Ayden becomes a Junior Advanced Open Water Diver and some of the adventures over the summer.
Howdy friends and family from the land of smiles with almost no COVID cases. Thailand has continued to keep its borders relatively closed. In August they finally eased things a bit and allowed certain individuals to enter the country but they had to quarantine in designated hotels at their own cost. We have also been allowed to travel within the country again for several months.
Ayden completed his PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Diver course. With the restrictions being lifted we were able to start diving again. Ayden was officially my first student since becoming an instructor. The company I was diving with did not survive COVID, but one of their former employees turned me on to another dive shop Pattaya Scuba Adventures. Ayden was able to experience his first wreck dive on a sunken troop carrier. He did great on his navigation, we worked on this quite a bit before diving. He continues to improve his diving skills and I have no doubt that diving will be an important part of his life for many years.
Richard has had eye issues his whole life. When we moved to Thailand, he decided to see a doctor to see if anything can be done to improve his eyesight. After getting an eye exam at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya to see what his options were, he was told he had a minor case of cataracts in both eyes and he was eligible to have Lasik also. With that he made an appointment and had cataract surgery and Lasik in June. The surgeries did not completely clear up his sight problems, but it is much, much better than it was.
In July a good friend of mine Aaron asked me to join him on a live aboard dive boat for an extended weekend. I jumped at the opportunity. We flew down to Hat Yai, Thailand and took a van to the west coast to the Andaman Sea. It was some of the best diving I have done since leaving Guam. We spent three days diving and socializing; I cannot wait to do another live aboard.
Unfortunately, over the weekend Christina pulled a ligament in her left foot and chipped a bone. She was stepping down off a small stool and it just happened. At first, she thought it was just a severe sprain. When I returned home, I took one look at it and immediately took her to the Doctor. She spent the next 3 months on crutches. It is still not 100% and probably will not be for a few more months. Well if she had to have a foot injury at least it was while we are not traveling very much due to COVID.
Christina was also able to complete one more class towards her degree in Business Administration, which now leaves 2 classes until she is finish with her degree. She is set to take one of the final classes August through October, leaving 1 class till graduation. She plans to take the final class sometime next year.
In August, Christina and I started classes at a Thai Language school to continue our path towards speaking Thai and to qualify for an Education Visa. We are currently signed up for 9 months of language lessons, however, we plan to continue once the time expires. We can stay in Thailand on an Education Visa studying Thai for a total three years, after three years you have to change to a different course of study.
In August, Richard, his girlfriend Nong, and us, took our first trip since COVID started to Koh Chang, an island off the East Coast of Thailand near Cambodia. We stayed in a hotel room right off the beach and Richard and his girlfriend were also able to get a room on the beach, we spent five days on the island. The trip was filled with nothing but relaxation and beach time. The kids had a blast playing in the water, playing in the sand and burying each other in the sand. It was nice to get out of the house and into the fresh air again.
We were only back for one day when we left again on our second trip, this time it was to represent the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion in Kanchanaburi for the annual VJ (Victory over Japan) ceremony. We were there for 2 days, but it was the most adventurous 2 days. On the way to Kanchanaburi, the van broke down just outside the city. It made for an interesting experience, we got a tow truck after 2 hours because of the language barrier. The best part was riding in the van on top of the tow truck, we all got a kick out of that. Once we arrived at the Toyota dealership, it was after hours but the dealership still checked our vehicle into the shop and organized transportation for us to our hotel. I love Thailand! The following day was filled with 2 ceremonies at different WWII war cemeteries (Don-Rak War Cemetery and Chong Kai War Cemetery) and a VFW ceremony at the bridge over the river Kwai.
The van was ready the next day and we spent one extra day in Kanchanaburi to do the tourist thing before heading home. We visited several temples including Wat Ban Tham, which is a dragon head cavern that you climb the stairs into. I cannot begin to describe the temple, just click the hyperlink and check out the comments. We also visited Wat Tham Suea and on the way home Wat Rai Tang Tong which is a giant monk riding atop a tortoise. The kids learned a lot, we had a great time and we are looking forward to more adventures soon.
Till next time.
