Travel

Diving Myanmar: Western Rocky!

March 14, 2014 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Western Rocky is a great dive site, 40 nautical miles from Kawthaung, Myanmar. It consists of 2 or 3 dives, the Eagles Nest and the Cave. We had 3 dives on the site, and they were all terrific. Except for my dive group (of course) everyone saw a juvenile Whale Shark! 14 feet or so! Tommi, one of the Finn twins, took a lovely photo of it. I wish I had seen it, of course, but it looks like I am still searching for a dive experience with whale sharks. Even without seeing the Whale Shark, Western Rocky is a great dive site! Here are some of my awesome finds:

Banded coral shrimp (these are very small…maybe an inch, two at the most.

Big Red Octopus! He was fantastic...not afraid of me at all. — Big Red Octopus! He was fantastic…not afraid of me at all.

Adorable baby boxfish, just taking shape! cute, cute, cute!

A decorator crab...see the face in upper right? — A decorator crab…see the face in upper right?

Fimbriated Eel! — Fimbriated Eel with Durban Dancing Shrimp friends!

Fan Forest!

March 13, 2014 By Tam Warner 5 Comments

At last, a gorgeous dive site with somewhat decent visibility! We are now headed south because our ultimate destination, a dive site called Black Rock, is reportedly low visibility and strong current. So, heading south toward the Similan Islands and Thailand which means better visibility, which is fine by all of us!

Fan Forest! On toward Thailand!

Anemone Crab!

ff 14 bearded scorpionfish closeup — Gorgeous pink scorpionfish!

ff 14 cushion sea stqar of some kind — Cushion starfish!

ff 14 feather star feelers — Beautiful Feather star on fan!

ff 14 id this sea urchin with eye — Gorgeous sea urchin

ff 14 red feather star — A bright red feather star…

ff 14 serpent seastar — Serpent seastar!

Mergui: a bit of a disappointment

March 11, 2014 By Tam Warner 2 Comments

I went diving a couple of times yesterday, but didn’t dive the afternoon, evening, or this morning. I did dive the mid-morning dive, with a different BCD. It made a huge difference. After the second dive yesterday I started taking antibiotics, and I feel so much better now. I was feeling quite run down, sore throat, congested…so I’m glad I just rested and didn’t go back in for 24 hours. Now I am ready to go. Of course, now that I am ready to go, the boat engine broke down and we just sat for a couple of hours. I’m glad they were able to fix it. Not sure how many more dives we’ll get today.

It is beautiful here, but the diving is less than great. The visibility is poor to fair, and we’ve seen nothing major to report, except for the sea snake. I am glad Ally passed on the diving, she would have hated it. Lots of current, surge, and low visibility. If you are seeing large pelagics, as in the Revillagigadoes in Mexico, it would be fine, but when there isn’t much to see except coral (which is gorgeous) it isn’t much fun. You know how desperate I am for animals when I take several photos of sea cucumbers! Of course, these sea cucumbers are really something!

At this point, I would not come back and dive Mergui. Yes, it is beautiful here, but the dive conditions have just not been very good. It may be illegal, but there is dynamite fishing going on here, and you can see the “rubbish” and “rubble” it brings up from the bottom. Longtail fishing boats everywhere! I saw two small blue spotted rays today…very small, and very fast, and if you think there are lots of sharks in the ocean, you would be dead wrong. The water is nutrient rich here, huge numbers of small fishes, unbelievable numbers of schools of silversides and glassy sweepers and chevron barracuda, but the question is: where are the predators and the pelagics? Nary a one. No turtles, dolphins, sharks, mantas, only the two small rays…hoping for better diving over the next couple of days. I’d be happy with a triggerfish or two. I do love the tree coral and the feather stars! They are fascinating.

530p Just returned from 3^rd dive which totally sucked. Current, up current, down current, side current, too much current, I say. The visibility was the worst yet. I’m looking forward to Ally coming to Phuket and being with her. The dive trip has been really disap. I am the “weakling”, the first one up on every dive. Many, many people rented larger tanks…to hold more air. I never thought to do it because I’ve never really needed to. I don’t think I’ve ever been diving with a larger tank, but I could use one on this trip. There are people who come up right behind me, and they all have larger tanks, so I shouldn’t feel too badly about it, but I am self-conscious. The weight I gained over the last several months is very uncomfortable, but I can feel my clothes fitting more loosely…I’m not eating much on the boat. The food is good…but spicy. Lots of rice and veggies for me.

I’ve enjoyed my dive buddies, the “boys”. Most are couples, or in the group from Spain, so I’m hanging with Chris, the American wild and crazy guy, the Finn twins, and Mauro, from Italy but living in Finland. It’s a small world, right?

Into Burma: You have to love immigration!

March 11, 2014 By Tam Warner 2 Comments

Continuation of my dive trip to Thailand and Myanmar (Burma!)

