Southeast Asia Travel Journal

This is part two of my experience learning scuba. Read part one first.

Today is the big day. I get my first taste of diving beneath the waves. Am I nervous? You bet.

Adam picks me up early and drives us to the pier in Bang Rak. We’re taking the ferry that runs from Samui to Phangan and on to Koh Tao. The ferry is quite comfortable, especially if it rains on the way back, which it can do at this time of year. The ferry also doubles as a day-trip boat for snorkelers, so after it docks in Koh Tao, it moves on to Koh Nang Yuan and pulls up right next to our dive boat. While the day trippers go out the back to fishing boats, we transfer our gear to the dive boat, where a couple of other divers are already waiting. Adam gives everybody an introduction to the rules of the boat, then he and I go over the dive plan, which is pretty simple for my first dive.

We’re moored over a spot known as the Japanese Garden, for it’s many cabbage-shaped corals. We get the equipment ready, then suit up, and it’s over the side of the boat - backwards - another challenge. We swim over to the buoy that the boat is tied to, then follow it down into the water. I’m focused on trying to remember all the things I’m supposed to do to dive safely - breathe, equalize, breathe, maintain neutral buoyancy, breathe, clear the mask - remember the comparison to learning to drive a car? It really does become automatic after a while, and you do get a chance to view some of the scenery, although that too can be a distraction.

Denizens of the deep. I’m the one in back.

The first dive is finished after only 25 minutes. It’s not a complete success – I have problems with the all-important neutral buoyancy – but hey, it’s my first time. We stow the gear then climb up to the top deck, where lunch is served. After lunch, we cast off and move around to the other side of the island, to a site known as the Twin Peaks, or just the Twins. We get ready for the second dive. If anything, I’m more nervous about this one, knowing all the little things that I did wrong on the first dive.

Fortunately, this dive goes a lot better. I get my form in order and move through the water a lot easier, which is just as well, because the scenery here is fantastic. There are many more types of coral, as well as lots more fish, as well as sea slugs, urchins and many others. I’m actually disappointed when the dive ends, but my air gage is getting close to the ‘danger’ zone, so I don’t argue.

My instructor took more pictures of me and what we saw on the second dive. See his photo gallery for more.

Seeing as how I turn the big 5-0 this year, I decided I needed to set myself a challenge - learn something new, do something I’ve been too timid to do before. Since I’ve always been fascinated by television programs about underwater sights, and live in a part of the world where such things can literally be right outside your door, I decided to learn how to scuba dive.

This decision was not without a lot of trepidation. After all, strapping a big heavy tank to your back, adding another 20 pounds of lead weights around your waist, and then jumping in the water just seems so wrong. The list of things that could go haywire seemed endless.

But that was the whole idea. Challenge my fears, free myself of those ideas that keep me from experiencing everything that life has to offer. So, having decided what to do, I had to find somebody to teach me. Fortunately, scuba diving is one of the most highly organized sports in the world, with a global system of teaching people to dive, known as PADI. All I had to do was find a certified PADI instructor, and there are literally thousands of them in Thailand alone. This decision for me was easier than it might seem. I’d already heard many good things about Adam Preston, of Rainbow Scuba in Samui, so I contacted him and we arranged some dates that worked for both of us.

Now, when you try to imagine what a scuba instructor is like, whatever comes to mind is probably the exact opposite of Adam. He’s a soft-spoken Brit who came to Thailand about six years ago and hasn’t left. Adam is very patient and doesn’t mind repeating himself as much as necessary - which actually seems to be a fundamental part of PADI instruction.

For those that haven’t been through it, the PADI course is a small scale multi-media extravaganza that combines self-study, video reviews and classroom instruction to learn the basics - although for this course, the classroom is a swimming pool. You get familiar with all the equipment and fundamentals involve in scuba in the relatively safe and controlled confines of a hotel pool.

So, when I landed in Samui last night, Adam graciously picked me up from the airport, and handed me a book. "Read at least the first section before I pick you up tomorrow." He told me.

So, I did my homework and Adam picked me up this morning for the start of “class”. Actually, since it was just me, we went to Adam’s house to watch the DVD’s, which basically cover the same ground as the book, to help re-enforce the concepts. Like the book, there’s a “test” after each section. Both the book and the videos are done with a touch of humor, that makes it easy to get through. The book also has numerous little “pop quizzes” sprinkled through it, to help you check if you’ve gotten the main points. The books are meant to be written in, a point which Adam made to me several times, since many of his customers aren’t used to marking up books.

