-
Home sweet Home
It’s bliss to be finally home..when the plane touched down phuket on 27th March, i shed a tear and that was the first time that i really felt the meaning of coming home! But after 2 days of being home, i am down with colds and fever. Paul gave me the bug!! What a welcome gift huh! The flight was gruelling and it took 4 planes to take me home. I never even bothered to count the flying hours but i left Cyprus monday morning and arrived Bangkok Tuesday morning. There was panic at the Ercan airport in Nicosia as they wont allow me to board with my luggages without transit visa for Turkey. I didnt follow up my transit visa application . Sure i went to the Turkish embassy in Nicosia, but they were not helpful and its frustrating that the different people u talk to.. gives you different information and they work in the same bloody building!! Well, according to the captain, they were rude in Cairo and true enough, they were rude also in Nicosia. I had to be really strong with them to get inside and talk to the right person as i wont just allow them to dismiss me without giving me the attention i deserve and i came all the way from Famagusta which was 1 hour bus ride away! Did i mention before that i have a very strong character? (Translation: Im a witch with a capital B!)
Needless to say, it turned me off. I lost interest in going to Turkey if those were the kind of people i will have to deal with. Im not generalizing. Yes i can understand that there are good people and bad people like anywhere else in the world. But it wasnt my fault that they are supposed to be the ambassadors of their country and they are not giving off good impressions. My fiance never liked them and said most of them were horrible people.. i thought he was just being snobbish being British hehehehe.. but no ,, he was right!! So the bottomline was: i didnt bother to go back to the embassy to submit the docs they were asking for the transit visa. (in the end, i learned the real requirements needed and it was really simple docs i.e. photocopy of passport, pics, plane ticket, $26 transit visa fee), but i was really disgusted with their attitude and dont want to spend money on their country and generally just lost interest! I just didnt have a choice but to fly from Istanbul as there is no direct international flight from Northern Cyprus to anywhere but to Istanbul. I couldnt cross to the Greek Side or the southern cyprus as i have already got the stamp from the northern cyprus. On hindsight, i should have been a little bit more patient. Because now, i went home without my luggages and all the photos on the 5cds and all the things i bought were left in Cyprus. The captain will send it to me but it will cost the equivalent of my ticket coming home if not more! Damn temper i have!!! The only thing i was able to take home were the Sisha equipments hehehhe and halloumi cheese and turkish delights that were in my hand- carry luggage. I tried to carry as much as i was allowed and my shoulders nearly got dislocated. But it was worth it. Paul was happy with the goodies i brought him.
Anyhow, im home and that’s what matters. From Istanbul, we stopped in Bahrain for 3 hours and i bought some Bahraini souvenir from the Duty free shop. There were some Filipinos working there on those shops while others were passengers, maybe on the way home to the Philippines. I killed time just browsing around. I was tempted to buy the Radio-operated (or whatchamacallit) red Ferrari car for Paul but i have to sprout another arm or i might as well be a bloody octopus to be able to carry all of my luggages!
Even the flight From Bahrain to Bangkok is not without incident! There was this idiot who got himself so drunk that he started to bother the passengers around him. Unfortunately, i was within his bothering- distance.He has middle eastern features. At first, i was just ignoring him when he tried to speak with me and pretended to be asleep. But he was bothering a lot of people who were still trying to be polite to him despite. But as i was beginning to fall asleep, he make noises and my temper just snapped! Uh-oh! Relax friends, i just forcefully told him(commanded is more apt!) to be quiet as im trying to sleep but if looks could kill, then needless to say, he will be dead that instant! I think the other passengers were thankful i had the guts to do that coz after that, he stopped and eventually sleep. Passed-out maybe was the right term. Idiot!
Okay, enough bitching…as there are so many things to share on my recent trip..unfortunately,im not one that keeps a journal…(well except here obviously, and i just started a few months ago ). i wished i am a keen writer and i could have recorded in writing all the wonderful things i have experienced and saw on the 5 countries that we have been to . But i have always been just an observer who just enjoys things at that moment and most often than not, only share experiences when asked, and normally just from racking my brain of the memories i have of the particular topic. But i realized the value of sharing, reading from many wonderful blogs i happen to find while browsing. Yes, it makes one travel vicariously when someone was writing about their trip or learn a thing or two, when the topic just happened to be informative and factual and well- researched and written. I enjoy reading, and i hope that u will find what i have to share enjoyable as well. I am not very articulate either ( well except when i am arguing with someone!) but i will try my best to put into words my personal observations, opinions, what i felt while on the journey….It will have to be in segments as well so i could share as much as i can on the countries we went to, for the 2months that we were travelling/sailing.
