Well we leave the west coast of thailand from one island to another... Koh Tao. We ferry across to Krabi then bus overland to suratani on the east coast for the night ferry. We pre booked tickets to take the ferry overnight to Koh Toa however when we arrive at the port we are informed that we can not get to Koh Toa that night and instead the ferry was destined for the nerby island of Koh Phangan. This was due to bad weater conditions but who knows the real reason. We have a few hours to kill before the ferry leaves so grab a hearty dinner. I was just tucking into my fried rice when what rocks up and parks itself between a car and motorbike.....an elephant. The poor little soul must've been hungry because its trunk was all over the place in search of food which freaked Rachel out no end, so funny. I guarded my fried rice with my life but some of the others purchased some sugar cane from the guy and it was loving this. It was a bit sureal and sad seeing this gental giant being riden and parked at the curb to be fed by willing tourists, the poor wee thing should be knocking about in the jungle. Anyway we get onto the ferry and its one massive open space with matress running down either side. Like a big slumber party we turn in for the night. At 6am we make it to Koh Phangan and have a 6hrs or so wait untill the next ferry leaves for Koh Tao. Proping our tired selves up in a cafe we wait and then get on the next ferry to take us over to the next island. On arrival we head to a guest house with a pool, ditch the bags and have a much needed soak. The bungalow was a bit shabby that we booked into and let all creatures under the sun in but we were that tired we just grabbed the first one we came across. That night after dinner we went down to the beach for a few drinks. The bar we went to was very cool, with mats layed out on the beach with candle light around, very chilled out. There was also a great show by the fire performers. They were fantastic, swinging balls of fire on the end of ropes and twirling flamming sticks. They would come between the crowd and start twirling the flames around peoples heads, crazy stuff.

The next morning I have a wonder around in search of a dive school were I can do my dive course and after talking to a few different ones settle on a centre that included accomodation in a nice little guesthouse next door. That evening was the first session of the course going over several section on a DVD. It was like being back at school. The next morning was also another classroom session then in the afternoon after the break for lunch we go to the pool to go over the skills needed for diving and how to set up the gear. After completing this I was ready for the open water. The next day we have yet another classroom session and then the dreaded exam. It wasnt too bad being multiple choice and I passed no problems, phew. We take off in the afternoon for the open water dives. We have two dives to 10meters and they were great. We have another two dives the next day at the crack of dawn, starting at 6am! The first dive is to 18 meters and was realy good then we have another dive to 10 meters and go over some of the skills at the sea bed. This however didnt go too well and after b*****ing up the mask removel and replacment task I paniced and trew my mask and headed up for the surface. The instructor saw that I wasnt good and had hold of me and after we both surfaced I went back to the boat very anoyed with myself and a bit shacken up! This unsuccessfull morning meant that I could go out the next moring and do the dives again so its a slight bonus that I get to dive two more times, howevere I have to do the dreaded skill again! I also started to convince myself that I had decompression sickness from surfacing too fast, but I think I was just panicking myself. I told my instructor I wasnt feeling great and he kind of laughed at me and told me to get a beer, which I will admit cured me instantly! So I had the repeat dives the next morning at again 6am and I will say that I managed to complete the skill without any major problems and the dives went realy well. The weather however was apauling this day and the sea was realy choppy sending the boat all over the place. There were alot of sick people on the boat and to top it off it started to chuck it down with rain. Very cold and wet we made it back to dry land and filled in the paperwork to say yes, me joanne mitchell is now a qualified open water diver....oooooo! The afternoon unfortunatly we have to get back on the water and take the ferry across to Koh Phangan. With the seas still all over the place its a miricle we made it, but we do have a better ferry this time, its a Katamaran as apossed to our wooden Nohas arche that we had as the night ferry. We make it to Koh Phangan and head to our pre booked bungalow on the foot of a hill. Its realy nice and has great views out to sea. We have a few nights on this island so will update of the goings on in the near future.

Love lots xxxxxx