I left Phi Phi the afternoon after camping. I went to Koh Lanta for some chilling out time but when I got there I saw that it was a little bit too quiet. My bungalow was gorgeous but most of the restaraunts had shut down because it was out of season & so I had to walk ages just to find somewhere to eat. Also the beach didn't compare to Phi Phi & I only stayed there one night before heading to Krabi. Krabi wasn't much better & I was a bit ill again so I didn't have much fun there either. I thought I might go back to Koh Tao as I loved it there but only stayed 2 nights so I set off the next afternoon. It was a long overnight boat journey & we were all cramped into these tiny beds, but at least we had beds. Found out later that those boats have often sank in the past. Ha ha lucky that didn't happen.

On the way over I met this guy called Dave who wanted to go diving while he was there so I recommended the company I did my Discover Scuba course with. I had no intention of doing the PADI course myself but he kept on & then all the instructors I knew said I should so reluctantly I signed up. We were lucky in that we had one instructor, Helen & one assistant instructor, Olaf fo just me & Dave so we got a lot of attention (which I needed!). The first thing we had to do was a swim test which was my first challenge - I hate getting in the water out in the open sea! I was good at the skills because I'd done a lot of them with G on my last course but I freaked out a bit when they threw food in the sea so all the fish came around. I was a scuba diver that didn't like fish.

The first proper dive really scared me at Shark Bay, not because there were sharks but because the visibility was bad & we had to do some more skills. It's a bit different doing them at 5 metres & then at 18 metres when you can't see a lot. Once we got to the bottom though & started seeing all the life I calmed down a bit. The second dive was amazing, visibility was great & I enjoyed it loads more. Me & Dave passed the theory exam with flying colours & all that was left was to do the last two big dives this morning. One was a dive site in the middle of nowhere. I still panicked when getting in the water, it's the big step you have to take off the boat & you don't know what's beneath you. I cried a little bit (worst scuba diver ever ha ha!) Then I hate all the bobbing around on the surface before you go down. Once again I was fine when we got down there, Helen was really great with me.

The dive was amazing but the last one was the best. We came up to the surface on the last one & saw another dive team out who said they'd seen a whale shark. We were gutted we didn't see it but then Helen shouted to swim as fast as we could to a certain point so I swam as fast as I could but still didn't see it, it was gone. Then I got out of the water first (as usual coz I don't like floating on the surface), I'd just got all my kit off when Helen shouted "back in the water, it's come back". So without even thinking about it I ran & was going to jump but a man stopped me to take my weight belt off (that would have been a tragedy, would've gone straight to the bottom!) So then I jumped in with nothing but a mask on & started swimming with all I had. After swimming with all the equipment on; fins & a buoyancy jacket etc, swimming without it was really hard & I got really tired & started panicking & swallowing lots of saltwater. Luckily I saw Olaf who still had his dive gear on so I shouted to him & he come over to keep me afloat & give me some of his air. But still hadn't seen it! We stayed there until I'd got my breath back, then I looked under water & it swam right past us! It was amazing, absolutely huge, it's the biggest fish on earth. It was against the rules but Olaf took me under with both of us breathing out of just his tank so I could see it closer & we followed it for a bit. Then we saw a reef shark! It was about 2 metres long which I'd think was huge normally but after the whale shark it seemed tiny! Then we surfaced & he had to tow me back to the boat because I was too exhausted to swim. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Some divers go their whole life without seeing one. Helen has been diving for 20 years & it's only the second one she's ever seen. We were so lucky to see it on our open water course & it was the perfect end to it. Big celebrations tonight where Helen lives over the other side of the island.

I really loved the diving & I'm so glad I did it but I don't think I'll do it anytime again soon. I get myself worked up too much & it tires me out. Also I've pretty much seen the ultimate now so there's no need to do anything else ha ha! Helen said I did great, considering at the start of the course I was frightened of tiny fish & now I'm swimming with whale sharks & sharks. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

I'm going for a nap because I'm still exhausted from my swimming. Beers all round tonight. Love you all...x