We finally found a luxury coach in South East Asia that was exactly that! We journied from Bangkok to the harbour in pure luxury - fully reclining velvet seats, blankets, air con, water, toilets and a DVD to watch - it was almost too good to be true....the catamaran ride over to Koh Tao soon put an end to our blissful state as we bumped up and down in our seats for 2 hours. It was worth the journey though when we arrived and set foot on the warm sand and looked around at the scenery and crystal clear sea...this was what we had been looking forward to since setting foot in Thailand. After booking up some diving and dropping our bags off at the guesthouse we hit the beach. It was so good to be able to swim in the sea again and lie on the sand although it didn't take long before we sought out shade. Koh Tao is a small island dotted with beaches, coves and lagoons. It is a major destination for people wanting to dive so as expected there is a mass of dive shops in the main town and people exchanging dive stories in the bars and restaurants. There are so many foreigners working here as instructors all intoxicated with the place and finding it impossible to leave....its pretty easy to see what the draw is as you sit on the famous Thai cushions eating dinner and watching the sun set over the hills and ocean. The diving was pretty good too. Steve undertook his advanced open water course so I left him to it whilst I joined the group for fun dives. The water was so warm, it was like getting into a hot spring and I saw so many fish of all shapes, colours and sizes. Steve meanwhile was studying his book and taking part in various dive exercises to make sure he could float properly and find his way around under the sea...I don't know why he didn't just buy a rubber ring and a map at the local shop...it would have been a lot cheaper! We met up later with Steve all excited about diving and planning his course of action to infiltrate the world of dive instructor. He left as soon as he had arrived to go on a night dive (can't say I'm too enthusiastic about that one) but not before he talked me into completing an adventure deep dive to get certified for 30 metres tomorrow......not looking forward to diving into the murky depths!