12/03/13 - 12/13/13

The legendary islands of Thailands. The thought of them conjures up images of crystal, clear blue water, white, sandy beaches and tall palm trees with coconuts hanging off of them. There are many well-known islands famed for their beauty, resorts and beaches, such as Koh Phi Phi, Koh Samui or even Kho Phangan, which is famous for its monthly Full Moon parties. It makes one want to just drop everything, rent a bungalow on the beach and lay out on the beach sipping mojitos all day. It is one thing that I had in mind when I came to Thailand, but I also had another reason for coming to the islands of Thailand. I wanted to do some SCUBA diving.

I had talked about travel fatigue in older posts and I wrote that one way to combat it was to take a vacation from travel. My own travel fatigue had lessened by the time I got to Thailand, probably because the change in culture from China to Thailand got me excited again, but I was still determined to take my "vacation." I decided that I was going to take it on Koh Tao, an island not only famed for its beauty, but also known as one of the cheapest and best places in the world to earn your PADI Open Water SCUBA Certification. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a bungalow on the beach, (though I would eventually live that dream in Cambodia!) so I had to settle for a studio room that was about 100 meters from the beach. However, I did have my own room for 10 days, so I really could relax.

My vacation to Koh Tao started off auspiciously, as the journey there was racked with almost missed connections, delays and a ferry that stopped running. In Bangkok, I had booked a train and ferry combination ticket at the train station. It seemed simple enough and on the day of departure I gave myself an hour to get to the train station. Fabian, the hostel owner, assured me that it would only take about 30 minutes to get there. He was right, under normal conditions, however after getting off the BTS sky train to transfer to the metro, I had to wait an inordinate amount of time for the subway train. I got to the metro stop right as some announcement in Thai was going off. I didn't understand it, but luckily right after there was an English version, which stated that the subway train would be momentarily delayed. This did worry me a little, but I had some time, so I figured I would still be alright. Twenty minutes passed and the announcement kept going off every few minutes. I was starting to get worried. Finally, another announcement came over the loudspeaker, this time only in Thai. I had no idea what was announced, but I could tell from the reaction of all the people around me that it was not good! I figured that the subway must be shut down for longer than I could handle, so I ran to the exit, hoping to get a cab to the train station. I only had 15 minutes before my train left and I was probably two city blocks away. Unfortunately, it was rush hour and I ran into a traffic jam and so I didn't make it. My cab driver took his time too, despite my urgency and that fact that one lane was moving pretty well, he refused to go into it. My train left at 19:30 and I got there at 19:40. Dammit!

I figured I could at least exchange my ticket for a later train, however, when I got to the gate, one of the conductors asked me what my train was. I said that I had already missed it, but I showed him my ticket anyway. However, he informed me that my train was still there! He showed me where it was and so I ran to my still waiting train! Of course, I didn't really need to run, because once I got on board and got settled, the train didn't actually leave until 20:30! Just another example of how things work in SE Asia!

The train was supposed to arrive in Chumphon at 0415 in the morning, where I was too get on a bus to get to the dock and then get on a ferry at 0700. I set my alarm to wake up at 0400 and was ready to get off, except for we weren't there yet. The train stopped a few times, but in the middle of nowhere! I wasn't sure what was going on. Finally, we arrived at about 0615! Now, I figured I was going to miss my ferry. Dammit again!

I got off the train and looked for the ferry company I had booked, but I couldn't find it. Another company was there though, and they informed me that the ferry boat I had booked did not run at that time anymore. At first, I thought it was some kind of scam, but then they offered to buy back my ticket and sell to me their companies ferry ticket. It seems really dodgy, but I didn't see any other options, plus there were plenty of other travelers around that were in the same situation. They also offered a ride to the harbor, which was about 30 minutes away, so I traded my ticket and waited for the ride. The ride to the harbor turned out to be an old pick-up truck, where we piled the bags for nine people and then six people in the bed of the truck, three in the cab. I had to sit on the edge of the truck bed over the back left bumper. Needless to say, I had to hold on for dear life for the entire ride to the harbor!