We woke to the sight of Burma/Myanmar outside our windows. We have been here for HOURS. Immigration took forever, and then we had to stop and pick up a Burmese crew member. As Mexico requires the hiring of Mexican Boat Captains, Burma requires that Burmese also work the boat.

While sitting in my cabin, nursing my sore throat and encroaching sinus, I am watching the scene from my cabin. (My cabin is quite nice, larger than most, with a separate sink, toilet and shower, which is an unexpected treat). A young Buddhist monk, ( a boy, either a monk in training or a little boy dressed as one collecting food from the passengers on our boat) has been outside of my cabin door speaking to me, and I would love to give him food, but I simply do not have any in my room. I did buy a coca cola for 20 baht (about 75 cents) but it’s warm so I’ll just give it to the boat. It is very difficult to say no, but I managed to do so this time. They were selling food, and since I am fearful of taking food from strangers, I passed. Oops, got to go, I’m being called to the upper deck!

I just came back down to my cabin: I was summoned to the food deck so the Myanmar officials could look at every one of us. The Head Dude looked at every woman on the boat as though they were not the same person…but wearing full makeup on a boat is not too standard. We all took down our hair to show them, yes, it is me! Four officials, drinking beer, eating, laughing…so reminiscent of Africa where they hold you just because they can. Steve, our boss man, is quite the handsome devil, and he looked like he was trying hard not to go up in smoke. The officials want a copy of this, a copy of that, blah blah blah let’s stay for hours and hours. Ah, off they go! Relief, now we can head to the Mergui Archipelago for some diving.

Part of "Team Spain" — Part of “Team Spain”

The passengers/divers are an amazingly diverse group, more so than I even expected. We have Mexico, Spain, England, Germany, Austria, Finland (yes, Finnish identical twins, Mikka and Tommy, two of the nicest, sweetest guys you could meet), and Italy. Oh, and one other from the USA, myself and Chris from San Francisco, who is married to a Thai and is here frequently. The dive masters are British, American via growing up in China, and German. The woman from Austria, Karin, looks so much like my cousin, Kathy, I cannot believe it. It is amazing. She is even built the same, with the same blonde hair and blue eyes. I will have to sneak some photos of her and show Kathy. Everyone seems very, very nice. Half of the boat is from Spain, I think. A large group together.

Chris, the other American passenger just gave me some Sudafed…bless him! I am almost out of Airbourne and Emer-gen-C. Nap time! I will be sure to be back in touch as we head north into Burmese waters.

Day 3: Still fighting a sore throat and congestion….I had to give in today and start antibiotics. I just hope they work. I did the first two dives, but skipped 3 and 4 today. Too tired, not feeling well. I have come to realize how exhausted I truly am…all of these months of worrying and taking care of Randy have taken a steeper toll than I knew. I am surprisingly emotional, and miss Randy more than I can say. He should be with me on this trip…we should be diving together. I still cannot believe what has happened to him. He is the most unlikely person ever to become ill. I am worried a bit since I cannot reach anyone…Myanmar (everyone calls it Burma) is so remote, and there is no signal of any kind to be found. I hope everything is good with Randy.

I am very much looking forward to vacationing with my daughter, Alexandra. She arrives on the 9^th of March. We are going to hang out in Phuket, go to Phang Nga (Pang Nah) to see the islands that look like the floating mountains of Pandora (from AVATAR), then off to Bangkok. We plan to visit shrines and temples, and an elephant sanctuary.

Oh, I saw my first sea snake today! Holy shit, it was long! Very pretty, and everyone crowded around to take photos (I admit I kept a distance). There is no anti-venom for these snakes, it is fortunate that they are shy and not aggressive.

I hate the BCD that I rented…it totally sucks. I’m trying a new one tomorrow, with a weight belt (L).

CHECK OUT SOME OF MY DIVE PHOTOS FROM BURMA!

Back in Thailand

March 9, 2014 By Tam Warner 4 Comments

Tachai Pinnacles, “Grandfather” Pinnacles.

I have returned from my 8 days on the MV Deep Andaman Queen, a dive boat live aboard in the Andaman Sea. We went from Khao Lak to the Mergui Archipelago for scuba diving, and now, back in Thailand. My daughter flew in yesterday, and we are enjoying a lazy day at the Amari Beach Resort in Patong Beach on the island of Phuket. I will publish the blogs of my trip daily!

To the Andaman Queen

I was picked up at my hotel right on time, 17:00 (5:00PM), always a plus! I was the last guest to be picked up, and Craig, one of the dive masters, was ecstatic that I had brought my 1” X 1” passport type photos. It was in the directions, so I just did it. Apparently the usual passport photo is 2” X 2”, so most everyone brought those instead. A piece of luck for me! We all know that Tam is apt to screw ups, but when it comes to travel documents, I am pretty organized (yes, I KNOW I lost my passport in Nairobi…but it was stolen, I’m almost sure.) We spent hours finding a photo shop (Kodak), getting photos taken and printed. That was just our minibus, no one on the other bus had the right photos either. Then one of the guys in our bus lost his new photos at a bathroom stop, so he had to go get new ones taken. At last, the MV Deep Andaman Queen.

