Re-Unions
Trip Start
Aug 23, 1996
1
266
450
Trip End
Ongoing
Patong,
Thailand
Saturday, May 13, 2006
It was a horrible journey from Bangkok. By bus it took over 18 hours. By the time we arrived, my knees were shot. We hobbled off from the last bus and found his bar, The Two Black Sheep. And shock horror, there were no girls to be seen, but then again, it was only early, and they come out to play when it is much later. We rang Michael and twenty minutes later, he arrived, with his new woman in tow. Trang. We said our hellos, and discovered that Trang wasn't a Thai go-go dancer but a hotel manager from Saigon. Thank god for that, at least, that is one thing I don't have to report upon. A room was found, and we arranged to meet up later on.
We went for a walk in Patong, where we were now based. It did not seem like we were in Thailand. There were lights, bars and restaurants everywhere. In fact, it seemed like a sleazier version of Goa, and that we did not enjoy. So we found an internet café, and booked some flights out of there. Back at the bar, the night was now here, and Michael and one of his business partners, John, got up and did a couple of acoustic sets. They were pretty good, and after the second, we went for dinner and we spoke about old times and why he had bought a bar in Patong, as realistically, this is not Michael. He explained his reasons, and we were happy with them. As the evening moved along, another partner, Scotty, came over and invited us out for a day of boating around the islands. Michael mentioned that we could go diving, and that sold us both. We would have to change our flights, but it was an opportunity that was to good to miss out on. Also, since this trip began, we have used everything that is my bag except one item. Our underwater case for our first digital camera, and this was the perfect opportunity to try it out. I was slightly worried though, as my camera that I have been using died about 6 weeks ago, so I have gone back to using the old one. I just hope it survives its little underwater excursion !!!
First thing in the morning, we managed to change our flights, so we hit the beach. The water was nice and warm. We hung out for a while, before we met up with the Two Black Sheep Crew and we told them the news that we were coming along. We then went and arranged our equipment, which we got a really good price on. In the evening, we met the Captain, who was another Aussie and found out it was going to be a boat load of Aussies, so at least we could have a good time. After Michael and John had finished their sets, we sat and watched the main band. They were a Thai group who were tight and did some good covers. As we had had a few beers, we sang along with them, until the early hours of the morning, and realising to late that it was now very late, we went and crashed.
As the alarm went off, I was thinking that it was a mistake to go, as I was so tired. We met everyone, picked up our kit, and off we went to the boat. Once we were all aboard, Geoff, the Captain, instructed the crew, and off we went. A few hours later, we arrived at the dive site, we put the kit together, and in we went. Lucy was feeling quite anxious, and I was a little as well, because it has been over four years since we dived, and as I was the most qualified out of the three, I thought we would be ok, as long as we dived safely. There was one worry though, we had no compass, no watches or dive computers, so we decided to be extra cautious. Going down was hard, as I always have trouble equalising, but once down, it was a nice dive. We saw loads of fish, moray eels and our first sea snake, but the coral was rather dead !!! When it was time to come up, the boat picked us up, and we discovered that we had been down for 65 minutes. The longest I have ever dived. Back in the boat, we found a secluded beach on another island where we had lunch. It was a really nice place to hang out. A few people had some J's and beers, but as we were diving, the three of us did not partake in any of the substances that were flying around. Remember, we were diving safely !!! As we went around the island, we found a place where all the dive boats were. In we went, and I had even more trouble getting down. I had a bad squeeze around the sinus areas and I thought my head was going to explode, but slowly, slowly, and then I was down. First up, the visibility was very hazy, and then we moved on and it opened up. There were loads of fish and this time we saw a huge moray, a huge trigger fish and a massive grouper. 58 minutes later, we were back on the surface. It had been a fantastic dive. A couple of the boys on the boat had some spear guns and wanted to go fishing, we pulled over, and a Thai boy jumped into the water and caught a big mackerel with his bare hands !!! Who needs a rod or gun !!! The spear gunners were unsuccessful, and as it was getting late, we made our way back to the dock. It had been a great day. In fact, the best one so far on Phuket, and to top things off, our camera had survived its day in the sea !!!!
We met up with Michael and Trang for lunch. This would be the last time I would see him until we ran into each other again. We said our goodbyes to them and then bid farewell to his partners and friends.
Overall, Patong is not the place for us. Full of Aussie families on holidays, and Euro/Aussie single men looking for an easy root. On a plus note, Michael's bar was not a girlie one, so I can report back to the Mothers, that it is in fact quite respectful, so, if you are ever in the Patong area, look for the Two Black Sheep Baa, ask for Mick, and say g'day from me. Who knows, you could do worse things in life.
