Ko Tao
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| My diving group! |
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| The primary reason for the holiday on Koh Tao- I'm now a CERTIFIED OPEN WATER DIVER!! |
Since our last day on Koh Tao, the rain has been coming down virtually without stopping. I woke up midmorning to torrential downpour on the island, dreading my fifteen-minute walk down to the beachside restaurant where we had to check out. We booked the night ferry to Suratthani, so we would have all day to relax on the island… except it was raining. So our relaxing day on the beach turned into reading and eating ALL day at this little restaurant. It wasn’t all bad- it was still relaxing. I managed to fall asleep while reading twice- once curled up on the cushions after lunch, and once around dinnertime- at the table. Diving wore me out! And the rain stopped just long enough for us to stay relatively dry while the taxi truck drove us down to the pier.
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| Not so bad- quite cozy, actually!! |
The night boat was an experience on its own- a bunch of backpackers, all in their early twenties to late thirties, from all over Europe and the Americas, piling into this boat, finding their assigned mattress pad and settling in. There were two levels, and Meaghan and I were lucky enough to be on the top. It was much more open, as in you could almost stand up straight. Poor Sean was down below, where the level is split into two rows of beds… more akin to slave trade conditions, although definitely not as bad, I’m sure. I was tired- too much fun packed into one week, and fell asleep almost immediately. I was only startled awake once- when the sea was so tumultuous I slid from my mattress down to my backpack. Many of the passengers were alarmed- as I woke I listened to people letting out surprised little yelps, gasps, and mini screams. But for me, who now rides a motorbike and has jumped cliffs here in Thailand, this was old hat, especially after my Ko Phagnan dingy boat ride, so I simply rearranged myself and went back to sleep. (I’m starting to feel like I’m not so much a tourist anymore- can you tell?) Not speaking from experience, the ride is not generally that rough, but the stormy weather made it a touch more dangerous. I know now the waves were about 3 meters high. On the way to Koh Tao the week before, we couldn’t even get a night boat because of the rough seas, and just to be clear, the ride there was no picnic either.
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| The view from our mini-bus window |
As we got closer to home, all I wanted was to see dusty, dry yet tropical, sunny Nakhon through the mini-bus windows, but instead was greeted with flooded streets and still more rain. I watched as street vendors continued to sell kabobs and noodles while their patrons and their food carts stood in knee-deep, muddy street water; as children ran and splashed, playing joyfully about near the curbs, some pulling big black inner-tubes alongside them. Motorbikes and cars were still driving through with ease, sending wakes to the curb where the children continued playing. It was a marvel, actually- if this was home, the city would be evacuated- streets would be empty, and children would definitely not be playing among whatever was floating (or not floating) in the flooded roads.
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| One of many, many flooded streets- the water level is much higher now... |
When I arrived at the school to pick up my motorbike (yes, that’s right, the motorbike I am now comfortable driving- very carefully, of course- on a regular basis), the grounds were also flooded, although not as bad as other parts of the city, which I thankfully would not need to navigate through. Upon arriving, it was unbeknownst to me and my travel companions just how bad the flooding was. But thanks to trusty Facebook and the rest of the internet, we were able to see the extent of the damage and be updated fairly quickly. Many teachers, let alone native Nakhonian residents, have had to evacuate their homes, or move everything up to the second floor if they have one. We arrived on Saturday, and it is now Monday night, and the rain is continuing. The zoo has flooded and eleven! (11!!) crocodiles have managed to get loose, and only three have been caught (one has been shot). So now we have crocodiles roaming the flooded city as well. Up to this point in time, there have been seven reported deaths as a direct cause in this city alone, and four other provinces are also affected, although Nakhon is definitely the worst.
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| Children tubing and playing in the street |
We are all trying to stay dry, hoping that the worst of the damage has been done, but forecasts are calling for rain like this until Thursday, hopefully clearing by Friday. School has been cancelled until Thursday, and there is no way out of the city unless you are brave with a car- the runway at the airport is also flooded, and busses and vans have stopped running. I can’t help but wonder about all this weird weather… earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, then the more minor but still queer unusual weather patterns happening all over the world. Today, friend told me about a crazy dust storm in Kuwait a few days ago… what’s going on?
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| My flooded school |
I still went to school today- trying to take advantage of an almost empty school, work on printing out report cards, had another extensive meeting with Dr. Sisawat, the mayor’s wife, and with the director of the school about the visit from the WASC representative (she apparently LOVED my unit plans!), candidates for principal, and new teachers, the forthcoming academic year… I came in with five topics to address and three sheets of paper and left with my head spinning and an entire ream of new papers to read through. Still, I am excited about all these new duties I have at the school- it’s fun being involved in this whole process and development.
I am planning on going to school again tomorrow, but we’ll see what it looks like when I wake up in the morning. Meanwhile, I’ll just be holed up in my apartment, writing lessons, skyping, and eating noodles and ice cream!
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| Chickens staying dry |
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