Updated contact information

Well, as some of you know, I will be spending the next month or so in Phuket, where I managed to get a very good deal for a live-aboard trip to the Similans and a Dive Master course (at least 4 weeks).

Since as part of the Dive Master course I will be helping instructors leading groups and I needed to be reachable, I've been forced to buy yet another SIM card, something I wanted to avoid at all costs. The good news, and I know this is what most of you were looking for (I believe I got a total of 3 calls in my 5 months with local mobile in Australia+NZ), is that you can call me and send me text messages now. I know you'll find this information as useful and interesting as knowing the number of people who prefers regular coke over diet coke at Nassoumbow (Burkina Faso), but here goes the number just in case: +66 46 304 501. And, as I say in my mails, keep in mind if you ever decide to call that time differences with Thailand are GMT + 7 (Western Europe time + 5) and that most of the next days I will be diving since early in the morning, so you'll have a better chance of reaching me after 7 pm or so (Thai time).

I will still be checking my Spanish number (+34 629 76 15 57) for text messages once or twice a week, so you can still send SMS there. Just don't expect a prompt response.

That's all. Hope all of you are well and happy wherever you are.

A short shallow story

I know, I know, most of you are waiting for the stories of Phi Phi, but bear with me while I delay them one more post. After all, this is the good thing about writing your own page: you decide the subject you write about :)

And those of you calling me unfriendly names for not answering your emails, believe me I will. It may take same time, but I will answer each and everyone of you.

Anyway, you may notice that today I'm in a quite euphoric mood, and that's due to two things. First, today I completed my Rescue Diver course, which has been the first useful diving course I've done since I completed my Open Water 6 years ago. That achievement, together with watching Sete Gibernau leading the Moto GP race in Portugal, led me to spoil myself with a Sang Som with coke. For those unfamilar with the Thai spirit market (as I was only a month ago), Sang Som is the most popular rum in Thailand, and is such a special spirit that only Madrid dared to reward its (doubtful, to say the least) quality with an award. In fact, not happy with that, we decided to give it another award the next year, and both of them are proudly announced in its label. And people still doubt that Madrid is not a unique city!

Anyway, I was there, in a French Bar (who surprisingly also had a Spanish flag in its door) with the unlikely, if quite appropriate, name of "Le Grand Prix", proudly holding my Sang Som while Gibernau was the king of Lisbon and Barroso's was limited to smelling the fumes coming out of the Catalan's exhaust. But suddenly, before I could have a third sip of my drink and with about 16 laps remaining, Gibernau fell and was out of the race. Shit, one less thing to celebrate! And almost nothing to celebrate it with as, when a bloody "frog" (gabacho) standing next to me starting jumping in happiness because the Spaniard was out, I was very tempted of dropping my almost intact cocktail on him. Luckily (for both, as everybody in the bar was French and would presumably not be on my side), my rational self took control of me and I simply dedicated him a couple swear words in Spanish, in the intimate hope that he and his colleagues wouldn't understand them.

So, since I'm still under the effects of Thai rum (and the Thai beer I also spoiled myself with during my red-snapper dinner), I've decided to tell you about Phuket and my dive course, as there is no way either of those stories could have any interest whatsoever without a little cheap ethilene livening up my neurons.

First let me tell you about Phuket. Well, West Coast Phuket, an area dominated by middle-aged Europeans in search of the girl they never got in their youth (while here she's just a couple thousand bahts away) and Thai girls with multiple overseas (and gullible) boyfriends who think the girls are actually in love with them and keep sending money to pay their expenses. Needless to say, this is as close to my definition of Paradise as Spain is to winning a World Championship in cricket.

But don't get me wrong, the place is great. Beautiful beaches, lovely (if not very cheap) restaurants, excellent diving,... And I've met some great people here. Alberto, the Filipino who welcomes me every night that I venture into the restaurant where he works to enjoy a delicious 2,5 euro grilled red-snapper. Or Jo Joe, the guy running my guest-house, who's able to get you the best diving deals in the world. Or Everet, an American that not only is not mono-lingual, but speaks 4 languages better than I speak my own. Or the lady running this internet cafe, that welcomes me as if I was a far away relative.

But unfortunately, these people are more the exception than the rule. The truth is that I just don't feel any connection at all with most locals and tourists here, which seem to be related to each other by interests quite distant from mine. And for me, connecting with the people around me is what truly makes me enjoy a place. Phuket, sadly, is to Germans and Scandinavians what Cuba is for many Spaniards and Italians.

But hey, let's move on to happier subjects. I can't finish this story without telling you about my 2-day long Rescue Diver course. My course was composed of a German instructor (Michael), a fake victim (Shawn) and myself. Two people dedicated full time, 4 dives and one free t-shirt for the price of a discounted dive course. Not bad at all.

