at the age of 32, typical ozzy. like the yanks, they never leave the country. having said that, why would you if you were from either contry-they have everything you could possibly want at your finger tips.

Suffering in the heat and due to one or two burnt patches, we ventured to the cinema a few times and took in 10,000 BC (dull but with a pretty female lead) and Jumper (Hayden Christensen can actually act!). Air conditioned cinemas are the way forward, other sensibke EUROPEANS will follow us, and follow us they did.

Phuket, Thailand - Colonial Architecture, Vegetarian Temple, Patong Beach

by ElizabethR



Day 25-March 30th: We strolled over to Unni's Restaurant for bagel and cream cheese breakfast - delicious! I haven't had a bagel in over a year (they're hard to come by in China!) so I was delighted! We lingered and shopped and waited for the 1:30 PM ferry to Phuket. Jessie and Mike are coming too, the more the merrier!

We got into town from the pier and headed for the On On Hotel, it was in my guidebook. Jessie and I shared an A/C room - her skin was badly burned and A/C was a necessity! We wandered around and found the bus station. I bought a ticket for the night bus the next night to Bangkok. We had some dinner on the street - pad thai, my favorite! It's plentiful and cheap here in Thailand, of course! Jessie went back after dinner to rest/sleep. I wandered around town, did some shopping, checked out the surroundings

I went back to the hotel and Jessie was refreshed and had bandaged up her blisters, so we decided to head out. We wanted to find a movie theater in town that showed English movies. Lucky for us there was one nearby! We walked over to the shopping mall only to find that they didn't have any English movies left for the day. There was another American couple, David and Anna, seeking English movies too, so the 4 of us decided to split a taxi to the other, newer mall which we were told was definitely showing English movies.

We ended up seeing "Fool's Gold" with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. Good, cheesy fun. The story is set in the tropics, so it was like watching a movie that could've been filmed on the islands we just visited! I haven't seen a movie on the big screen since last May, so I was delighted to have my salty popcorn and sugary Fanta and watch the comedy unfold. Good times!

We walked back towards Phuket Town, thinking it wouldn't take TOO long and plus it was a nice night for a walk. Well, about halfway back to town a woman drove up in her pickup and offered us a free ride to town! Amazing! We hopped in the back and cruised back to our hotels. We tried to offer her money when we hopped out but she refused and rolled up her window and drove off! How about that! What a great night and how nice was that ending?! We smiled and said goodbye to David and Anna and hit the hay. I planned to sightsee a bit the next day, and Jessie wanted to sleep in, so she and I agreed to meet at 4 PM at the hotel to say our goodbyes, since we'd part ways the next day.

Day 26-March 31st: I got up and walked around Phuket Town. It's very old and colonial, interesting architecture. There are some wats and Chinese temples. There was one dedicated to vegetarian Buddhist gods. I had to make a stop there!

I took a local bus to Patong Beach, the closest/ most convenient/ easiest to get to beach. It had rained overnight, and there were still some lingering clouds, but it looked like it would clear out. I walked the length of the beach. There were some good waves, but I didn't swim, just walked. I didn't want to stink of the sea and not be able to shower before my nighttime bus ride to Bangkok! I saw the businesses along the street, lots of stuff was on the adjacent streets too, it's a big area with a busy nightlife, but I didn't have time to see it all.

I took the local bus/taxi back to Phuket Town. I was supposed to meet Jessie and Mike at 4 PM, but they didn't show at the On On Hotel, so I used the internet, freshened up, and when they didn't come I made my way to the bus station down the street. I was disappointed but I knew I'd be in touch with them via internet anyway.

My bus took off at 5:30 PM, scheduled to arrive in Bangkok at 5:30/6:00 AM. I saw the sunset over the water from the bus. On the other side of the bus, my window side, there was a lightning storm in the distance. Presumably the storm that had passed through the night before was headed to Ko Phi Phi and environs. The movie "Batman Begins" was playing on the bus, but it was in Thai, so I watched a bit and read a bit and when the movie was over it was lights out. Time to try to get some sleep before we reached Bangkok.

Phuket - Islands Pee Pee And Poo

by Kimberly Michele



Thailand is still amazing. My writing is still slanted, the sun is still shining, the water is still crystal clear, our adopted island dog Ralph is still mangy and I haven't eaten anything suspicious in over 72 hours. life is good! We returned yesterday from an overnight diving trip. I am a non-diver, but Katie, Topher and Megan are all super special certified scuba divers.

I am just super special (right mom and dad?)! Being the only non-diver on the whole boat (which included many speedo wearing plump folks) was cool and strange. The divers did 7 dives of about 1 hour each. Each time they would get dropped into the water, the boat would then drop me and leave me. like in the middle of the ocean. by myself! it was crazy! the boat would sort of follow me, but there were many times where I would look around and not see a single person or boat anywhere in sight! I had to continuously make friends with fish so they would protect me from the sharks. it was crazy!

I was very happy to see sea turtles and Nemo and all the other amazing sea life since last I had seen them was being fried up and served on sticks in China. The colors were truely incredible! There were 2 dives that i was unable to snorkel because there was nothing shallow enough, so I took those times as opportunities to do Yoga on the boat without distraction.

I am sure the captain probably was laughing at me, but hey, i'm in Thailand and I really don't care! I was so happy to jump back into my Ashtanga, but there were definitly challanges with doing yoga on a moving boat! I had to skip many poses to ensure that i didn't fall overboard! I know you would've all loved to hear that story, but I may not have survived to tell it, which doesn't make for a good story at all.

