Koh Tao
On arriving at the boat pier, it is already pretty busy and the heat is absolutely sweltering....assuming positions under the sun shelter we await the arrival of our transport...

And wait...and wait....of course the boat is late! When it finally arrives, there is a rush to get on board (illogical – as with boarding the plane. It can’t leave until we are all on!) We are just pleased to see it looks sea-worthy and is comfy! Our only 2 requirements. The journey is pretty smooth but takes allot longer than we had anticipated! Unfortunately the only entertainment on board is in the form of dodgy Thai Pop music on the large flatscreen tv – complete with dodgy dancing ladyboys. Great! Ipods it is then....

Thankfully we are being picked up at the pier in Koh Tao by our dive resort – little did we realise this would mean squeezing onto one of the diving groups’ pickup trucks – and i really do mean squeeze! Its amazing how many people/how much diving equipment can fit into a very small space...Its a wonder nothing/no one fell off en route. This is clearly the worst time to arrive at the resort as ALL the diving trips of the day are arriving back! The place is absolutely swarming with people unloading diving gear etc. Eventually we are taken to our room, which is really lovely – light and airy with a big balcony. The only downside is that it is right over the bar...no sleep for us then! Andy is booked onto his 3 day PADI openwater course for the following day...so we just kill time for the rest of the day mooching around.

There isn’t much around the resort, just a handful of restaurants, and the beach is only accessible in the afternoon at lowtide. Everything is geared towards diving!
So – I now pass the reins over to Mr B himself for the low down on his scuba diving experience!

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Well, here is my first actual entry into this blog, so bear with me.
What can I say, apart from amazing! The whole experience was once in a lifetime experience, and something I really hope I can continue with in the future.
The first day involved a very early start, playing a little bit of catch up as I had missed the previous nights video due to us arriving late into the ferry terminal. This was followed by a mornings’ worth of theory, where the head diver (Jasper from Denmark) went through the equipment and the essentials such as the relationships between depth, pressure, volume and air usage (divers are actually quite intelligent people!!) After a quick sandwich, we then headed to the pool for the afternoon session. Thus was my first experience of breathing underwater, and it took me a fair old while to accept that every time you breathe out you get lots air bubbles in your face, and that you can NEVER hold your breath!! The whole afternoon was spent going through various exercises such as swapping air regulators, taking your mask off, putting it back and then clearing it, and exercises that were intended to improve your buoyancy. After being in the water for almost four hours, my hands looked like a pair of prunes!!!

The following involved our first actual open water dive. After a brief revision session in the classroom in the morning, we set off at lunchtime for our first dive. After the swimming test (swimming round the dive boat twice- you might laugh but two people in the group failed this part) we then sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Well, I say ocean, it was actually 14m, but it felt very deep. I was surprised with how much I relaxed whilst underwater, and amazed at how your sense of sight becomes heightened as your loose all your other senses. The coral and ocean floor looked amazing, seeing a big array of marine life. After a forty minute dive, we surfaced and went to our second dive sight, which involved a depth of 18m. The site was harder as visibility was worse, and we also had to repeat all of our pool exercise in the open water. Taking off your goggles at 18m whilst wearing contact lenses just felt wrong!! The dive went very well, I was very pleased and knackered by the end of the day.

The flowing day was my third and last day. It started with a very early start, leaving the diving centre at 7.30am to catch the dive boat. That morning there was a massive buzz and excitement amongst the diving masters, as there had been a sighting of a whale shark the previous day. After a 30 minute boat trip to the north the island, we pulled up alongside another 6 boats, it felt like an ocean car park. We quickly performed all our well rehearsed diving checks, and then tumbled into the water. Within 5 minutes at 14 metres, I get a tap on my tank from my diving buddy (that is the only thing you can really hear underwater) and he points. Well, swimming very casually past me, about 5 metres away is a 5 metre whale shark, a sight I will never forget. I hear afterwards that these animals are a threatened species, and it upsets me. It was the most amazing sight I have ever seen, swimming past with shoals of fish in its slipstream, with not a care in the world. Anyway, we also saw many other coral marine life, including many multicoloured fish (as you can see, I have already forgotten their names-oops!!)

The final dive of the day involved a site that was renowned for fish called trigger fish. These animals are very territorial, and we were warned if you see one, point your fins towards then and carefully reverse. Well, our cameraman for the day took all of 1 minute before he was attacked by three of these things, leaving chunks out of his fins-hilarious to watch!!! The dive was our last dive and involved fun activities such as underwater dancing, somersaulting and floating.

I felt such a sense of achievement when I surfaced, knowing that if I passed my theory, I had achieved something I had wanted to do for a while!!

That afternoon involved a 50 question examination, which I actually achieved a 100% in (reminded me of my trampolining examination!) It was then official; I was a PADI Open Water Diver!! Chuffed!!!!

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Whilst Andy is away completing his course, I take the opportunity to do some reading..well, quite a bit of reading as there isn’t really much else to do! Not to mention – we see rain for the first time in a long time, so I am confined indoors! Both of us find it quite strange to be apart doing different things as for the past 6 months we have been together 24/7!

As we have one day together after Andy completes his course, we head to one of the beaches further along the coast – there is hardly anyone else around, the water is lovely and calm and a very welcome relief from the scorching heat! We particularly love the wooden rafts that have been constructed out in the water – perfect for climbing onboard and soaking up the rays! Evening cocktails overlooking the sea to celebrate Andy’s achievement finishes our time on Koh Tao perfectly.

Our stay on the islands in South Thailand has been absolutely blissful. Each island we have visited has had its own special features and experience to offer. We are certain we shall return to some of the islands again one day. Now it is time to return to city living, for our final “backpacking” stop in Bangkok – before the family reunion in HK commences! It will be strange to be back in Bangkok, knowing how much ground we have covered since our last visit, although it will be interesting to see if our opinion of it changes....