Imagine Michael, a 1-year old instructor with one of the most typical German "everything-must-be-precisely-organized" minds dealing with Shawn, a young fun-loving British divemaster candidate (despite he had one third my number of dives) who's main interest in pursuing a career in diving seemed to be getting the admiration of his friends back in Essex. I got along perfectly well with both of them, Michael providing a very thorough training and Shawn providing the necessary laughts. But, needless to say, they couldn't stand each other, which made whole course increasingly interesting.

We simulated countless emergency situations (panicked diver in the surface, unconcious diver underwater) where Shawn played a very careless victim continuously reprehended by Michael and I simply tried to improved skills while, in many cases, none was paying attention to me. OK, I am exaggerating. Shawn did a great job acting as a victim (not a very difficult role, I must add) and I did learn a lot from Michael, even though he could talk for hours about procedures and annecdotes that were not even remotely related to my course. But without their constant disputes this course would have not been the same.

So, even though at the beginning I though I had made a big mistake choosing this company (that Jo Joe got me for a ridiculous price) with an immature divemaster and an unexperienced, and far too serious for my taste, instructor, I think the course would have been have the fun without this lucky combination.

So divers of the world, beware. Next time you have an underwater problem your main concern could be that the person running like a thunder to help you has a very familiar nose and a rescue training as extensive as Sang Som's international reputation. What better reason to do a thorough pre-dive buddy check next time!

Eso es todo amigos!

There's always a third time after the second

Sorry for this interruption of my Phi Phi memories, but I thought I had to let you know about my latest (today's) experience in this country. I would also like to thank all of you for your mails and, as usual, ask you for some patience. In addition to my month of delay in answering I now have my 3 weeks in Phi Phi. But I can't tell you enough times how much I love to receive your messages. I I've read them all and I will answer them as I can, but I just think keeping my web up to date is more important since it's a very easy way for me to tell everyone what I'm up to.

And by the way, check out my Thailand album, as there are already over 100 pictures on it (most of them of my life at Ko Phi Phi).

Anyway, going back to the title of this posting, that's probably a very bad translation of a Spanish saying, meaning that if something happens twice, it will almost certainly will happen a third time. And believe me, if you think about your own experiences, I'm sure you will find this is quite true.

In this case I'm talking about the unlikely possibility of celebrating 3 New Years in little more than 3 months. First it was Western New Year in New Zealand (almost as further East as you can celebrate that date and my first time south of the Equator); then it was the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong (and a little in Singapore); and finally Thai New Year in Phuket (or Chalong, to be exact).

Most people know what I think of Western New Year. Boooooooring. A bunch of people getting drunk in crowded bars where it's impossible to order a drink or make it home without people spilling 5 of theirs on your clothes. At least in Spain we have the 12 grape tradition which in my opinion makes more special, but then again in Spain you can go out any other night of the year and find all the places much less crowded, people more fun and drunk and cheaper drinks. So why people bother to go out in New Years in Western countries remains a mystery to me.

Then Chinese New Year, certainly much more interesting. Lots of day-time ceremonies going on, parades, fireworks,... Truly much more interesting and fun.

But then, it's Thai New Year or Songkran. Perhaps is not as culturaly intense as the Chinese one, but believe me, this is the best New Year celebration ever. Perhaps when I describe it to you you won't find it so interesting (I didn't when I read about it), but if you take part on it you will have the best time since you stopped being a kid (maybe it's because I never did :)

Well, this is what is about. Thai New Year is the largest water-fight in the world. On April 13th everybody all over Thailand gets set with huge buckets of water, plastic containers and water-guns (althought it's supposed to be illegal to sell them) and they just start throwing water to each other. Perhaps that doesn't sound like a lot of fun if you're from St. Petersburg or Anchorage, but when it's 35+ degrees (and probably over 90% humidity) it just can't be any better.

Just imagine this: streets packed with people with huge buckets and water-guns, and people riding on the back of trucks or motorbykes all immersed in this absolutely harmless and refreshing battle. Everything is allowed. You can shot people in restaurants, walking in the street, inside buses,... only old or handicapped people, or people that don't seem to enjoying getting wet are respected (unless, of course, they start the fight). Even policemen cannot run away from it and get constantly water-gunned. Is that fun or what?!

But what makes the Thai New Year even more special, in my opinion, is that is the only New Year celebration practicaly thought for kids. Imagine being a kid and being able to throw water to every person you want to (relatives, friends, policemen, people you don't know at all...) and your parents not only not punish you for it, but encourage to do it, quite frequently driving you around in the back of their pick-up trucks with hundreds of liters of water. Doesn't it sound like any kid's dream come true!

