Friday, March 11, 2011

Back to the Blog

Well hello my blog reading friends. I'm sure some of you have been wondering why my blog has been idle for some time now. Some of you asked and got laziness as an answer. Some of you didn't seem to mind the quiet. Some of you realized I was favoring quick status updates on Facebook instead of lengthly journal entries. Well as of now I am officially reactivating the blog.

Since last I wrote I continued living in Phi Phi, Thailand until early May 2010. I kept working as a videographer making a decent living there. As April and May came around the Island slowed down as the season wound down and I quickly realized my time there was coming to an end. There were other places to visit and other opportunities as a Divemaster across Southeast Asia.

So that May I moved to Semporna, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Semporna is the jumping-off point to the dive islands of Mabul, Kapalai, and Sipadan. These world class diving spots were at the very least places I needed to visit before I died. Wouldn't it be a great thing to get to work there for a while? I started out by diving the different spots by paying and started dropping my resume/CV off to all the different dive operators. It took about 3 weeks but one day I was quickly hired and rushed to Uncle Chang's Dive Resort on Mabul to work as a divemaster.

Over the next 3 months I worked day in and day out taking intrepid divers out to the different spots for 3 dives a day. I was paid a small salary and given a room, a roommate, 3 meals a day, and free diving when I wasn't working (most employees slept during their off times while I continued to dive as much as possible). During the evenings we partied with the guests and other staff. Electricity only ran during the night. Internet was sparse. But somehow I was very happy there just diving and socializing.

In August of 2011 I decided it was time to return home to real world. My sister was expecting her second child and I wanted to be around for that. I made a decision to relocate totally to Seattle instead of the Bay Area. Since then I have been procrastinating getting a real job and starting a normal life here. I started dating a wonderful girl named Carolyn back in November and we went to Hawaii in January together.

So here is the punchline. The blog is being revived because it's important to have one again. Carolyn and I have decided to travel for a couple of months to Southeast Asia. This time we plan on doing it right. Instead of working, we will travel from spot to spot, sampling the different cultures, foods, atmospheres, and hopefully lots of great diving along the way. We have an open itinerary with a list of places we would like to see and open minds.

As of right now the rough list is as follows off the top of my head: Thailand-- Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi, Koh Lanta. Malaysia-- Lankawi, Tioman, Perhentians, Kuala Lumpur. Indonesia-- Bali, Tulamben, Gili, Java, Komodo. Philippines-- Cebu, Boracai, Malapascu, Palawan, Moalboal, Manila.

Our flight leaves March 11th to Phuket via Seoul.

Adventure here we come!

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