Holiday - and what happens next

Holiday is such a great invention. Should do it more often. As usual, nothing went as planned; but this time it was not because I changed my mind: the weather (of all things) played a major part. And chemistry. That one is a bit tougher to explain though.

At Songkran - Google it; it's the time of year when people look like this:

- "my" boat went out for the last dive trip this season. And since Khao Lak was practically empty anyway, I left the office to a colleague and spent a day doing what I love doing: tourleading the boat and guiding experienced fundivers.

Nothing like a day in the other office.....it charged my batteries just enough to get me through the end of season. By then I had worked 135 days in a row.

After closing the shop, weather was so bad in the Andaman Sea that a live-aboard was no longer an option - especially since a friend from Saba, Jan, and I wanted to go to Burma/Myanmar. Good thing we didn't. Instead we had a look at Koh Lanta, which was actually a lovely place.

We dived Koh Bida Nok & Nai at Phi Phi one day, but conditions were not good and the day after, weather turned really bad, so diving was no longer possible.

After some wonderfully relaxing days we continued to Koh Tao to meet up with Debbie and Beto. Now, if you want to do a dive holiday in Thailand, please don't go to Koh Tao. It was wonderful to see the Debs and Beto again - and several of my friends from Khao Lak - all good. But to me, that would be the only reason to go to Koh Tao.

We had a great time though. They manage a great dive shop with a really good boat, so that we had some lovely days. And some nice apres-diving as well (goes without saying)

Now comes the chemistry part........thing is: Jan and I got along ok on Saba, but weren't exactly best friends. After I came to Thailand we stayed in touch with at first sporadic and then frequent emails and MSN conversations (don't you just love the internet?). And then in Thailand, spending time together, we realised that we actually like each other. Quite a bit.

So the shocking news for all of you: I am moving back to Saba. An intercontinental relationship is not an option; especially in the first stage. Jan is under contract on Saba - and I'd have to get a new job anyway. So why not try to go for it? We have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to win.

I know, I know........I didn't like Saba and I love Asia, BUT one has to give love a chance, doesn't one? - Well, I do.

Guess this is enough information for you to digest for now! Thanks for all the nice feedback, I am glad you are reading the blog - and I'll be back with an update shortly

Take care

xxx