I arrived in Ko Tao after a trip from Bangkok I'd rather forget. I'd not slept the whole way from Bangkok to Chumphon as I was sat next to a rather overpoweringly smelly Thai man, so I figured I could sleep on the boat ride across to the island. I thought wrong. You know it's going to be bad when they hand out sick bags before the boat has even left the harbour. I thought i'd be fine "Pahhh sea sick....yeah I don't get that," OH HOW WRONG I WAS! Yup I spent the next 2 hours throwing my guts up over the sides of the catarman, which resembled more of a nightmare rollercoaster than something that went on the sea. I'm going to go ahead and say about 80% of the boat was sick. After that the only piece of advice I've got it do not get the catarman between islands in Thailand!

So Big Blue was my home for the next 10 nights. It is a beautiful dive school right on Sairee beach on Ko Tao's west coast and it was love at first sight. I loved the beach, the people, the place.....but not the bed bugs the little critters! After we'd had our first little 'disaggreement' which involved me chasing these bugs round my room for around an hour and then giving up and just changing my sheets, it was fine.

I started my SSI Open Water diving course on the first day I arrived, which took me four days to complete. I had a really good diving group and instructors (we had 2 because we were so big) who we had a lot of banter with. I enjoyed going out with them as well as going out with the English girls I'd met. Kim, Hannah, Helen and Lynn had moved out to Ko Tao 3 months ago. They'd been previously and done a diving course but had loved it so much they saved up money and went back to stay on the island and further their diving qualifications. I'd met them on one of my first nights and they were so friendly they adopted me for nearly 2 weeks!! These guys were the reason I nearly stayed as we had so much fun going out & dressing up for a ladies night out (I used hair straightners for the first time in 2 months!!!!!!!!) or just chilling out watching movies at their appartment!

Because I loved this place so much and enjoyed diving I went on to do my 30m dive so I can now go down and recreationally dive to 30 metres in Cairns which is the reason why I got my qualification in the first place.

Leaving this island was the hardest place I've had to leave so far, if I hadn't have had my accomodation booked in Ko Phagnan then I would have stayed here for the rest of my time in Thailand.....I've actually still got a message saved to mum on my phone telling her i'm staying and hopes she won't be mad that i'm not going to Aus haha! Granted I wrote it when I was drunk but the girls were all up for having me move into their appartment and join their little family out there. Shame I didn't have a camera at this point to show you a picture of how beautiful this island is, my time diving and pictures of all the people I was with..... GOD DAMN OLYMPUS CAMERA! I'm still not done cursing that camera yet!

After my tearful bon voyage to Ko Tao I met Jay and Dave (two brothers I was travelling with on my trip) and we got the biggest boat possible over to Ko Phag-nan, NO WAY was I getting back on a catarman ever in my life!! I think my specific words to Dave when he booked it, get us on the biggest boat you can find hahaha!

Lots of love from the beautiful paradise that is Ko Tao, my adventures continue round the coast of Thailand.........

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