Lynn's Trip to Thailand part 10: Snorkelling - The sport that sounds like its name
Lynn never does tell us how noises from snorkelling sound like its name. I have been snorkelling before I and can honestly say that I did not associate the two.
As usual, I will quote the material and then comment on it.
Early this morning, we climbed into a van with 2 Russian couples and set off for the Similan Islands. The trip took over an hour and the driver was late. To the beat of wailing Thai pop stars, we shot through the streets sure that the driver had slept in and was nursing a serious hangover. There seem to be no rules when it comes to getting to your destination. A solid line means there is likely enough space for 3 or 4 cars as long as there's no drop or stone wall along the shoulders. Again, we passed an accident just after it had taken place; on the pavement a young girl lay in shock next to her motor scooter... her leg torn open from knee to ankle. As before, the injured was quickly surrounded by helpful bystanders, but there's little in the way of medical insurance here and it's not uncommon for injured motorists to be left to their fate as a helpful Samaritan can be suddenly responsible for hospital fees!
Where does Lynn Johnston get this information? According to this website the emergency telephone number in Thailand for Medical is 1669. Here is a company that does Thailand medical insurance in Phuket and another here and another here and…well you get the idea.
As for the trip to the Similan Islands, this website says:
Thap Lamu Pier, in the Thai Muang district of Phang Nga province, is the nearest launching point to the Similans, with boat trips taking about 3 hours.
This website says from Phang-Nga city to nearby provinces - Phuket 87 kms
We had a fast breakfast of fruit, toast, and instant coffee at the tour shack and were fitted for flippers - Kate and Lane brought their own gear. On the beach before boarding the speedboat to the islands, they took all of our shoes. The rest of the excursion was a feet of survival. Two hours of banging against the waves, dangerously racing other speedboats, and vying for space on the sticky leather seats, we were finally at the dive spot. We were all told to exit the boat where it was anchored just meters from a very different kind of land formation. The Similans are a group of uninhabited islands about an hour from shore and, except for the tropical foliage, look much like the worn and rounded granite islands in the Canadian Shield.
“Kate and Lane brought their own gear” – hardcore snorkelers.
“they took all of our shoes. The rest of the excursion was a feet of survival”. Is this some kind of foot joke?
Two hours is quite a bit shorter than the 3 hours projected above. This website says the trip takes 70 minutes via speed boat.
With the different geology comes a different sea bed. This area was all coral reef. The water was so clear it was hard to judge the depth we were swimming in. I have never been to a coral reef before and the shapes of the organisms below the surface were exquisite. There was a dark coral with a neon blue tip - something I wanted to see better but it was a surprisingly long way down and it took all my energy to get there. Many different species of fish and a plethora of gasping, gurgling, life-jacketed tourists bobbing about made this a veritable parade. I wondered how many endangered species were hoping we’d go away.
“The water was so clear it was hard to judge the depth we were swimming in.” Is she saying that when the water is murky, you can easily judge the depth?
“something I wanted to see better but it was a surprisingly long way down and it took all my energy to get there.” I think Lynn may have confused snorkeling with diving.
As for endangered species, this website mentions the main endangered species under the water near the Similan Islands are the sea turtles. However, I would not limit endangered species as the only creatures hoping Lynn would go away. I am sure there were other species as well.
We were then taken to an island park where we could rest and get a drink. There was little shade, so we all got pretty friendly as we crowded between the rocks and under the few overhanging trees. The sand is finely crushed coral and the consistency white flour. The good thing about this beach was that there were facilities and the place was clean. Other public islands were covered in litter and unexpected latrines kept one from exploring the trails. A sad thing about tourism is that many tourists don't care enough to leave just their footprints.
The island park is probably Similan National Park, which may also explain the niceness of the facilities.
“unexpected latrines” What does that mean? “I was going to explore this trail but a latrine jumped out at me and I wasn’t expecting it? Until they get the wild latrines under control, those trails aren’t safe.”
As for sand, this website has a slightly different take on its origin:
Much of the fine white sand found in coral reef settings is ground-up coral (limestone) that has passed through the digestion system of the parrot fish.
The trip back was a noisy, pounding grunt and a few travelers were frustratingly pushy about taking the best seats. When you can't speak to each other, courtesy seems to disappear. The passengers were German, Russian, Italian, and English and we all kept to ourselves - except for passing the plates of food at lunch, there was little eye contact!
German, Russian and Italian I can understand, but I thought Lynn spoke English. However, I will admit that these travelogues do raise a question about her English abilities. As for the food, it appears that food is provided by the tour which brings the tourists out to the island. There are no restaurants listed for Similan Island.
Back at the shack, we jostled to use the latrines. Fortunately, the driver was in no hurry to get back to Karon Beach where we are now staying. He was so dangerously close to falling asleep that Kate was prepared to holler at him the whole way home - I was too tired to notice.The best thing about these long drives is the chance to see the countryside….. You just don't want to be mashed into it!!! More to come. LJ
“Karon Beach where we are now staying”. Maybe Lynn forgot she put this in her last travelogue. The last travelogue had a very different feel to it than this one, making me suspect that it might have been written after this one was.
As usual, I will quote the material and then comment on it.
