September 18, 2004
On The Road Again
Loads of new pics up from
Penang
Cameron Highlands
and Perhentian Islands
I had a wicked time in the Cameron Highlands and especially the Perhentian Islands. Did some great diving on the island and just general beach bumming. Many thanks to my Dutch friends Bart and Linda for sharing their underwater pictures with me. Their pictures put mine to shame, partly because they have a nifty color correction filter for their camera that helps capture the actual colors of the objects underwater. But they also seemed to have a real knack for capturing exquisite shots. You can check out some of their pictures (as well as some of mine) in the Perhentians album.
I got two sets of news while I was there that on the surface seem to be not the most welcomed but actually helped me to clarify my plans. One is that my subtenants will be leaving in February. We had agreed that they would be there at least a year and then it would go month to month after that so I always knew there was the possibility, if not even probability that they would leave before I finished my travels. The other is that we kind of agreed mutually with the client whose job I had been waiting on that it would be best for someone else to handle the job. The job still seems to be coming through but very slowly and it doesn't really seem practical to try and plan my travels around a small job that still could fall through altogether.
So I've decided that instead of trying to find work as a divemaster in Thailand, I am going to go to Sulawesi in Indonesia and just enjoy diving there as a regular paying client. From all accounts the diving there is supposed to be some of the best in the world and I really wanted to be able to check out Indonesia while I'm in Asia. Afterwards, I will return to Thailand and travel around Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia until early next year. I'll then come back to the States to sort out a new tenant for my apartment and possibly even pick up some work while I'm there. After that, I plan on continuing my travels, probably starting in Nepal or India.
So at the very least I now have some clarity in my travel plans. Although they'll probably change again before I complete it feels good to have a game plan. Also, while I haven't really felt homesick at all, it will be nice to come back to the States for a bit, see my friends, reconfigure my luggage a bit and then head off into the blue yonder again.
So I'm heading back to Thailand now to catch up with a few friends and then I plan on flying from there to Manado in Indonesia, where I'll be travelling for a month or so before returning to Thailand. Despite the recent terrorism in Jakarta, I'm confident that I'll be quite safe in the areas I'll be heading to but will keep my ears open for any change in the situation. I'm really looking forward to it.
Posted by Pedro at September 18, 2004 09:24 PM | TrackBack