Karos kleine große Weltreise
Karos kleine große Weltreise
vakantio.de/karoskleinegrosseweltreise

16th/17th January 2018

Cyhoeddwyd: 17.01.2018

Huhuuuu ♥

Two days have passed again (I've been on the road for three weeks now!) - a new diary entry follows!

I'm already in bed, even though it's only 10:00 p.m. and Ben E. King's song 'Stand by me' is still playing loudly through my open window. I've been listening to this song at least once or twice every evening since I've been here. 😅 Their repertoire doesn't seem to be that big. Funny story by the way: Every evening at around 10:15 p.m., the power temporarily goes off here and then back on, which means that even in all the bars and pubs, the music and lights suddenly go out for a brief moment. Everyone here knows this, and yet everyone still yells loudly when it happens. It will probably happen again shortly. Anyway, I'm already in bed because I want to go diving again tomorrow morning, and I have to be at the dive shop at 7 a.m. But first, let's talk about the last two days:


16th January 2018: You might not believe me or at least not take me seriously, but yesterday I was really cold here for the first time. 😅 Yes, I know, you have snow and all. But yesterday we had maybe 23 degrees or so, and when you've always had almost 30 degrees in the days before, that suddenly feels pretty cold!!! Really, for the first time in three weeks, I wore long pants and a jacket again. Strange feeling! 😅


As announced, I finally went diving again yesterday. Unfortunately, the weather was really not good, but that doesn't always mean anything when you're underwater. This time, however, we really had no luck. It was cold, the visibility was poor, and we had a pretty strong current. These are really bad diving conditions, but in general, I'm somehow glad to have the opportunity to improve my diving skills under such conditions. As you know, you grow through your challenges (no, not physically). This was my first fun dive that I didn't do with Maxim as a dive guide, but with a Polish girl named Nathalia, who completed her divemaster the day before. You can imagine diving in strong currents as follows: You always start in the opposite direction as much as possible so that you can use the current to return to the boat faster on the way back. Often, at the end of the dive, you are a bit tired and the air is naturally running low, so it could be problematic if you still have to swim/dive a long distance against the current. By the way, we always start with about 200 bar of air. At the latest, when someone in the dive group has only 50 bar left, we start ascending. I often still have more than 100 bar left, which I find a bit annoying because theoretically, I could stay underwater much longer. But oh well 😊 Having to dive against the current is really annoying. Especially when it comes from the side and you're trying with all your might not to touch any anemone or coral. On the one hand, I don't want to break anything, but on the other hand, it can really hurt if you cut yourself on the sharp-edged corals. Swimming with the current is really cool. A bit like taking a bus. Just underwater. 😅 Something else I noticed yesterday because of the current: I've never been touched by a fish underwater! Even though you're often in a school of fish and they all swirl around you, not a single fish has touched me yet!

I had two (!!) jackets on the boat. Just sayin'. 😅

17th January 2018: Because it was so cold yesterday and you can never trust the weather reports here, I didn't sign up for a dive today. Well, guess what? Great weather. 30 degrees+. I spent a long time walking on the beach and I seriously debated whether to post the following pictures and thus destroy the illusion of paradise in Thailand. But there are two sides to tourism. There are always at least two sides. One is the beautiful, dreamy, somewhat sleepy side of Thailand, a country where time sometimes seems to stand still, where people smile at each other when their eyes meet by chance. The other side is the one that has been clearly marked by tourism. So many people travel to Thailand every year, and the locals try to keep up with offers because they also make a living from tourists. What follows are, for example, disorganized, rushed plans for new buildings. Putting a bungalow here, a restaurant there. Then suddenly there's no more money or something else went wrong, and all that's left are ugly unfinished buildings.
That's supposedly been there for almost two years and nothing's happening. Right by the sea! Another problem is the tons of waste that is generated here. There are always volunteers calling for an "island clean-up" where plastic bottles, plastic bags, lighters, flip-flops, etc. are collected from the beach. I've seen photos of mountains of trash, it's really unbelievable. Why can't everyone just clean up their own part?
These plastic bags with sand are partly important because they are supposed to protect the bungalows from flooding. But they're not pretty either...
Well, that was supposed to be my do-gooder contribution to the topic of 'PLEASE TAKE CARE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT'. 😅 No, seriously. Everyone wants to vacation in paradise, but they treat it without any consideration because most people 'will be gone soon anyway'. Or they think it works like in a hotel. Just leave everything lying around, someone will clean it up. It makes me so angry!

Okay, enough. Here come more beautiful beach photos, I also want to distract you from the snow in your thoughts! 😊😅
I spent a lot of time on the beach, reading or listening to audiobooks, taking a dip in the sea to cool off, and swimming a few laps in the pool.
In the evening, after a long shower (by the way, I only have cold water here!), I went back to the beach to play frisbee. I can't imagine ever getting rid of this sand, especially since I'm lying in my totally sandy bed right now. There's sand everywhere! 😅



We played until the sun was completely gone, then we went to eat with a mixed group. I had another very delicious curry! But now I can hardly keep my eyes open. The heat can also be quite exhausting. I'm really looking forward to diving tomorrow!
Best wishes! ♥

Ateb