Early this morning, we climbed into a van with 2 Russian couples and set off for the Similan Islands. The trip took over an hour and the driver was late. To the beat of wailing Thai pop stars, we shot through the streets sure that the driver had slept in and was nursing a serious hangover. There seem to be no rules when it comes to getting to your destination. A solid line means there is likely enough space for 3 or 4 cars as long as there's no drop or stone wall along the shoulders. Again, we passed an accident just after it had taken place; on the pavement a young girl lay in shock next to her motor scooter... her leg torn open from knee to ankle. As before, the injured was quickly surrounded by helpful bystanders, but there's little in the way of medical insurance here and it's not uncommon for injured motorists to be left to their fate as a helpful Samaritan can be suddenly responsible for hospital fees!
Where does Lynn Johnston get this information? According to this website the emergency telephone number in Thailand for Medical is 1669. Here is a company that does Thailand medical insurance in Phuket and another here and another here and…well you get the idea.
As for the trip to the Similan Islands, this website says:
Thap Lamu Pier, in the Thai Muang district of Phang Nga province, is the nearest launching point to the Similans, with boat trips taking about 3 hours.
This website says from Phang-Nga city to nearby provinces - Phuket 87 kms
We had a fast breakfast of fruit, toast, and instant coffee at the tour shack and were fitted for flippers - Kate and Lane brought their own gear. On the beach before boarding the speedboat to the islands, they took all of our shoes. The rest of the excursion was a feet of survival. Two hours of banging against the waves, dangerously racing other speedboats, and vying for space on the sticky leather seats, we were finally at the dive spot. We were all told to exit the boat where it was anchored just meters from a very different kind of land formation. The Similans are a group of uninhabited islands about an hour from shore and, except for the tropical foliage, look much like the worn and rounded granite islands in the Canadian Shield.
“Kate and Lane brought their own gear” – hardcore snorkelers.
“they took all of our shoes. The rest of the excursion was a feet of survival”. Is this some kind of foot joke?
Two hours is quite a bit shorter than the 3 hours projected above. This website says the trip takes 70 minutes via speed boat.
With the different geology comes a different sea bed. This area was all coral reef. The water was so clear it was hard to judge the depth we were swimming in. I have never been to a coral reef before and the shapes of the organisms below the surface were exquisite. There was a dark coral with a neon blue tip - something I wanted to see better but it was a surprisingly long way down and it took all my energy to get there. Many different species of fish and a plethora of gasping, gurgling, life-jacketed tourists bobbing about made this a veritable parade. I wondered how many endangered species were hoping we’d go away.
“The water was so clear it was hard to judge the depth we were swimming in.” Is she saying that when the water is murky, you can easily judge the depth?
“something I wanted to see better but it was a surprisingly long way down and it took all my energy to get there.” I think Lynn may have confused snorkeling with diving.
As for endangered species, this website mentions the main endangered species under the water near the Similan Islands are the sea turtles. However, I would not limit endangered species as the only creatures hoping Lynn would go away. I am sure there were other species as well.
We were then taken to an island park where we could rest and get a drink. There was little shade, so we all got pretty friendly as we crowded between the rocks and under the few overhanging trees. The sand is finely crushed coral and the consistency white flour. The good thing about this beach was that there were facilities and the place was clean. Other public islands were covered in litter and unexpected latrines kept one from exploring the trails. A sad thing about tourism is that many tourists don't care enough to leave just their footprints.
The island park is probably Similan National Park, which may also explain the niceness of the facilities.
“unexpected latrines” What does that mean? “I was going to explore this trail but a latrine jumped out at me and I wasn’t expecting it? Until they get the wild latrines under control, those trails aren’t safe.”
As for sand, this website has a slightly different take on its origin:
Much of the fine white sand found in coral reef settings is ground-up coral (limestone) that has passed through the digestion system of the parrot fish.
The trip back was a noisy, pounding grunt and a few travelers were frustratingly pushy about taking the best seats. When you can't speak to each other, courtesy seems to disappear. The passengers were German, Russian, Italian, and English and we all kept to ourselves - except for passing the plates of food at lunch, there was little eye contact!
German, Russian and Italian I can understand, but I thought Lynn spoke English. However, I will admit that these travelogues do raise a question about her English abilities. As for the food, it appears that food is provided by the tour which brings the tourists out to the island. There are no restaurants listed for Similan Island.
Back at the shack, we jostled to use the latrines. Fortunately, the driver was in no hurry to get back to Karon Beach where we are now staying. He was so dangerously close to falling asleep that Kate was prepared to holler at him the whole way home - I was too tired to notice.The best thing about these long drives is the chance to see the countryside….. You just don't want to be mashed into it!!! More to come. LJ
“Karon Beach where we are now staying”. Maybe Lynn forgot she put this in her last travelogue. The last travelogue had a very different feel to it than this one, making me suspect that it might have been written after this one was.
posted by howard at 11:56 AM
3 Comments:
German, Russian and Italian I can understand, but I thought Lynn spoke English. However, I will admit that these travelogues do raise a question about her English abilities.
I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking that; Lynn seems to be barely literate at the best of times.
What it really tells me is that over the years, her staff probably did a lot of proofreading of the dialogue of her strips. There doesn't seem to be anyone proofing these travelogues.
Oh, that explains why the shoes were taken away...to protect the corals. Thanks for clearing that up!
It is sad that there's litter all over other islands if Lynn had to comment on it.
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