On the outside, looking in

Well, we broke our routine of doing NOTHING and went on a six hour snorkel trip yesterday. For those of you who have yet to make the migration out to Maui, you should know that I am now a snorkelling conesieur. For the last six months I've made it my main goal in life to become the best snorkel trip tour guide ever. Four years at a private liberal arts college did much to prepare me for this mentally stimulating job, I assure you. Actually, it is a lot of fun and I've learned a lot- mainly how to tell a rock from a piece of coral and a shark from a dolphin and what the best methods are to deal with cranky, seasick passengers. I've also acquired a wicked tan. But I'm rambling. My point is, Tia and I basically snorkel for a living, so we were very excited to see what a Thai snorkel operation would be like. Different? Same? Oh, the anticipation!

We were not let down. There were of course similarities, such as the fact that a boat was involved and fins and masks were passed out. But that's about where it ended. Differences? Many. No introduction, no safety briefing (mandated by the coast guard back in Hawaii), no gear check or Snorkel 101 talk (one of my favs), no reef tour (although one helpful crew chased down a small black tipped reef shark for us all to see, I suppose that counts). But the most dramatic difference? The complete and utter lack of concern for the coral and the fish. The two cardinal sins of snorkeling were being committed everywhere we looked: STANDING on the CORAL and FEEDING the FISH. Major no-nos. It took all our energy not to lay into the other passengers. Without the support of the Thai crew (they were doing it too) we felt completely unsupported in trying to make it a "teachable moment." Killed us.

So, what can we do? We did find a dusty exhibit on a back street here, talking all about marine conservation. But in the same breath it boasted about the trawlers and their contribution to the local economy. Trawlers are not exactly upstanding stewards of the environment, in fact, they often tear up the sea floor and accumulate by-catch that ends up dying unnessisarily. Therefore we find ourselves caught in the common conundrum that arises with environemental issues. I think we're going to go back to Maui and talk to our employers, the Pacific Whale Foundation and see if there's anything we can do. It's a start.

And the trip goes on! Today we're lapsing back into our lazy ways but we did hatch a plan to take a scenic train ride up the coast back to Bangkok this week. We'll probably leave Koh Tao tommorrow, since we fly out Saturday. Plus we're getting a little tired of the slightly snobby Euro party scene here. I swear, people on vacation are the epitome of self-centered. I guess it's because people work so hard for time off and when the holiday comes, they want to reliquish all responsibility. But come on, you're still a human being! You can act like one. Enough ranting, I am on vacation myself afterall so I should chill out and enjoy the ride.

Man, I'm going to miss the noodle dishes here so much! And the curry. And the banana pancakes. We eat a lot here, it's quite wonderful. I'm also going to miss all the friendly Thais we've made friends with- the latest being the whole crew who work at the tattoo parlor down the street. Going out dancing has been fun and reading a trillion fluff books. But I'm looking forward to getting back to Maui too. I'm refreshed and revived and ready to work hard and play harder.

See you all on the rock soon? Maui's allure is impossible to resist forever. Don't even try, book a ticket and come visit.

xoxoAlohaThaiKai