And while in many Western countries (a couple immediately come to mind) this type of celebration would have ended up with street fights or riots (someone wetting someone that doesn't want to be wet, someone shooting someone to intentionaly hurt him/her or simply the typical rioters taking over the streets using the crowds to cover themselves), here the celebration is completely smooth. Everybody throws water without trying to hurt others and to people that seem to be enjoying the celebration. And if, by mistake, you water someone that didn't want to be watered, the person simply smiles or walks away and doesn't get angry. We need to learn so much from these people.

Anyway, I joined a tour that one of the dive shops in Chalong organized and it was way above my expectations. They provided us with water guns, hundreds of liters of water (that we had to refill 3 times) and drove us around the southern part of the island in two pick-ups. We shot at motorbikes passing by, people sitting in restaurants, people in other trucks, in buses, in the street,... And of course, in returned we were shot back by exactly the same type of people. And if you want to make it a little more interesting, just put ice in the water. Almost half the times someone got us was with very (VERY) cold water, and believe me, when you're completely soaked it makes quite a difference. And of course, shooting someone with ice-cold water makes it twice as much fun.

Anyway, call me immature, shallow or simply stupid (it will not be anything I don't already know, anyway), but timing the throwing of a bucket so it splashes on that bus full of people coming the opposite way, trying to get that girl running away from the road or calculating the parabola you need to create to reach that motorbike behing that car make this the best New Year celebration I've ever had. And by the amount of people that were taking part on it (both locals and Westeners), I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

Chok Dee (or good luck), everyone! And Happy 2548!

Memories of Ko Phi Phi (Part 1): What happened on December 26th

I'm finally back in the civilization (Phuket), after 3 intense weeks in Ko Phi Phi and 2 unsuccessful leaving intentions. These 3 weeks have been, without a doubt, the most remarkable ones in my trip, for the experiences I've lived, the things I've seen and, specially, the special people I've met. All of these makes leaving this place so difficult for everyone.

So, given all the things I need to tell you, I decided to break my story in 3 different ones, and even so I'm sure I'll have trouble to keep it short.

I decided to start telling you what really happened in this small island on December 26th since, for several reason, few people know it. And I think knowing this will give you an idea of what people that lived there went through and the magnitud of the catastrophy on this place.

Ko Phi Phi would be two separate islands if it wasn't for the beautiful stretch of sand (before full of palm trees and resorts) that connects both ranges of mountains. This stretch of sand, that creates two lovely bays, Ton Sai on the south and Loh Dalum on the north, is where most of the buildings of the island (hotels, shops, resorts, diving schools,...) were and where the tsunami caused all of the destruction. Even after the tsunami you can see how extremely over-developed this place was.

Around 10:20 in the morning (with many people still sleeping after the Christmas celebration) the first sign of a tsunami was seen at Ton Sai bay, where the water disappeared for almost a kilometer. Many people run into the bay trying to pick up the fish left on dry land, others watched the fenomenon from the beach while others were lucky enough to be warned of what was going on and run to the mountains. Ton Sai bay is also where the two piers used to be (only one remaining) and at that time is where most of the boats arrive from the mainland. And both piers (probably also packed of people ready to leave) are too far from the mountains on either side for the people to save themselves when the wave came. It's hard to estimate how many people were in the island, but it is considered that around 5,000 lived there and between 3,000 and 5,000 arrived every day to just spend the day there.

The wave from Ton Sai was not really a wave, but a sudden raise in tide that pushed the sea into land. People started running to the other side of the sand stretch only to find that 10 minutes later a violent 10-meter high wave came from the other side, from Loh Dalum. This devastating wave was followed by another 5-meter wave soon after, and all this waves mixed in the middle acting as a blender and destroying everything they found on the way. The entrance to Loh Dalum bay faces the West, and that's probable the main reason what most of the devastating waves came from this side, intensifying their effect due to the funnel effect of the bay.

1,200 people died, 800 more are missing, and if you think that between 8,000 to 10,000 people were in the island is terribly high percentage. Everybody in the island has lost a relative or a friend.

50% of the buildings (that's HALF the buildings!) of the whole island have disappeared. Only in Phi Phi Princess, one of the most luxurious resort in the island situated at Loh Dalum, 350 tourist and 55 local staff died. Only part of the outdoor restaurant and one of the staff buildings remains. Many bodies will never be found, because as people that were in the island have told me, the long-tail boats were tying together chains of dead people and taking them out of the bays, leaving them floating in the open sea.