I made it to the harbor and got on the ferry, which was still there and made the two hour journey to Koh Tao. It was a little bumpy of a ride and a lot of people seem to get sea sick, but thankfully, I don't get motion sickness, so I was fine.

I spend 10 days on Koh Tao, with only two things in mind; to relax and to learn to SCUBA dive. Koh Tao has over 50 different dive shops on the island, so I had several options to choose from. Honestly, most of them were probably basically the same, but I wanted a place that I felt comfortable with and had small classes. I chose Scuba Junction and was in a class with two American girls, that were sisters. The course consisted of three days of classroom work, one pool dive to learn the basics and four actual dives down to a maximum of 18 meters/40 feet. The classroom work wasn't all that hard, but it did require a little homework.

The dives were a lot of fun. We did learn skills in the pool and during the dives, so they weren't just for fun, but it was a great experience. My instructor, an English guy named Gwydion, was an excellent instructor. He was very patient and always helpful to point out not only what we were doing wrong, but also encouraging when we were doing something right. He was a really nice guy, too.

When I first got in the water, I was a bit anxious and so I initially was very uncomfortable. It took a minute or two of breathing properly with the regulator, before I calmed down and got comfortable. Once I got used to breathing with the regulator, I was fine. I had a little trouble with buoyancy occasionally, but I just need more practice. Also, equalizing your ears as you descend is very important, and I had a little trouble with that on occasion. The weightless feeling you get when floating deep under the water is so surreal. You can easily get lost as to your directionality and not know which way is up or down. It's so crazy. Though an easy way to determine which way is up to see which way the bubbles are going, but if you panic you might not be thinking enough to realize this. Swimming under the water is also quite relaxing. We got to see lots of fish and corals, including butterfly fish, angel fish, a sea snake and fortunately, a nonaggressive trigger fish.

I finished the course and so I am now certified as a PADI Open Water Scuba Diver. I had thought about taking the Advanced course, which includes night dives, wreck dives and other cool dives like that, but I wasn't able to do so. It's not that I didn't want to, it's just that I developed an ear infection during my four dives and you shouldn't dive with an ear infection.

I have not had an ear infection since I was a kid and it was quite painful! It wasn't anything I couldn't handle, but it did put a bit of a damper on my vacation. I got some antibiotic ear drops from the Pharmacy and for three days I was a bit laid up. I could still do things, but my ear was always uncomfortable and occasionally the pain was a bit much, so I would retreat to my room to relax and lay down. Luckily, I had a TV in my room and good book to read.

Koh Tao did have a nice beach and some decent restaurants around. However, it was much more built up and touristy than I expected. I had hope for a bungalow on a nice quiet beach, but in the area I was staying, it wasn't all the quiet. There were lots of Westerners walking around in the normal South East Asian "uniform" of a tank top, flip flops and the ubiquitous elephant pants, or as I like to call them "hammer pants" from M.C. Hammer fame. On Koh Tao, the elephant pants weren't quite as ubiquitous as everywhere else is SE Asia, as everyone was wearing swimming trunks, but they were still around. Up to this point, I have resisted the urge to join the herd of people and get a pair of elephant pants, but who knows how long I can hold out. They do look comfortable, even if they look extremely silly.

Despite the ear infection, I did enjoy my time on Koh Tao. It was relaxing at times and it was nice to just do nothing for a change. The diving was amazing and I hope to get another chance on this trip to do some more diving. My vacation did make me feel a little better, but I did feel like something was missing. Maybe, it was the highly Western vibe of the island and the lack of true Thai culture or maybe it was just the fact that I was pretty much alone most of the time on the island. Or maybe it was just because it wasn't what I imagined it would be. I didn't have my bungalow or my hammock or anything like that. Maybe, it just didn't fit up to my expectations. I would eventually figure out just exactly what it was that was missing, when I did finally get myself a bungalow on the beach in Cambodia! But, that story is for another time.