Nothing but bloody rain

We're in Seychelles but it is difficult to get excited.  We seem to have had nothing but rain more rain and strong winds. Well a few bits of sunshine as well but nothing to write home about.

We stayed on Mahe for a day or so then took on the ferry to La Digue.

Old local schooner

Jetty through truck window reflection

Wanna having quick beer

No swimming, could not be bothered to ride the bike in the rain. All sort of depressing in away. However all was not lost as we have time to catch up with friends and family. Rain does not make much difference  on that front.

La Digue was good.  We on arrival fed the birds, as we used to on all previous stays, and before a few minutes passed they were out to see us.  One sitting on Wanna bike seat ! Definitely cheered me that did !!!! In fact the little chap entered the house and we left some rice for him at the entrance.  I think if we stayed longer he would have moved in with us !!!!!

Little fella came to say hello

We had a few walks and noticed the jetty and small harbour were full of fishing boats and various tourist Cats. All interesting for a walk around. The big red Roro is the main vessel for bring cargo over to the islands. I'm sure in the next few years this will become much better organised and beneficial.

Town seemed quiet and out few trips out left us with empty roads and beaches. As I mentioned rain, rain and more rain......

I had earlier organised to get the house repainted and a good 70% got done. Always a concern when you are not there as to what exactly gets done. So all in all pleased with the result. We will be undertaking some major refurbishment works in October.  But first off we need to buy doors windows etc to be ready for the work. Seems never ending....



We have also accepted an assignment in Ghana planned to commence this Tuesday for a 3 month stint of work.  However that has been postponed due to delay in obtaining work permit etc.  So maybe Friday we will depart. But with the rain and winds I was even more keen to get on a plane and back to work !!!!!  Not my most cheerful post...... So be positive the next one can only be better and more upbeat.......

Boats and Bikes

I was sorting out a few old photos on my phone and its amazing how you take pictures and forget about them all. Brings back some memories of recent trips etc. I found a couple of snaps of a fishing boat.  Looking at it coming in to port the other day I was glad I had not been on it.

Sailing yachts is one thing, but to be stuck on a Thai fishing boat for days/weeks/months at a time would be a night mare.  They do not look comfortable bouncing around, also look dirty and unkempt. Certainly lack any TLC !!

As an aside they seem to produce enough fumes to keep CO2 levels high for a long time into the future.

I can't speak with 1st hand knowledge on these boats having only observed from afar. So shut me up of you want !  Well I've been near enough!  I suspect the living quarters are also cramped.  I remember years ago going on a long liner in Seychelles I think it was an old Korean boat.  The bunks were about 5 foot 6 inches long so as a Westerner your could not stretch out in full.  Everything seems a little small !

But the contrast here on land.  Having dismissed the fishing boats as a non preferred mode of transport, I spotted a few choppers parked up on the main beach road. Some guys out for a ride.  All seemed to be old modified 4 cylinder Honda engines strapped onto home made frames. Now they looked like fun for a ride ! But like the fishing boats not for days/weeks/months.  Get a very sore backside after only a few hours !

Rayong - Fishing Boats

I was going home from work last evening, taking a different route. There are several cross country routes to work all about the same distance but in the mornings I seem to be in auto-drive and go the  same way each time.  Saves thinking I suppose... Obviously.....

Anyway, for a change, last evening I decided to take the route with the longer beach road section. Along here are several fishing communities and lots of boats, many were sitting up on the sand. Can't say they were moored as they are driven up the beach at full speed and parked ! Then once driven up the beach everyone jumps out and unloads fish etc. Simple as that.

Took a few photos and tried a little "photo shop" on them.

My last Sunday in Atyrau

So much has been happening to me recently and none of it recorded. Been in Atyrau works, business trip to Finland and Estonia and UK.
Well today Sunday, 17th August, is my last Sunday in Atyrau. Moving back to work in Thailand at the end of next month. Next Sunday early morning sees me leaving on a plane to UK. Spend a week with family over there then off to Seychelles to walk Sarah down the isle for her wedding to Fed on the 20th.  Still to write the speech. Any suggestions welcome.