Since the most devastating waves came from the north, that the most affected area, although you see destruction all over. That's also the reason why we were working underwater in Ton Sai bay, because the waves washed away everything from Loh Dalum into the other bay.

Under the water you can still find whole shops or bungalows, clothes, corrugated iron, toys, CDs, washing machines, air conditioning, matresses, trees, long-tail engines and basically anything you can imagine.

Helicopters surveyed the place soon after, but the first one didn't land until the late afternoon. Many people have to spend the night in the mountains with little food and no electricity, and the fear that another wave may come.

The island was evacuated 2 days after and only goverment officials stayed in the island, whom many locals blame for the looting that took place the following days. Most bungalows were smashed open and all posesions stolen. Shops were broken into, safety boxes smashed, dead bodies robbed of all jewlry and money,... In short, for many people the tsunami was not the worst, and no one really know who this all this looting.

The owner of the last place I stayed at, a lovely Thai woman, told us how her home was broken into and all her savings, jewlery, TV, etc. stolen. All the bungalows were broken to get inside and she's had to repair them. So even though her place was high enough to survive the tsunami, she did suffered the consequences.

It's incredible how this tragedies bring out the best and the worst of people. I heard heroical stories and irritating ones. One tourist told me how was trying to rescue people while many others simply looked or were so shocked with panic that simply couldn't do anything. He also told me how, only hours after the tsunami, he saw a group of locals getting drunk with stolen alcohol.

Another local guy resqued a woman in a floating mattress only to discover that the second 5-meter wave was coming. By the time it reached the spot were he was it had lost a lot of its power and he managed to surf it with the mattress and the woman on top to Ton Sai bay. People cut their feet with glass and iron trying to rescue people barefoot while other were looting the places. It's truly amazing how different humans can be.

My friend Adam was diving when the tsunami happened, and he told me he felt a extremely strong current. But it was only when he arrived back at Ko Phi Phi that he discovered what had truly happened. The whole Ton Sai bay was full of houses and garbage, dead people and others asking for help. It must have been a horrible experience. He also told me how the guy running the ferry to Krabi instead of taking survivors home, he was charging double price to take people. Somebody had to pay for his ticket, since his money was in the island. Anyway, he was one of the lucky ones that could recover his belongings because both his room and his safe at the diving shop had not been broken into.

At the beginning of February, a group of locals started Help International (HI) Phi Phi to help recover the island. With the help of volunteers and the money they collected, they've done an amazing job, specially if you see the pictures of the island right after the tsunami and you see it know.

It's also important for you to know that none of the money donated to the big corporations and international non-profit organizations has arrived to Ko Phi Phi, and I'm affraid similar experiences can be found in other affected areas. This is truly deceiving. Where all that money is and what they're doing with it is something that anybody that has donated money to this organizations should ask.

In the case of Ko Phi Phi, in addition to the lack of help from international organizations there is also a complete lack of help from the government, who is supporting some big investment groups who want to buy the land to build a luxury 5-star resort. The government is not providing any help, and has forbidden reconstruction of new buildings, hoping to strangle financially the local people so they will sell the land. So everything here is done almost manually, removing tons of garbage by hand and wheelbarrows. It is definitely frustrating how much could be done with the appropiate machines and how much work is required to do the most simple things. Not to mention security factors. I've seen volunteers working in demolitions with flip flops and without helpet or protective glasses. There's only one crane in the island and 2 or 3 trucks loading stuff, but I didn't see them working until the last 10 days I was there.

And as a snorkeler, I had to pull sometimes up to 15 kg. of stuff without having any flotation device, not even a life jacket, so being able to swim with it back to the platform without sinking was an exhausting experience. And then you see those boats full of Japanese tourist going snorkeling with the life-jackets that would be so usefull for us. There simply isn't enough resources because in addition to the lack of international help many local companies or businesses don't provide any help at all.

So my feeling about the situation is truly a mixed one. I see lots of locals and international backpackers dedicating their time and effort to improve this island, while the government, international organizations and many local businesses simply turn their backs on us and just try to make money from the effort results of the work we're doing for them.

Over 100 business have been re-open and running, and tourist are already coming into the island, which is very important since most local people have no other source of income. So I think the economical recovery of the island is really on its way, which is the most important thing.

If you would like to know more about what's going on on Ko Phi Phi you can check out this quite recent BBC News article, see this gallery of pictures, or visit the web pages of the organizations now working on Ko Phi Phi: Tsunami Dive Camp (where I've worked most of the time WITHOUT free accomodation, despite what they say), HI Phi Phi (I've also been involved with them) and Hands on Phi Phi (which started 10 days ago), although perhaps taking any action with any of them read first my comments on my next posting.