I think doing boat pose on a boat may have been one of the most challanging! oh yeah, and during my last snorkel, my nose ring fell out and i somehow caught it and held it in my hand the entire time! oops! The others really enjoyed their dives, but Megan seemed most excited when she came up and saw a tire!

We stayed on Ko Phi Phi (pronounced pee pee, no joke) and it was beautiful! the clearest blue water and perfect white sand! I would've loved to stay there longer! We stayed over in really cute bungalows that we had to climb tons of steps to reach. We had some yummy dinner and then headed to 'Hippies bar" for some drinks, live music, a nutella eating contest and fire dancers. The fire dancers were so cool-free styled to hard rock and were really really good! The next day we headed back to the boat after breakfast did some more snorkling and found our way back to Phuket. So you now know about the pee pee islands, but the poo (Pu) island is a small island just off Phuket. crazy.

Last night we were pretty wiped out, but managed a good dinner (pizza for me, animal for them) and did some shopping, drinking, jenga, connect four and pool. The Chans are not so good at Jenga. I think they need to train harder, but Topher did win when he played connect four by himself. I still feel like i am on a boat, but soon i will be in the ocean so it will be ok! oh and i made everyone drink a semi-nasty alcohol last night because i bought it based on the cool looking bottle. it was made from grave fruit-that should have been a sign. oh well. we didn't drink too much of it cause it tasted pretty yucky so we survived. they others went off to get fitted for custom wet suits and i will finally do my homework that is left from my volunteer assignment, unless the ocean calls....

Phuket - Beach Massage Indian Food Fighting Gallore

by Kimberly Michele



To start with...I am very sorry to my loving and wonderful parents who I once again fooled from the other end of the world on yet another April fool's day where I am abroad. I am just too good and it is just too easy when you can get people as soon as they wake up before they are suspecting. So i am sorry, but it was really funny. And I am sorry to all the rest of you who I had great plans of fooling but then got too lazy. Like-I'm moving to India permenantly or got married or both. ha! Happy April Fool's Day everyone! And Amy happy early birthday as I will be on an elephant's back spending the night in the jungle for your real bday and don't want to miss it!

Ok so after I last wrote, I experienced some serious horror. We had discussed going to a Thai boxing fight and initially that sounded cool and then i realized i don't like fighting. like at all. i thought about it for awhile. I really didn't want to support such a horrible thing, but then I figured, hey, I'm in Thailand. We arrived in the stadium to our ring side seats and I realized how terrible it was going to be. The first match was with 2 little boys-really really little. it was awful. They beat each other up for 5 whole rounds! I can't even stand to watch dogs playfully fighting! The rest of the rounds were with older guys and seemed more skilled than just plain fighting so it made me feel slightly better. But I am still ashamed that I supported fighting. don't hold it against me. I am still a lover, not a fighter. Afterwards we were able to buy some cool Thai boxing shorts which will make some superb Halloween costumes!! ofcourse-i'm always thinking!!! We walked around in Patong for a bit which was a bit crazy and scandalous. Out in the open hookers and stuff. it was pretty disgusting. We then headed back to sane Kata beach to sleep and called it a night.

The next day, we chose to lessen our sun for a bit and hung around the shop where the others were having wetsuits made. We had lunch at "Mr. India" and even got to meet "Mr. India". the food was excellent and they even had real Indian tea! it was so exciting! After the meal, I thanked Mr. India in Hindi and he was pretty psyched. yes, i just wrote psyched. Last night we had dinner at a pretty nice place where I had a feta cheese salad with actual feta cheese. yum. Afterwards we went to Ska Bar as recommended by a British guy we had met a few days before (although we thought it was called Sky bar due to accent misunderstandings). I had a delicious drink that tasted both blue and like grenadine. my favorites! We played soccer with a local little boy on the beach which was pretty fun. He was out way passed his bedtime selling roses and was just cracking up laughing while playing. In the middle of playing, he would just stop and say "roses" while being the all super serious salesman that he was. it was fun!

oh right and i forgot...i got my first Thai massage and it was great! 1 hour of being yanked and stretched and all for under 10 bucks! I am thinking I will definitely have a few more of those before leaving the country! It is almost like PT without it being PT!

Today was another day of bumming around the beach. I am thinking I need to invent a face mask that is UV protectant for the ocean addicted child like myself. I can't stay out of the water so i am getting a bit of color. oops. I try to stay under the umbrella (sing it Rihanna) while on the beach, but there isn't much you can do while swimming. We then had dinner nearby where I was forced to have grilled cheese and fries (my only option...and it was supposed to have ham!) but it was great considering our awesome musical entertainment. I don't know where they got the singer from, but he makes me sound like a real singer! We all sang along to Brown eyed girl, although I think we did better at singing the right words (I'd say he was at about 47% accurate with the words). Katie and I then got up and danced to "No Women, no cry" Thai style. which to me includes the cabbage patch and running man. dont ask. it was pretty fun. oh and the spoons as our mikes was a pretty nice touch. this was all fueled by some good old all natural pineaple juice with nothing in it, although I am sure they probably thought we spiked it ourselves.

I think that is all for now...I'll report after the elephant day-hopefully i won't fall off and hopefully my elephant won't run off in the middle of the night with his legs tied together to find a girl elephant as Charlie my camel had a few weeks back.