So today the plan was a walk to the coffee shop followed by a bit of last minute shopping. Only buying stuff to keep me going for the rest of the week !
The walk was hardly a major event but I needed to get out for a while. I walked along the river side from out Apartment to the coffee shop.  Met up with another Alan, incidentally there are about 8 of them working in my office ! Both Alan, (the other Alan and I had a lot of cakes to choose from). Had a fabulous slice of cake and tea. Cake was thousands of calories.... contained blueberrys, cream and lots of lovely sweet stuff.

Then having enjoyed that and prior to feeling guilty about it I wondered off to the market for my last Atyrau shopping and back home. Hardly an earth shattering day but more a cool relaxed time taking in the better parts of Atyrua.  Temperature around 35 Deg... Little wind so a few hours walking in the more shaded parts was enough! Coming back along the river side was excellent. The aircon in the apartment was a very welcome thing indeed !
There were few people around, probably because it was hot and around midday, but I did manager to capture a shot of a local boat taking a few tourists for a ride up river. And given my recent blogging record though I should add in some pictures !

 

Its been a while and believe me I'm not happy All My Photos are in the office..... Shit..............

My first 6 weeks  working Atyrau were soon over. Finished on 30^th June. Wonderful. Two weeks leave.

Then I got on a plane and headed for the Seychelles. Met Wanna in Dubai transit hall she coming from Thailand and me from Kazakhstan, then jumped on a plane to Mahe.  Plan was to have 2 weeks on La Digue, relax and just enjoy and catch up with Sarah and Vivi.

It had been nearly 3 years since we had been back.  The place has moved on and developed in good ways. Most noticeable was the change in people’s attitudes. Generally much more welcoming and we found this made for a great time. Nothing seemed like a hard time and even in Government offices the people we dealt with all had time to be pleasant and helpful.

This started with my going to the bank to get a statement and renew my Pin number. “But Sir your bank account is closed. You have not used it for 2 years. Please when you get to La Digue visit the branch there and reopen an account.” (Which we did. Easy and simple)

Renewing my driving license. “Sir your old one out of date since 2007. There are high fees for long overdue renewals. But if you ask the Ministry if Immigration to give me a letter confirming I have been working outside the country during this time then they can waive the fees.” All so helpful.

Went to the pension office. Same again. “Sir love to help but you need to be 63 to get a pension!!! Please come back in 2 years time”   … No problem there.

Great start with so much support. Next stop was the ferry office to book a trip to La Digue. Once booked we proceeded to the local Victoria market. Again great place loads of fish, veggies and stuff. We stocked up on bits to keep us going on La Digue.  Then off we went to La Digue. Met on arrival by Babi who is looking after the place. As we walked to our house “Hello Wanna” was shouted across at us. Old friends made it all seem like really had come home. House looked OK, but the garden a mess with most of the bushes, banana plants and small trees gone. Blame of course on the local dogs making themselves at home and digging holes everywhere. Add in the kids using the area as a football pitch.  Could not expect much more.

What did we do?  As little as possible. Drank litres of tea, ate lots of good food and relaxed.  

Well, we did do a few small activities. Found time for a little fishing and swimming. A few walks round the roads followed by a cold beer and again relax…. Lovely.

The timing of our trip placed us in the middle of the SE monsoon so some rain and heavy winds. Not that this made much difference as when you’re doing nothing you can stay in or sit on the beach.  I’ll leave you with some pictures of the place. Nothing special, but actually it was all very special. Enjoy.  Pictures to follow.

Wednesday

It's Wednesday. Nearly the weekend. I have yet to get used to the idea of Friday being 'La Weekend'. It has advantages. Working Saturday and Sunday is not such a big deal and before you know it Friday has arrived. And time is flying by here. I have not had a chance to do much exploring since I posted on Saturday, but hope this weekend (Friday) to do someting and look round. Next weekend I think it will be a trip to the interior. There is a place called Liwa and another called Al Ain. They are both about 200 kilometers inland. Big beach!!! I went to Al Ain in 1978. Suspect it has changed beyond recognition, not that I remember all that much anyway... So first inland trip this time is Liwa.