She is large and roomy, very comfortable, though not luxurious. The staff and crew are exceptional, or as the Head Dive Master Steve would say, brilliant. They are very professional and friendly, especially the dive masters. After only 3 dives I can say that they are brilliant. My dive master is Jurgen, from Germany, an electrical engineer turned dive master in the Andaman Sea.

I have decided to suck it up and buy a BCD to travel with. Buoyancy Compensator Device. Once again I have rented one, and once again I have had problems with it. On the 3^rd dive yesterday, at a gorgeous dive site called Richelieu Rock, the jacket over inflated and I nearly ran out of air fighting to stay down. Jurgen was wonderful, and helped me get back on the boat. I skipped the 4^th dive, which was a night dive on the Rock, but I was completely exhausted. I haven’t gotten my own BCD to travel with because I have so much trouble with the weight of the bags…camera equipment and dive gear and computers, etc….every joint hurts from lugging it around. But, how much heavier is a BCD? I have to do it.

I have had 3 dives, and so far, Richelieu Rock has been the best, even though I had to come up early. It is absolutely magnificent with colorful tree and soft coral and anemones everywhere. Serpent Sea Stars dot the landscape, with the occasional cushion sea star and pin cushion sea star. I am charmed by the Skunk Anemone Fish, they are not as bright and colorful as “Nemo”, but I find them much prettier. I also love the feather stars which make their way around the Indian Ocean. They have numerous arms, and as the name states, look like groups of feathers. They are so intricate. The sea cucumbers here are enormous! The Knobby Banded Sea fans are spectacular. The BCD issue got away from me, I know, because of all of the new and interesting sea life I was looking at. Today, we will only do two dives, as we had to stop and do immigration through Burma/Myanmar, where we are right now. On these dives, I will not take a camera, but concentrate solely on the dive and my new equipment, especially the BCD! I am also fighting a cold, or sinus, condition…so I don’t feel 100%. More later!

CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS HERE! I WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE.

An Amari Massage

March 5, 2014 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

It is Sunday, March 2nd, and no, I have not yet left for my dive trip. I have a late check out and decided to use some of my time to have a massage. Oh EM GEE. Exclamation.

Of course, the Breezes Spa is just about the farthest building from the lobby. Getting there is all uphill, but coming back all downhill. After the climb, I was more than ready for a treatment. Since I have the tightest muscles on earth, I decided to go for Deep Tissue, called the “Invigorating Massage, to leave Chronic Tension behind”. I could do very well with leaving my chronic tension behind! And my masseuse, Longluk, did her best to oblige. She realized very quickly the challenges presented to her. ( If you are a guy, you can stop reading now. Really!)

I had a spinal fusion when I was 18, and it broke down completely after my second pregnancy. As it continued to worsen, I started gaining weight, and by the time I had my anterior and posterior spinal osteotomy at Johns Hopkins in 2000, I was barely able to walk. The surgery was a great success, but it took a good year of recovery, and a few years later I had an unfortunate run in with MRSA, the staph infection everyone fears (and for very good reason). I had an attempted abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) which turned into a nightmare when MRSA entered the picture. I won’t go into great detail…it was much worse than having back surgery, or any other illness I have ever had. It took 3 months to clear the infection and do a skin graft that took. I am left with a lower tummy that looks like a great white shark took a bite out of me, and a bulging upper tummy (especially on the left side) which should actually be my lower tummy. I know I need to get it fixed…it is painful, but the threat of another MRSA infection has stayed my hand.

My muscles are so tight, and Longluk was surprised. My legs are solid muscle, so are my arms, from Pilates, and I am quite flexible thanks to yoga. Looking at me, you wouldn’t think it, but it is true. The weight that clings to my upper body is distressing to me, I don’t like to even look at myself in the mirror. I have decided to ignore things like arthritis (which I’ve had for a very long time) and fibromyalgia (I decided I just don’t believe I have it), thyroid issues and my back. And of course, diabetes, which runs in my biological family like wildfire. I keep my numbers within range with diet and exercise. In short, I behave like an active, thinner person. Snorkeling and diving are my salvation, I am passionate about the ocean and all of its creatures, and underwater I feel strong and pain free (the support of the water, even in a pool, creates less gravity, and floating is wonderful.) Maybe I should live in space. Or have an operation to get gills so I could stay underwater. Anyway. Add stress and 3 days of carrying dive gear, luggage, camera equipment, etc, and I’m strung like a bow.

A surprising feature on the way to the spa!

She was fantastic! Very strong. I feel like I’ve been in a prizefight with Rocky Balboa. She did miracles with my neck and shoulders which are always painful. The pain was blinding at times ( I didn’t know all of those tight muscles and things were even in my body), but now….ahhh. A swim, a shower, and in less than 3 hours, I get picked up for my dive trip.

Life is good.

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