I guess i will start by introducing the yacht which has been our home and means of transport for more than 2 months. Her name is “ParaTi”(For you) and she is almost 74 feet long. She is a schooner yacht with British registry. She was built in Taiwan in 1985 and despite her age she is still a beauty as she was lovingly maintained by the captain (who is also the engineer, cook,crew, chief housekeeper and water activities manager!). Parati have twin engines by Mercedez Benz with 130HP each engine ,aside from 3 sails and 1 stay-sail in the middle. She also has 2 dinghies ( 1 small and 1 big) and a jet ski. She can sleep 15 people having 7 cabins in total and 5 heads ( bathroom). Her galley (kitchen) is also well-equipped with oven, dishwashing machine and most gadget that a chef may need. and Oh, she also has her own ” Sauna”! aside from air- filler ( for oxygen tanks) for the scuba divers. Cool huh! Although she doesnt have a water-maker like the more modern yachts, her 2 fresh water tanks have the capacity of 5thousand liters and 1thousand liters for her hot water tank. Do the math! Her 2 fuel tanks ( diesel) capacity boast 6thousand liters.She is considered a pleasure -cruiser yacht ( others are racer-cruiser) and the materials used in her saloons,heads, and galleys were combination of polished wood ( i dunno what type of wood), granite, marbles and leather upholstery. Of course, her upper deck is made of teak wood and high-quality stainless steels. Truly special and luxurious..!You will have to forgive me for sounding like a proud mamma and i dont even own her. Phuket, Thailand……Jan.12, 2007
This is S-day.. sailing day! The previous day, I went food shopping together with the filipina crew. The captain already got the thousands of drinking water bottles that we will need plus many sacks of rice the day before as well. Being truly filipinos, we cant do without rice in every meal. Being in the seafood-supplying business, I brought some vacuum-packed frozen fish fillets, smoked-salmon, blue marlin loins and some tuna loins for sashimi. We just added many kilos of potatoes for the benefit of the 2 german crews who flew all the way from Germany to assist on the trip. I, myself was just assisting. We are not being paid by monetary equivalent, but the free trip and experience will be more than enough payment for me.
I arrived on the boat at noon as the appointed time. Paul, as usual brought me to Chalong not to mention that he also packed my suitcase the night before and made sure that i have everything that im gonna need. Didnt i say in the past that he is really special? Anyways, that morning, the captain already checked us out from the Thai immigration in Chalong, Phuket where the yacht is ( having left my passport with him the previous day). After all the introduction was made, we had a brief meeting and orientation, focusing mainly on safety, the use of different instruments, our course for the journey, and what to do in case of man overboard. The boat was well-equipped, the numerous life rings are all strategically placed as well as the life raft with all the emergency supplies that can last for 2 weeks apparently. I hate to pre-empt my story, but no, we didnt get to use the life raft and thanks goodness for that!!
We have decided to have lunch first before actually leaving. After lunch, we filled the water tank just to make sure we will not run out of fresh water for washing the dishes and showering and of course to flush! . We were ready to go with 6thousand liters of diesel filled the day before as well.
By 2:30Pm, we are saying goodbye to all the yachties that the captain made friends with. The boat and the captain are leaving Thailand after 14years …..
5 Responses to “The sailor is home!! …Entry for March 31, 2007”
- 1 Trackback on Nov 17th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Leave a Reply
Search
Months
Blogroll
Recent Entries
- Pilosopiya…
- Just for laughs!!
- At Last I can Blog again!
- Arabian Sea Adventure…….Entry for April 21, 2007
- People of Batangas.. prepare the Red Carpet! Entry for April 21, 2007
- The Asian who pretended to be a sailor..Entry for April 08, 2007
- The sailor is home!! …Entry for March 31, 2007
- Leaving Cyprus tomorrow…….Entry for March 25, 2007
- Leaving Suez, Egypt…Entry for March 07, 2007
- Entry for March 03, 2007
If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.GeorgeOrsonWellesGeorge Orson Welles
I found more here if anyone’s interested
Great article. I found some more information here
Hey! I love your website
If u are looking for Paid Surveys this is the place 4 you.
Start advancing your paychecks on http://tinyurl.com/7ufpyz