Memories of it, Al Ain, all are vague at best. I do recall lots of sand, sand and more sand. But not entirely the full picture. Al Ain itself was quite beautiful. A small oasis town set in the foot hills of the mountains seperating UAE from Oman. My memories do include some fabulous scenery, sun burnt mountains and golden and 'red' sand. For some reason the red sand I recall as we walked through it for a few hundrew meters. Sure it was there..? Hope I can capture some of the 'feeling' of it all on my little camera. Will do my best. For now I am still near the shore. So I'm attaching a nautical photo, I came across, scan actually but that does not really matter. It shows a local dhow plying the waves. They have annual competitions and I'll be attending for sure. Another event to look forward to.

Koh Samad

We have a great weekend away and managed to relax. Koh Samed is about 10 kilometers off the coast just east of Rayong. We took a local ferry boat and rented a small hotel room for a couple of days. Rented a bike and just did very little. Did not even take many pictures as I was feeling lazy.
As for all about the place. I am not going to repeat everything on other sites. Koh Samed The only thing to tell you is we enjoyed it. Will be going back. Soon !!!

Pattaya Floating Market.

Had a very pleasent and interesting trip round the floating market at Pattaya. Also know as the four regions market.  That's because it is set up to provide a sample of all the different cultures and foods etc the four main Thai regions; and it manages to achieve just that. Not tacky and not too touristy.

Its located just south of Pattaya and was built in 2008. So its a relatively new place to visit.  It really is a great place to spend an afternoon even if you are not a shopper type. There are eateries of every description selling every type of Thai food and local coffees and teas. Various shops selling crafts and of course being a floating market there are numerous boats drifting around selling various food stuffs. It really is quite something. I'm finding it difficult to convey the place in writing and can only suggest you visit!!!!

We took my Mother who is out visitng with us and we all enjoyed it very very much. She wants to go back again.

I took a few shots but really could not do it any justice. It is the sort of place you could go back to, again and again to take photos and still need to return for that one last photo. So I am afraid this time, whatever I write in my Blog entry it does not do it justice. However as I keep repeating we enjoyed it, which is the main purpose of the trip.

It does have an official site  pattaya floating market

Long Boat Racing

The Annual Long Boat Racing at Mapracham Lake, Pattaya took place this weekend. Thousands of people turned out to watch this amazing event. I say amazing. Why? Because the boats come in several different categories based on size, nukmber of crew etc. They do a number of 1-2 kilometer straight races. Some sort of elimination and a load of heats and grand finals.

Similar events go on throughout the year in different places in Thailand and neighbouring countries, including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Taiwan. All these countries were competing here today, and its serious stuff.

The events in Thailand are sponsored by the Queen and a cup is awarded to the winners of the various events and catagories.

The lake shore is only about 500 meters from our place so it was a short walk to have few hours of really good and 'free;'entertainment.

It was loud. I mean very loud, in true Thai style. I think the enjoyment factor in Thailand is a direct link to the volume of music and coming out of loud speakers. Really loud then its realy Fun, Fun, Fun...

And with the electrifing excitment in the crowds it reminded me more of being in the stands on a horse race day with full commentary blasting out, then anything else I could equate it to.

Add in all the usual side shows with country dancing competitions between the local schools, music groups etc. All the kids dressed up in their traditional costumes and looking great. Big smiles all round. Exactly!!! You would not expect anything less in Thailand.

And of course it would not have been complete without the full retinue of hawkers selling ballons, horns, flags, assorted trinkets and stalls selling every possible type of Thai food imaginable. The smells of curries, stirfrys, sweets, coffees etc. Magic.

It's difficult to capture the atmosphere of it all with so much going on around you where ever you looked. But I did take a few shots with the camera.

But back to the boats.

What was particularly interesting to me was the way the people looked after their boats. Immaculate.

