Bagan is Beautiful....

Koh Tao

 The talk around Thailand is that Koh Tao is the place to get certified to scuba dive. No need to twist our arms - consider us there. It was only a quick boat ride from Koh Samui and 300 dollars out of our pockets before we were signed up for the next PADI course offered on the island.

We spent the first couple of days in the classroom learning the scuba basics. In order to receive your certification you have to watch a cheesy introduction video (a product from 1992) that failed to fill our brains with knowledge. A few actors wearing neon-colored short shorts spent hours covering all of the common sense aspects of diving. We now know you're not supposed to dive without air in your tank (humans don't have gills) and you shouldn't pet sharks (they might bite). Get it? Got it? Good. 

The invaluable lessons happened underwater. The latter half of our course took place in the ocean where we learned how to check our equipment, calculate our bottom time, clear our masks, make safety stops, and control our breathing.

Koh Tao has the most ideal conditions for diving. It's basically like swimming in one big aquarium. Visibility ranged from 12 - 18 meters, the water was warm, and the sea life was abundant.

We don't have any pictures from down under, but here's some of the views from land:

Koh Samui: A Vacation From a Vacation

There are two types of Thailand; the Thailand you see when you live here day in and day out, and the Thailand you see in the magazines. So when Cait's mom, Noreen, and Noreen's friend, Dee, came to visit we were determined to give them the perfect balance of the two.

We had this vision of being the most impressive tour guides Thailand had to offer. We'd take them to see this, we'd drag to see that. Noreen and Dee were about to get straight up cultured.

With our rucksack in one hand, our Fromer's guide in the other, we set out for one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We were still riding the tour-guide-high until we realized... traveling is tiring. Surely, we'd just nap it off and sightsee after. 

Not so much. 

We spent a majority (or all) of their stay parked on the sand and floating in the water. 

Not exactly what we planned, but not a bad alternative. 

A Person's a Person, No Matter How Small

The Thai education system is far different than anything we've ever studied or experienced. We would rather not sit and critique what Thai's are doing wrong and what other parts of the world are doing right. It goes without saying that most educational systems in countries across the world need to be tweaked (or changed drastically) in one way or another. 

That being said, we'd be happy to share the universal trend of teaching. No matter where you are in the world, no matter what language you speak, no matter how old your students are, if you're a teacher... you will not and cannot go an entire day without smiling. That's a fact. 

Here are some of the reasons you'd never catch us without a smile on our faces:

Kaa and Tony the Tiger

Blabber Blogging

We just celebrated our second month of being over here and we've become very wise in our 9 weeks of travel. Some refer to us as native Thai's, most don't. But nonetheless, we are quickly learning the tricks of the trade.

Trick of the trade # 1: Visas. If you buy a plane ticket to Thailand - they put a pretty little stamp in your passport that will grant you 30-days in the country. Very few questions asked. It's a pretty good deal until your month is up... and then what? The process of getting a work-visa is sort of tricky, expensive, and time consuming. So we have two options; cross the border every month or find a longer solution. 

That leads us to Laos, the longer solution. That's what we are up to this week. We have to make a stop to the Thai Embassy over there to be granted a 60-day Visa with option for renewal. You're probably thinking that sounds like a boring trip to make by itself... so why not make a vacation out of it? Our thoughts exactly.

Think of us this week while we visiting National Parks, becoming Mahouts, taking Meditation classes, and exploring everything Northern Thailand has to offer. Stay posted for pictures from our upcoming adventure, my friends.

Cambodia