Family and Friends!
In March I was lucky enough to be visited by some of my favorite people! I still do not have some pictures - this blog is under construction!!!

My sister Chelsea and her boyfriend Dave came to Thailand for 3 weeks on their way home from Antarctica...talk about climate change. You can check out their Antactica adventures at:
freezerburningman.blogspot.com


Me, Dave, and Chelsea on the BTS heading into Bangkok.

Hannah also came on her Spring Break all the way from California!

Hannah heading to the best Thai Massage place in Bangkok...Crystal Spa.

Hannah, Chelsea, Dave and I went to the ancient city of Ayutthaya to visit the wats (temples).

Me and Hannah in front of our guesthouse. We rented bikes to tour around the city for $1.

Chelsea and Dave check out an ancient wat.

- Songkran Break -
Diving in the Similan Islands


The Similans are off the West Coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. The red squares are divesites around the Similans. Green on this map is Thailand and tan is Mynamar (Burma).

Songkran is the hottest time of year in Thailand, and also Thai New Years. Spencer and I had a week off school (our Spring Break) and we went diving in the Similan Islands. We went on a liveaboard boat for 5 days and dived 15 dives (2 night dives), ranging from 25m to 42m (140 feet).


I completed my PADI Advanced Diver Certification on the boat.

Anemonae (photo by Adriano, our dive guide. I think he will be a famous underwater photographer someday. He took his camera with us on every dive.)

Anemonae (by Adriano)

Giant Moray Eel having dental work by a cleaner shrimp (Adriano)

Puffer Fish (this guy was giant!) - (Adriano)

Trumpet Fish on a night dive (Adriano)

(Adriano)

Vericose wart slug (Adriano)

Clownfish! (Adriano)

Cuttlefish - these guys are mollusks similar to octopus and squid. They can change colors in a snap and squirt ink if threatened. (Adriano)

Swimming with a cuttlefish. (Adriano)

Clown Fish in an anemonae (Adriano)

My Hawksbill friend (Adriano)

Hawksbill turtle (Adriano)

Lepoard Shark - 4m long, sleeping on the bottom at 42m (Adriano)

Spencer with his ancient Hawksbill Turtle buddy (Adriano)


Spencer and Liza 30m under. (Adriano)

Lion Fish (Adriano)

Scorpion Fish during a night dive - there were tons of these guys and they blended in to the coral and rocks so well. If they sting you, major pain for 1 week or paralysis! Danger! (Adriano)

fish in anemonae (Adriano)

Cyanea Octopus - changes colors, amazing creature! (Adriano)

Spotted Ray (Adriano)

Our liveaboard diveboat - West Coast Explorer. We had the front cabin on the right side - pretty swanky! There were 12 other divers on the boat and 3 guides. We had the dive sites mostly to ourselves. (Adriano)

Spencer recording his dives in the galley after a long, exciting day of diving.

Platform at the back of the boat - ready for diving!

Ready for the navigation underwater exam - part of the Advance Diving course I took onboard.

We stopped at Similan Island #4 to spend a bit of time on the beach.



We hiked up to a lookout point on Similan Island #4.


Pirates off the coast ( just kidding)

We dived with Sarah and her boyfriend Cam - she's from Ann Arbor and ended up having to go to the decompression chamber for two days! She's better now...