Once the videos were out of the way, we moved to a nearby resort where I got my first taste of diving with the equipment. Strangely, things I thought would give me trouble, like getting used to the mask and clearing it, proved to be relatively simple. The hard part, for me, was getting the hang of neutral buoyancy. Adam compares learning scuba to learning to drive. When you first start out, there are so many things you’re trying to remember, it seems impossible that anyone manages it, but pretty soon a lot of actions become second nature.

After a couple hours in the pool, I’ve learned everything I’m supposed to learn, so we knock off for the day and tomorrow it’s off to Koh Tao to do the real thing.

To find out how I did in the real open water dives, read part two.

The new contemporary art museum may not be opening until later this year, but it’s already the center of a new art scene. Beginning today until 28 September, the plaza in front of the museum will host an art market, complete with recent works by new artists and performance art.

The museum is located on the corner of Rama I and Phayathai Road, filling in the blank space left between MBK center, Siam Discovery Mall and Siam Square. Take the Skytrain to the National Stadium station.

My room at the Crowne Plaza Dubai Festival City

So, I’m back in Dubai. In June. Outside, it’s a balmy 102°F with 60% humidity. And it’s only June. Good thing I didn’t wait until July for this trip, or, heaven forbid, August.

Fortunately, I’ve got this little slice of heaven to get away from the hell outside. I’m staying at the all new Crowne Plaza hotel at Dubai Festival City. The hotel was just opened earlier this year, and is part of the huge Festival City development that includes a shopping mall, office towers, housing development, yacht club and golf course, all just a few minutes from the airport.

My standard room is sleek and modern, with all the conveniences. There’s a king-size bed, flat screen television with DVD player, a sofa, desk and large closet. Accents are silver, with blue LED lights highlighting switches at night. The bathroom has a large tub, with both a standard shower head and a rain shower. The bathroom is divided from the bedroom by a huge picture window. There’s an electronically controlled blind you can lower if you want some privacy in the bathroom.

The television has lots of channels, including a fair number of American comedy networks. There’s also an Internet connection in each room, although it’s not free.

Pet peeve: Why do hotels charge for Internet use? In most cases, they pay the same fee regardless of how much use the connection gets - just like the cable television channels - so why charge for it?

The fitness center is small but usable. The pool is set up specifically for laps. The coffee shop breakfast features a good selection, especially of healthy options like fresh fruit.

The hotel is connected to the Festival City shopping center, although it is a bit of a hike. You have to pass through the meeting center, which is shared with the Intercontinental Hotel, then through the Intercontinental itself, and finally over an enclosed bridge that gets you to the mall.

The mall is big, although not the biggest in Dubai by a long shot. There is a Marks & Spencer, hypermart, Ikea, Toys R Us, and tons of boutiques. The mall also has a Fitness First branch, if the hotel’s gym isn’t big enough for you. Perhaps most importantly, the mall has a huge selection of restaurants, selling just about every cuisine you can think of, from Japanese Sushi to Mexican.

The dates have been set for this year’s Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, which will be held from 14 to 19 October, 2008. From the web site:

The theme for UWRF 2008 is Tri Hita Karana, a Balinese Hindu concept that translates as the relationship between God, Humanity and Nature.

Invited international guests include acclaimed Indian author Vikram Seth, US novelist John Berendt, award-winning UK writer Caryl Phillips, Mexican author Alberto Ruy-Sanchez, Australians Alexis Wright and Helen Garner and 2007 Man Booker Prize short-listed writers Indra Sinha and Mohsin Hamid.

The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival has become the stage where voices from China, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are heard. In 2008, we will engage writers from beyond Asia into the heart of Africa and Central America.

Collision of cultures will be one of the underlying themes with established and emerging writers confronting the issues of ‘Us and Them’. Issues such as the environment, world religions, languages and lifestyles will be explored together with the subject of migration and its impact on communities. Hot debates addressing crime and punishment in Asia, and more specifically drugs, civil rights and moral dilemmas, will take center-stage.

Satisfy your hedonistic passions with our acclaimed stars by luxuriating in the lush surroundings of Ubud’s elegant hotels and gracious homes at our literary lunches and dinners. Join our Long Table feast in the rice fields featuring acclaimed chefs and food writers as they showcase Bali’s vibrant food culture. Enjoy workshops that teach the craft of writing or cultural activities that offer a peak into the mystical, magical world of Bali, in between book launches, performances, exhibitions, cocktail parties and celebrations into the early hours of the morning.

And if that is not enough, the 2008 Festival will take to the streets, literally, with international street performers matching their wits against Ubud’s youth in a carnival of skill and artistry.