Hey Everyone!

We're now on Koh Samui but thought we'd update you about our amazing two day stay on Koh Tao. We arrived on Saturday morning and, after being told in Bangkok that the rooms on Koh Tao started at 1500 baht per night (or £30 in your terms), had booked to check in at our hotel in Koh Samui on Monday. We immediately regretted this when a representative from Ban's Dive Resort offered us a room for 500 baht per night, with further reductions if we went diving. Kie had been thinking about undertaking his PADI diving certificate but had dismissed the idea when we were told the rooms were so expensive, as the course is done over four days. Obviously when he found out the price of the room he was gutted and instantly decided he wanted to do a dive, although it wouldn't be towards any certificate. He tried to persuade Sophie to go with him the following day but, as she didn't like the idea of relying on an oxygen tank to breathe, she declined. We decided that Kie would do a day of diving and that we would go on a snorkelling tour of the island together tomorrow instead.

With a renewed determination to dive, Kie set off to find a dive school that may be able to fit him onto a DSD (Discover Scuba Diving) course. Luckily he found Seashell Divers who managed to give him a quick safety briefing and got him onto the 12.30pm boat where he met his instructor, Jo, who gave him a more detailed briefing en route to the dive. At the dive site he was kitted up and off into the water he went! After swimming into shore and practicing all of the skills he would need to complete his dive, his instructor led him towards the dive site of Twin Rocks. Here he saw an array of fish including; Bat Fish, Clown Fish (Nemo), Angel Fish, Butterfly Fish, Parrot Fish and a few eels, while diving to the deepest depth of 12m. Once back on the boat he was informed that there would be a second dive, which was optional for an extra 1300 baht, this time at White Rock. He decided he couldn't resist as, on top of enjoying the first dive so much, he was told, at this site, there were rays and the chance of seeing a turtle. He eagerly returned to the water and fought the current to get to the dive site where he started the descent, this time not having to practice the skills beforehand. When he was at about 10m the instructor turned to him and did the hand signal for turtle, before he knew it the turtle was about 3 inches from his face!! As this dive didn't have the skills practice it lasted an extra 10 minutes (45 minutes in total) seeing much of the same fish as well as large barracuda, a few rays and, of course, the turtle. Once back on dry land he received the good news that the first dive could be used towards his PADI certificate if he decides to do it in the future and was given a card to prove this. Jo said he should definitely think about doing so, as he was a natural in the water!

The following day we woke up early and made our way to reception where we were picked up by our taxi and taken to Diamond Tours. Here we were given our snorkelling kit consisting of mask, snorkel and fins; we then boarded a boat with at least 40 other people and headed towards our first snorkelling point of Shark Bay where, as the name suggests, there is a possibility of seeing Black-Tip Sharks. Unfortunately the sea was rather choppy and visibility was quite poor so we didn't really get to see a whole lot and there was no sign of any Black-Tip Sharks. After swallowing half the sea water and being thrown around by the tide, Sophie was less than impressed and instantly questioned her reasoning for going on the tour! However, all was to change.

At Hin Wong Bay, our second stop, we were pointed towards an area cordoned off by a rope, which showed where the coral was and stopped boats from entering and dropping anchor. Here visibility was much better, the water was totally calm and we managed to see so many different kinds of beautifully coloured fish. This gave Sophie a better feel for snorkelling and she was off on her own exploring the underwater world! After a snack of fruit we reached Mango Bay, billed as the best snorkelling site on Koh Tao, and it didn't disappoint. As soon as we entered the water, we were surrounded by hundreds of fish. The captain and his crew started throwing pineapple into the water which attracted hundreds more fish so Kie grabbed a piece of pineapple and started hand-feeding them! After taking lots of photos we jumped back on the boat for some lunch and headed towards our final stop of the day, Nang Yuan Island, a privately owned island where we had to pay 100 baht each just to enter. There is only one guesthouse here and one restaurant which, of course, means the prices are high for both! The beach here is also where Kie had performed his scuba diving skills the day before and was very close to Twin Rocks, thus providing plenty of different kinds of fish. Although many of our fellow passengers used the two hours to sunbathe, we were straight back into the water to snorkel and headed out as far as we could to see the bigger fish! This must be a first; Sophie would rather swim than sunbathe!!! The two hours flew by and before we knew it we were back on the boat heading towards the hotel for our evening meal and an early night after an exhausting day!!!!!

Overall we fell in love with Koh Tao and were gutted to leave. Lesson learnt; don't listen to corrupt Government tourist offices who are only trying to take you for every penny you've got!!! Just an example of this; we were quoted 24,000 baht for two weeks travel and accommodation and were told this is the cheapest we would get it. We've managed to do the same for roughly two thirds of the price! We're now on Koh Samui which, at present, doesn't compare to Koh Tao but we'll update you about our four night stay once we're done!

Lots of love Sophie and Kie xx