Merry Xmas to all!! And A happy new year as well. Xmas here has been a rather festive and different experience than xmas usual is. On xmas eve all the DMTs from Coral Grand went out on the piss. The night was very good, and I tried several times to go home, finally succeeded about 5am. Was rather tired and sleepy on xmas day and the whole day was spent in bed doing nothing. Went out for a little while in the nitetime, but it was rather quiet. Guess most ppl were nursing their hangover.

It's almost time for me to do my first visarun. The day after tomorrow I have to head for Myanmar in order to get a new toursitvisa for Thailand. As one don't have to spend any time outside Thailand, but basically just have to cross over the border, get the stamp and cross back again, I find it quite silly that one has to do a visa run in the first place at all. Wouldn't it be easier if one could just pop into an imigration office and get another month's visa...

The other day some divers reported that they had seen a body at one of the dive spots in the area. Some of the instructors from my diveschool went out in the hope that it was the missing snorkeler. Unfortunately the body couldn't be found, so he hasn't been found yet. It's kinda of scary to think that there is a body out there somewhere...

The other day we were told from the management that a diver had gone missing. He left the boat to go snorkeling one day a week ago, and he hasn't been found since. The assumption is that he probably gor a surface blackout and drowned. He was also a certified divemaster, which just proves that even proffesionals can encounter fatalities. It was quite unsettling, especially since I had just arrived. But, when playing with water, the risk of drowning will always be present.

Yje visibility has been bad the last week, and we r stil waiting for the rainseason to understand that it's not welcomed here and go somewhere else. So far it hangs around like an unwanter guest.

My neighbour has this siamese cat. The other day I was reading my book on the porch when this slinky beauty came walking by. My neighbour (which is a thai woman, and does not speak very well english) started up a conversation about cats, which I happily joined in on. She told me that the cats were hers, and that she didn't really like dogs. This I could readily agree on. And then she told me that the cat's name was Pussy. At this point I was still into the whole 'agree on everything she says' mode, and for a while I was expecting her to laugh and to tell me that it was a joke. After a few very silent minutes I dawned on me that she did not joke, and the cat's name was in fact Pussy. Now I don't know whether I should tell her what that word to mean in english, whether she already know and don't care, or whether I shouldn't really care and just accept that there is a siamese cat here named Pussy...

I went out diving today on the morning dive. It was bloddy fantastic!! The visibility wasn't all that, but we went down to 35 meters, and got to see sharks. Saw a 3meter long reef shark, and do trust me when I say that seeing a shark on telly is somewhat entirely different from seeing a shark swimming by you 30 meters underwater. Suddenly one realises how totally ungraceful and slow one are underwater. Not to mention how utterly vurneable one r. We might be on the top of the foodchain, but I think someone neglected to tell the sharks that... Anyway, it was SO kewl, and I can hardly wait to go down again. Unfortunatly we overstayed our limit (refers to nitrogen level in blood and tissue), which means I shouldn't dive for 24 hours.

I moved into my new bungalow today, which is really good and quite spaceous, and only 5000 baht a month, which is roughly a bit more than US$100. I have also rented a motorbike (read: scooter) which costs me 2000 baht a month, so now I am good to go... or something like that. It's been crap weather for the last couple of days, and trust me, lots of rain do NOT make these roads any safer to drive on. But so what, I am an emergency responder *lol*.

It's saturday today, and a girl from the diveschool is having her birthday today, which means that we r all set to go out. Went out on thursday as well, and got very drunk. Remember at one point I was buying a banana pancake from a street vendor, and even tho I was standing perfectly still the pancake somehow ended up on the street, where a stray dog sudden;y found itself in for a treat. Lucky me I had Lee with me, and he bought me a new pancake when he saw how sad I was. That was also the time when I decided it was time for me to go home.

Have just finished my Rescue course in Diving, which also means I am trained in first aid. The stupidest thing is that I actualy have to ask permission if I want to aid someone who needs first aid. This do basically just apply in the US tho, since I could get sued there if I applied first aid and they got worse or whatever... Anyway, the phrase goes as this: Hello, my name is "insert name here", I am an emergencey responder, may I help you? Of course, if they r unconcious it's implied agreement. But still, running around the last couple of days and asking ppl that question have just felt really, really stupid.

Today was the last day of the course, and the practical exam was the hardest bloody thing I can remember have done in a really long time. I was almost crying with exhaustion at the end, and if someone dares to tell me that it's soft... But, at least I know I can, find a unconsious diver under water, make an ascend with the dver, give rescuebreath while I am taking the diver to shore and at the same time ditch all the gear, carry that bloody diver onto land, and still give rescue breath every fve second. So, today it's beers, even tho I reckon I have two, and then I'll fall over... Ok, time for dinner.

Met up with my friends in Bangkok on wedensday, and have had a killer time. On Thursday we went to Patpong, since Gunhild and Beate never had been. The agenda was to see one of those ping pong shows. And yes, I do know they are sleazy, so pls don't tell me. Anyway, this girl who were doing the show started aiming the balls at us, and for a while we were sitting there with ping pong balls raining down on us. Not the most pleasant experience I have been through. However, it was when she took out the arrows that we started to be really nervous, at on point Gunhild sat with an arrow out of her knee. Oh well, if nothing else, it makes a great story to tell her grandchildren. Bangkok was as always, very busy and noisy. But somehow it has grown on me, and I find that I do really like the place. The King's birthday was on friday, which had turned the entire city into some bklinking neonish billboard thingy of the king. Some of it was quite good, but a bit overloaded. They shall have credit for not going halfway...

Left Bangkok yesterday, and arrived at Koh Tao this morning. Booked in with Coral Grand divers, but do have second thought. It all seem very nice and everything, but it's a bit away from everything else, and somehow I felt a little bit overlooked. But, maybe it gets better with time. Am really tired today, and since I am having a early start tomorrow (9am) I reckon I take an early night.