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“The postings on this site are my own and don't represent Maersk Group's position, strategies or opinions. All views are my own”
  Monday 21st of September 2015 and I was dead tired when I came on the bridge 30 minutes late. I told 2nd officer to give me a second call if I had not showed up in time. The kettle was soon on and I enjoyed myself with a bucket of Earl Grey tea and a “Oatmeal Surprise”  Early morning on Si Racha, ศรีราชา Roads, Bulk carriers loading in the haze
Day light broke and I could see that Si Racha, ศรีราชา roads were full of big bulk carriers loading from barges. I prepared some paper work for the loading and suddenly I had Captain on the bridge. He  will take over so I can get ashore with the launch leaving at 07:45 with our IG Technicians that have been on board since we left Singapore.
I was the first to get off Romø Mærsk followed by the IG people. We had to wait for them to get their luggage lowered down in to the boat before we could take off towards Si Racha, ศรีราชา. 
 Coming ashore in Si Racha, ศรีราชา
 Coming ashore in Si Racha, ศรีราชา
I had expected an hour to come ashore with the launch, I had been using the service when visiting the Captain on Maersk Mediterranean but I don't remember how long time it took. It was way  quicker than expected, we were ashore after about 10 to 15 minutes.
It was hundred meters to walk to Singha Speedboat office. There were some people hanging around outside the office and as I  guessed, it was taxi drivers. Or, well, people with a car waiting for sailors to rip off.
People coming ashore will most likely end up outside Singha Speedboat Office. And the drivers were not getting embarrassed when asking for stupid fares to Bangkok. I negotiated the  price for going to Bangkok and to come back in the afternoon.
I had expected a car, but I was showed to a mini bus or van, a 10 seater and I was alone. The car looked like it had been through a lot and stepping in to  the van was, well, an experience.
All safety features like belts was removed and the front row of seat was “wobbling” when moving. I could just imagine how it would be when the van was moving. Or God help us, the van was in an accident. We left Singha Speedboat office behind and as I has  suspected, the seat was soon making me sea sick.
First stop was a Jiffy convenient store in Si Racha, ศรีราชา and I bought 3 cans of Diet drinks before we continued towards Bangkok. First stop will be Bic-C in Ladprao to buy e-juice for my e-cigarette. I will buy SIM cards for the crew. Pens and some medicine we need. Then I will be making a stop at home to get my camera manual and to change the lens. Lunch with my friend and then back to Si Racha, ศรีราชา  and Romø Mærsk.
I don't know if I was surprised when we reached Bangkok, but I was happy. No accidents and I'm sure we would not have survived even the slightest impact in this van that was about to fall apart. We passed Suvarnabhumi and I told the driver to take off the Motorway and get on the express way towards Ram Intra. He told me it was better to go to Din Daeng. - No it is not - Yes - GET ON THE FOOCKING EXPRESS WAY! It was too late and we were on the express way towards Cheng Wattana. I was angry, very angry. I tell him where to go and he tells me it is better to go to Din Daeng. And now he tells me he don't know where he is. I'm sorry to say, but we have all met them. Some people are so stupid that you just want to hit them. He drove around by chance and after two dead ends I called my friend and cancelled the lunch. 3 hours lost and we didn't know where we were. I was very angry and I told the driver what I  thought about him and I stepped out and I took a taxi to Big-C.
And the twat was left alone in his junker and he lost the money. But he had managed to destroy my day. By now I was really in a hurry, I bought 15 bottles of e-juice. I wanted to buy 10 SIM card but I had only time to buy 5. It took quite some time to load them with 3GB and to register them. Now I hope they are not looking for porn and instructions on how to make home-made bombs as the SIM cards are in my name. I went to buy the pens while waiting and I was soon leaving Big-C. I found a taxi that would take me back to Si Racha, ศรีราชา with a quick stop at Sukhumvit Soi 23. I got the instruction book for the 5D  and I changed the lens and we were soon on our way back to Si Racha, ศรีราชา.
I had bought a charger to be used in cars for my e-cigarette at Big-C. My battery ran flat on the way to Bangkok, and this was not helping the driver when he lost his way. Well, lost his way, he never had his way. We expected to be back at Singha Speedboat office around 3 thirty and I will be back on board before 4 o'clock. We were hauling arse and I think I felt asleep in the  back seat for an hour or so. A well needed  power nap.
