It was a couple of long days with early mornings and late nights; two flights, one ferry, a few taxis and one over night stop in Koh Samui, but in 36 hours I went from an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai to scuba diving in Koh Tao. It was a bit of whirlwind but everyone (with some gentle persuasion!) and everything i.e transport, was surprisingly efficient. The plane was on time and landed at around 2200 local time. I got to the hotel, in Samui, at about half past, by which time all the travel companies had closed, including the ferry ticket office. I knew there was a couple of ferries that ran to Koh Tao, one at 0800 and one at 1300. Being pushed for time and trying to work to a rough but important schedule, meant that I wanted to start diving as soon as possible. Ideally the next day. I knew that if I managed to get on the 0800 ferry, I could start the PADI course that afternoon. On the way back to the hostel, from an unsuccessful ticket-finding trip, I came across a woman that was closing her travel shop, which was also her home, for the night. I'm not sure if she felt sorry for me or just wanted to get rid of me but eventually I managed to persuade her, via any means possible, to get me on the 0800 ferry the next morning.
It resulted in yet another six o'clock alarm, an early check out and meeting the lady at half past. She then personally drove me to the ferry terminal and proceeded to barter with the man behind the ticket counter, in order to get me on the boat. If it wasn't so early, I probably would have found it quite exciting- what with her rally style driving, and at 7am, her full-throttle, take-no-prisoners haggling skills.
I have to admit, standing on the jetty with a ticket in my hand, I was feeling quite spoilt but also grateful. The kind lady had secured my ticket and I was on the 8am ferry to Koh Tao. Mission accomplished.

Even before I had stepped onto dry land, I was bombarded with promoters flogging their particular dives schools- my first realisation this was a Mecca for divers. I stuck with a friends recommendation and eventually found the Big Blue Diving Academy. The early ferry meant by six o'clock that evening, I was sitting the theory exam of my PADI qualification. Unfortunately, my first taste of underwater diving would have to wait until the next day. The few hours in a classroom came a bit of a shock to the system having spent the last two months swanning around SE Asia but I assured myself a bit of routine would do me good. I just about scraped through my exams, which I was later told were made so that a ten year old could pass, making my 6/10's look quite pathetic. Still, a pass is a pass and it was onto the practical assessments, the exciting bit!
Purely because it's what's the Army teaches, I had chosen to do the PADI certificate instead of, Big Blue's preferred, SSI certificate which they offer at a discounted rate and therefore is becoming increasingly popular with travellers. The two qualifications are taught slightly differently but the qualifications are effectively the same and both mean you can dive in exactly the same spots, to a depth of 18m. Because SSI is pushed harder and offered at a discounted rate, everyone else opted for SSI. Consequently, I was put in a class by myself with my own personal tutor. Having had to explain my reasons for choosing PADI over SSI, they knew I was due to join the army and therefore paired me up with one of their instructors who just so happened to be ex-military.
It was the morning after when I met ex-Fusilier, Mark. My one armed, three fingered instructor from Berwick upon Tweed. He has bright red hair, stands about five foot and roughly the same in width. The locals speak better English than he does so it's probably just as well we use hand signals under the water, although he's only got one of those! He's a really interesting guy and has certainly kept us amused between lessons with his stories. From his tours in Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Iraq; where he lost his arm in a roadside bomb, his demotion and how he almost got kicked out of Headley Court. Having left the Army, Mark became a diving instructor and says he loves the island life. I've been here less than a week but I can already see why. He's a great teacher with a lot of patience.

In four days, Mark took me from a nervous novice to a PADI qualified, open water diver. Allowing me to dive to a maximum depth of eighteen metres, with a buddy, anywhere in the world. The course was great fun and a really good test of nerve. There are certain skills that I've had to master over the last few days that start in the pool and then progress to increasing depths in the sea. Skills such as taking the mask off, swapping breathing apparatus, emergency ascents, buoyancy control and buddy-towing, to name but a few. It was all relatively straight forward in a swimming pool but not quite as simple eighteen metres under the sea. Going under for the first time is a very strange, it really is another world. It's also the only sport I've ever done where he aim is to use as little effort as possible, in order to save oxygen and extend a dive. The aim of diving is becoming neutrally buoyant and using breathing techniques to ascend and descend.monce this is achieved, the rest of he time is just floating about looking at fish and coral, it really is that lazy. Apparently it's the closest feeling to being in space but I'm not so sure.

The weather was great, the water was clear and Mark's lessons were a lot of fun. On completing my PADI Open Water, it wasn't long before I had signed up for my Advanced Open Water qualification- a further two days of learning new skills and techniques and pushing everything to the limits of recreational diving at thirty metres. Having signed up and raring to go, what I hadn't accounted for was the tropical storm that was about to hit the island. It's been almost nonstop rain for my advanced course which changes everything. On the way out to the dive sites, it feels like the boat's going to capsize and seasickness becomes a common problem. The dive sites themselves have big, invisible currents that aren't noticeable until it's too late. The water is colder and the visibility decreases. Also, the deeper you go, because of the pressure change, the more oxygen you use. There's been a few hairy moments but all in all, it's been a lot of fun. The advanced course consists of five dives, unfortunately, due to the bad weather, the night dive I had signed up for was cancelled along with the wreck dive. It was disappointing but I suppose I'll just have to come back another time! We still managed a deep dive, a navigation dive, fish identification, a peak performance buoyancy dive and dive computing. All the dives were really useful, i just wish I had more time to do a few extra!

I arrived on Koh Tao having never dived before, I leave tomorrow fully qualified to dive anywhere in the world and to a depth of thirty metres. I at last have something to show for my three months away. The routine has been a welcome change and it's also meant I've (unwillingly) had to curb the drinking for a while so it's probably done my liver some good too. The long, sober nights have given me the chance to book my flights into Myanmar so I suppose it hasn't been all bad. I fly from Bangkok on Friday and I will spend my remaining time there. It's been a long time coming but I'm finally going to Burma!