All the boats were beautifully decked out and had the usual Thai adornments of brightly coloured cloth tied round the front. Not sure of the nautical term for such a 'bow sprit'. They almost remind you of the Viking long boats. When looked at closely it was clear they also all had special names depicting good luck and a reference somehow to their origin. Wanna, my wife who is not great boat person (she will freely admit to this!) was able to tell me exactly which province or town, inside or outside of Thailand they originated from, just by reading the name. (Maybe she was Bull Shitting me, but I would't know any better would I?...). So I'll accept it anyway.

All this racing is taken very, very seriously. Which of course makes it all the more of a major event not to be missed. It was great just standing around, watching, especially the sight of the long 'long' boats. They have crews of up to 58 persons. (I know I counted ! ). I figured at 55 Kilo a person it works out at over 3 tons of body mass per boat. Add in the wooden boat, drums, paddles etc etc and at it is a lot of stuff to shift through the water. But they did it and did it very quickly.

I'll be back agin next year and I already am planning on donig a proper video of it all as a 3-5 minutes thingy. Something to plan for.

Wats And All

Busy weekend. Seems it started in a slow easy fashion and before I know it I was back at work Monday morning.
What happened? Well Saturday was intended to be a bit of a relax. You know what than means. a euphemism for doing nothing.
Didn’t work out as planned. Spend a few hours cleaning up a few things and checked out a few bits of stuff we had left in storage boxes. Even found my old rechargeable drill and grinder plus a few hand tools. They all needed some cleaning and the drill batteries recharging. So that took time in between coffees. Morning gone already. It did include a quick visit to us by Tee. He was all excited and he was trying plan a trip for Sunday up to Nakon Yayot. About 200 kilometers away in the national parks. Seems we could go to visit a famous Wat (aren’t they all ?) and see a large concrete dam and lake. All set in or close to one of the national parks. And if the water levers in the river are OK we are going for a river rafting trip. No sooner had we said “yes we would love to come along” then he said “Good. I’ll pick you up around 5 tomorrow morning.”. Before I could respond he was gone!!! So that is Sunday organized. Now back to Saturday.
Also found some time for baking and making yet another quiche. Why so many you ask? Well obvious really, they keep getting eaten. So by popular demand I keep making them. However I have given up following the same old recipe each time and added in a few of my own ideas. The usual bacon and cheese remains but I add a few different additions to each one, maybe a little curry powder and different spices seems to give them real added tastes. Last one included cocktail sausages and olives. Adventurous or what?... Hardly earth shattering or of the Jamie Oliver standard of ideas but I enjoyed it. Other big deal for the day… Making spaghetti. Yes I know, I seem to be going cooking crazy. Not really, its just that I am enjoying myself. And well, yes, Wanna had managed to locate some semolina flour. No mean feat in Thailand I might add. So I had to show my appreciation.
Finish the day off with a swim and relax in from of the TV. Rugby should be on but for seem reason I could not get it on my receiver. Bummer. Even earlier night than planned.
Ugh!!!! 4.30am and we’re up. Have some coffee and toast then get ready for the trip.
Made up some sandwiches and pack some water, drinks etc. And of course a quiche…. Don’t ask….
Checked camera, video etc and added in some spare towels and shorts(post rafting) ready to go and pick up the others. Six of us having a day out. Great.
And last but not least car keys and money. We’re off.
Tee drove most of the way and when we to there he was right. Beautiful spot and being early to the Wat (7.00am) we really were the early birds. However it did not take long for the place to start filling up and in no time it began to feel crowded. I was actually glad we had come earlier.
I should tell that by now the sandwiches had been eaten along with the quiche. That was before we arrived. Just a small snack during the journey. And we were all beginning to get hungry again….The place was quite calm if that is a good word to describe it. sort of lull before the storm. We wandered around and took a few pictures.

Wanna and the others wandered off to pray and we both ended up getting blessed by a Monk.

All made for a good start to the day. What next. A trip to the very large Concrete dam. Its apparently 2.3 kilometers along the top. That's a lot of concrete.

We stopped there for a while, again some photos and watched the fish swimming around. Yes big fellers they were to. I guess in the range of 6 kilos. Again everyone getting hungry. After our trip to the Wat it was time to move on to the Dam site. Followed by a trip to the water falls and a river rafting experience.

We even managed to fit in a good meal as well. All in all a great day out.