And yes, we were hauling arse and we were actually a little ahead of schedule until we had passed Si Racha, ศรีราชา, the traffic came to a full stop on Sukhumvit Road leading to Pattaya. The traffic was at a full stop and it looked to be some construction work on the road. We started  to move slowly and we could see Sukhumvit Road clearing up ahead of us after the construction site. We were soon turning of Sukhumvit and we stopped outside Singha Speedboat office after a few minutes. They called a boat and a guy with a platform of some kind attached to his motorbike drove me down to the boat.
We left the jetty 5 minutes before 4 and we reached Romø Mærsk 10 minutes later. I could see that the crew was painting the hull when we approached the gangway on the port side. I was on the bridge 10 minutes past 4 o'clock and I called the crew for a STS meeting.  Leaving Si Racha, ศรีราชา behind
 On our way back to Romø Mærsk
  Romø Mærsk
 Romø Mærsk
 Romø Mærsk
Just before 11 and we had Surveyor, Loading Master, Agent and a lot of mooring people coming on board. I had expected the first barge at midnight, but they won't come until tomorrow morning. Good, we finished the paper work and I went to bed for a well needed power nap. +++++++++++++++
Tuesday 22nd of September 2015 and I woke up quarter to 7. It was 1 o'clock before I was in bed and I was dead tired. I was tired when I woke up but I could not fall asleep again. We expected  the barge to come along side at 7 but the barge didn't arrived until after 9 o'clock.
We started to load 12 minutes past 11 and we completed loading exactly 3 hours later. Now we have to wait for the next barge and the latest news is that the barge is coming 3 o'clock tomorrow morning. And as you understand I wouldn't mind them being a few hours late. 8 o'clock in the morning would not be bad. So I will have to find something to kill time with in my cabin. The internet on my phone is working when my cabin is facing Si Racha, ศรีราชา but when the tide turns us around I lose the internet connection.  Our Thai mooring gang Romø Mærsk
+++++++++++++++
Wednesday 23rd of September 2015 and they called me 2 o'clock in the morning. Barge #2 was alongside. We started loading at 03:36 and we completed loading at 14:36. Some paper work and we expect the other barge to come along side as soon as this has left. No time for sleep.
+++++++++++++++
Thursday 24th of September 2015 and it was 2 thirty in the morning when I went to bed. 3 to 4 hours sleep the last 24 hours and this is not healthy as we can understand.
Next barge will arrive late tonight and it will be another full night. I was called for at 23 thirty and I had managed to get 2 hours of sleep, more than expected. +++++++++++++++
Friday 25th of September 2015 and we started to load 12 minutes after midnight. Completion just before lunch and next barge are arriving around midnight. I slept the whole afternoon and I woke up at 19 thirty and I'm ready for another night in the CCR.
+++++++++++++++
Saturday 26th of September 2015 and we started to load 12 minutes past 1 o'clock in the morning, completed at 5 thirty and I was in bed at 7. Next barge arriving late tonight, a disappointment, the original plan was for the barge to arrive @ 18:00
We will have a 2nd Engineer signing on tomorrow and I sent him an e-mail about diet drinks. He had arrived and he will spend a night at a hotel. He would look in to it ASAP. +++++++++++++++
Sunday 27th of September 2015 and I went to bed at 8 o'clock in the morning waking up at 1 thirty something in the afternoon. First thing I did was to wrap me in the blanket and I went to  check outside my door. NO DIET DRINKS!!
I had a shower and I turned on the kettle. I remembered that I had my tea bucket in the CCR and I went don to get it. I could hear noise from 2nd Engineer's cabin and I went there. He had my DIET DRINKS and I skipped the tea. I had 3 quick bottles during the afternoon while making a new cargo plan. Changed load orders, now we will load 32850MT. Changing  almost daily since we arrived to Si Racha, ศรีราชา.
Started with 27660MT and now it is 32859MT. Rita Mærsk is moored to a bouy loading or discharging here in Si Racha, ศรีราชา and Captain have 2 friends on board. So he is going ashore to have a dinner with them and the boat came to pick him up at 4 o'clock. And of course, I had given hime some cash for a few “surprise” Diet MAX  Going ashore in Si Racha, ศรีราชา
 Getting on the speed boat in Si Racha, ศรีราชา
 Taking off towards Si Racha, ศรีราชา
 Captain taking off leaving me and Mess Man behind
And, I say MAYBE, it might turn out that I’m the most handsome guy on board for now
Captain left and I went to the CCR and my Diet MAX to do the cargo plan. I passed the kitchen  on my way to the cabin. Our Cook was busy making spaghetti. But as it is Sunday and NOT Saturday I'm only allowed to eat the meat sauce.
