7:30am dive pick-up. This time we get the Dutch assistant. no keith. it's a long boat ride out to Phi-Phi Island. the weather is perfect. the Dutch guy is interesting. dive #1 is mostly for fun. AMAZING. AMAZING. absolutely AMAZING. these are the dives people dream for, and certainly should not have been our first one, nothing will ever compare. corals are beautiful, fish are beautiful. we see 5 sharks. 5 sharks!! are you kidding me? we're practically swimming in an aquarium. we finish our skills. we take a break on the boat. I am speechless. Matt is speechless. we've experienced something we never have before. it's simply great. dive #2 is for fun. we motor to a different island. right back in the aquarium. we see 5 giant sea turtles. 5! they are beautiful creatures. along the way one more shark this time a sleeping leopard shark. okay one more time... AMAZING! the dives wipe us out. a long boat trip back and we are officially certified divers!
for the evening we take a break from Thai food. it's pizza at lavinia. as we eat we watch the circus street show going on outside on the sidewalk. okay not really a circus but none the less great people watching. one man, one monkey and a floundering business. it's starts with a handshake and surprise there is now a monkey crawling up your arm, oh you want a picture? flash! okay 5 bucks. what? you're mad... oh you mean not everyone enjoys a live monkey crawling on them? people are freaked out. we are thoroughly entertained. On top of it the monkey man is chewing leaves "leaves that fuck up the mind" with an occasional drug run to get more supply. hmmm... any correlation with Chaing beer? The street show dies down so we wander. wander up and down the strip, through the street shops. we stop for hagen daas. we're back home. home? we wish.
