Have Internet Will Travel A blog about travel freelancing in the Philippines

See more whale shark pictures and other underwater shots here.

After almost a month with an over heating video card stuck in 640×480 and $600 later, I’m back online. For most travelers it probably would have been a non issue till they got home using internet cafes in the meantime, but I have a number of client projects on the go and I’m usually not more than an arms length from my PC unless I’m underwater. Luckily I bought an iPod Touch before leaving Canada! I’ve often pooh-poohed how the iPhone and Touch are bulky MP3 players with not quite enough built in features to be true PDAs, but man was I thankful for the WiFi, browser, and email applications these past few weeks, not to mention the countless hours spent playing solitaire when the power was out. I was able to stay on top of client issues and steal Kelly’s Mac for emergencies. It took UPS almost 2 weeks to ship a new video card from New Jersey to Koh Tao in Thailand via expedited shipping. At least I didn’t have to install it with my Swiss Army knife screwdriver… I ended up finding a repair shop locally that had the proper tools, something of a rarity on some of the smaller islands.

So what does a nerd do offline in a tropical country? He stays hydrated…
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Here’s what happened this week:

• Mike finally got his computer fixed after waiting 2 weeks for a new video card.
• I lost my bank card, and am now awaiting a new one from home.
• We had a few drunken nights with Becca & Jacob, involving thai buckets and late night pancakes.
• The weather has been rather un-cooperative, bringing lots of rain and a few power outages.
• We lounged on the beach and consumed several beer, while floating off the beach in front of our place.
• Patrick, who we also met in the Philippines arrived on Koh Tao, after spending a month in Bali.
• We went diving at Chumpon & Red Rock for the 3rd time.
• We had all you can eat Thai BBQ (kinda like korean BBQ, but Thai) for only $5.
• I ran into one of the girls who worked in the dive shop where I did my dive master’s, 6 years ago.

Our internet connection has been out for the last 5 days, which means the posting around here has been even lighter than normal. Luckily work’s been pretty slow for the most part, so we’ve been taking a little break from the online world.

Once again we’ve settled into a bit of a routine here, and while it’s nice for us to chillout and not be constantly on the go, it does make for some pretty boring posts. So in an effort to keep things interesting, and because I missed “Foto Friday“, I’ve decided to turn this into a picture post.

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This week we got settled into our new apartment. It was a lot harder to find a monthly rental than we expected, especially one with internet. Most places that had internet didn’t do monthly rentals, and the few places we found that did do monthly rentals, didn’t have internet. We did however manage to find a place. It’s not perfect but so far we’re quite comfortable here.

It’s a one bedroom apartment, a couple blocks off the main strip of town, on Koh Tao. It’s right on the beach and we have a little balcony overlooking the water as well as a great rooftop patio, both of which make up for the fact that our kitchen only has a microwave. Luckily the food in Thailand is great, and most of it is quite cheap, so while we love to cook, we probably wont be doing much of it over the next month or so. Unless anyone’s got some great microwave recipes.

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It’s been 6 years since I’ve been back to Koh Tao, and although a lot has changed, as soon as I stepped off the ferry, a million memories came rushing back. The first time I was here was in 2003. I spent 2 months here doing my Divemaster Course, and loved every minute of it. Since then I couldn’t wait to come back, so when Mike and I decided to head to Thailand, I knew we had to come here.

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Mango Bay, Koh Tao Thailand

We spent a couple more days in Phuket, chilling on the beach, working, and taking a cooking class. Then on Thursday we headed to Koh Samui. Koh Samui, is a little more our style, but still a bit bigger than we’d actually like. There are however, quite a few options for long term rentals so we might look into it a little further.

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