As it say in my diet bet: MEAT OF ANY KIND and meat sauce is meat and it is usually quite good with salad. At least when I make the meat sauce. I went to my cabin and I grabbed a bottle of Diet MAX and my e-cigarette and I went to 2nd Engineer's cabin. Our on signing and off signing 2nd Engineers were relaxing like only Engineers know how to do waiting for the speed boat to come pick up the off signing 2nd Engineer. They were getting worried, the boat should have been here at 5 o'clock and now it was passed 5. But no need to worry, the boat came a few minutes later and I went for dinner in the mess room.   On signing 2nd Engineer
+++++++++++++++
Monday 28th of September 2015 and I went to the bridge at 9 thirty to relieve 3rd Officer. We have a service launch picking up the crew at 10 o'clock. 3rd Officer want to go ashore and I will  take his watch on the bridge. But I have had the time to work  a little in our hospital, Dr. Aladdin is always busy.
Captain had been nothing but a disappointment returning with exactly ZERO bottles of diet drinks. And I was actually quite happy, I have felt good only drinking Roibos tea all the way from Cape Town, South Africa. But I was stupid enough to give the cash to our 3rd officer. I asked him to  keep an eye out for diet drinks and he took off towards Srirach with the speed boat.
I was on the bridge covering for him when they returned just after 10 o'clock in the evening. 3rd Officer came to the bridge and I found 3  bags of diet drinks out side my cabin. Big bottles so I need to bring out my wine glass again.
Our Electrician had been ashore as well. He came by my cabin when I was potting about with my diet drinks. He handed me, well, he tried to hand me snacks and soda “pops” He really looked surprised when I said
+++++++++++++++
Tuesday 29th of September 2015 and they came to pick up our scrap and old mooring ropes just before 11 o'clock. Fresh fruit and 2 cases of diet drinks. DARN! I already have too much of the diet drinks. Well, what to do? I went to get a wine glass and I enjoyed a diet surprise while doing the last requisition for our hospital.
+++++++++++++++
Wednesday 30th of September 2015 and we had just completed the 9th barge when I came to the CCR at 8 o'clock. Next barge expected around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Good, I have plenty  time to complete discharging, loading and the second discharging plan for Tanjung Palapas.
We will discharge and then load Fuel oil for Japan. When we have loaded we will discharge the last cargo from Thailand. Then it will be stop for bunkering in Singapore and I will sign off on the anchorage in Singapore. We have spent quite some time here in Si Racha, ศรีราชา now, and it is starting to get boring. The Thai crew have settled in and they are fishing and drying fish in the sun all over the ship. Barge was scheduled for 15:00, later on 18 or 19 hundred. It was soon changed to 9 o'clock in the evening. I spent the afternoon bored to death drying to stretch my paper work as much as I could. To do nothing is very boring and the time passes very slowly. The crew are stand-by on deck only. I asked them to finish our last Sigma light blue and then wait for the barge. No point starting anything new for an hour. Of course, the one hour became many hours while the day passed by.  And the day passed by slowly, very slowly.
 Nothing makes you sleep like hard work
 Nothing makes you sleep like hard work
The sky was black over Pattaya and there was some heavy rain around us. But not much rain felt  over us.
I was in my office trying to stretch the work with my hand over notes as much as possible drinking diet drinks listening to music. And when our Surveyors were around we cracked a few jokes. Nothing is like waiting for barges here on Si Racha, ศรีราชา anchorage, but now we only have 2 remaining barges and we can leave this place behind. It was kind of nice for a few  days, but now...
Where is that bus so I can throw myself in front of it? Watching fish dry in the sun shine, well, that is fun, for 12 seconds. And I have yet another evening to kill here at the anchorage. I got a few new movies today and I also found the Jerry Seinfeld “I'm telling you for the last time” live on Broadway DVD so this will help me alleviate the boredom for an hour or so.  As fun as watching paint dry
Well, look at that, the month of September ends with dried fish. I really hope the month of October 2015 will bring on more excitements. Just click HERE to find out!
    
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To www.aladdin.st since December 2005
Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011
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