About
Welcome to Matt's Meanderings...both figurative and literal.
I really wasn’t ready to return, but I had an amazing 4 months abroad, met wonderful people, saw incredible sights, and created unforgettable memories.
The plane ride(s) seemed extra long and I really am feeling out-of-sorts since returning. America feels like all it’s stereotypes…super-sized, obnoxious, clean, overly security conscious, dumbed down, etc etc. I don’t think my sensitivity to it will completely fade and hope that it doesn’t. One of the great lessons about immersing yourself in a foreign culture is a (hopefully) a greater awareness, sensitivity for the new environment surrounding you and a heightened empathy for people. I’d like to be able to transfer that and apply it to familiar settings while I’m at home and not just when away.
We’ll see though….give me a few weeks back in the routine and I’ll let you know if I’m as big an A-hole as before :)
p.s.
Soon I’ll post photos and videos that I wasn’t able to while I was away. Poor internet connections, schedule, and generally slacking off prevented me from posting everything I wanted to.
Bangkok - Two nights, and one full day before flying back to the states.
I made the most of it by going shopping. Since all my clothes are in storage in Brooklyn and I’ll be working in Washington DC, I had to get something besides board shorts and sandals to wear to work. I only bought a few things, but it took all day and I hit up 4 different malls. The fancy malls are cool, but I recommend checking out MBK mall for all kinds of bargains. I scored a nice pair of grey jeans for $8 and some dress slacks for $18. You can haggle with the merchants there to get the best price possible (or worst price if you’re terrible at it).
From Ko Tao to Bangkok….I took a high speed catamaran from the island to Chumpon (or some spell it Chumporn, which sounds kinkier), then get on an air-con bus that heads up to Bangkok. The whole trip takes about 11-12 hours, and the joint ticket cost 1000 baht (about $30 US). I wanted to take the train, but the agent I bought the ticket from claimed I couldn’t make the connection…now I know he was lying and probably makes more profit this way, but at least I got the best seat - top level at front corner. We rolled into Bangkok near Khao San Road at 9:30pm and were mobbed by unscrupulous taxi and tuk tuk drivers preying on naive tourists. I grabbed my bag and walked a few hundred meters down the road to grab a metered taxi.
Massive school of tiny fish form a giant black swarm at Ko Tao pier
View from Big Blue Divers
Saying goodbye to the beach and the beachdogs. I didn’t like Ko Tao at first, but it really grew on me. I can see why people come for a few days and end up staying a few weeks.
I met some really cool people here and had some great dives.
Waiting for the high speed catamaran at Ko Tao pier
Whale shark at Sail Rock near Ko Tao Thailand.
This is the second video I took. The whale shark swam below me on this pass
Whale shark at Sail Rock, near Ko Tao, Thailand.
I was told it’s a male by a marine biologist from Big Blue divers. This guy was hanging around at 18-20 meters depth and we were able to see him on 2 consecutive dives. He’d swim by and disappear into the blue. I wish the visibility would have been a little better. The banging sound you hear is from a diver with a steel pointer hitting his tank to let everyone know a whale shark was spotted.
Pink anemone fish share some juicy gossip
