Koh Tao, Thailand: 8-16th March 2011

We arrived on Koh Tao and checked into our hotel which we had booked for the first night only, on the assumption that we would find a dive school pretty easily on the beach, which we did. There are lots of places to choose from and if you decide to do a course or sign up for a dive you get a preferential rate on the rooms. We chose "Coral Grand Dive Resort" which was nicely situated at the quieter far end of the beach. The accommodation is basic but clean and very similar to the hut we stayed in in Goa.

The beach we're staying on at Koh Tao (Sairee beach) is a long thin beach with dive schools and accommodation facing the water. The beach itself is sandy but has a strip of pretty sharp shingle between the sand and the water. Once you are in the water though it is lovely and sandy and the water is pretty calm. Late afternoon the tide moves exposing a bit more of the sand which is nice for strolling.

The weather is hot, hot, hot but we have had a sharp rain/thunder shower most days. Luckily we have pretty much managed to miss them and when they come they only last for about half an hour so its a nice break from the intense heat.

So, we signed up to do the PADI open water scuba diving course. What a shock to the system, its like being back at school. Study books at the ready and an impeding exam in 4 days time! This isn't what this trip was supposed to be about.

Ok, drama over, it wasn't that bad. We did get study books and had some classroom sessions (and some homework!!), but it was mostly common sense stuff plus a little bit of technical blurb on nitrogen levels in your body etc. The diving was so much fun though and after the initial nerves we both loved it. It was a fairly intense 4 days but we both passed with flying colours so big celebrations afterwards and big hangover the following day!! Was it worth it? - Yes indeed!!

So we have now done 4 dives with an accumulated dive time of 2 hours 45 mins. The time passes so quickly when you are under the water. I guess its a combination of pretty intense concentration plus the fascination of exploring a whole new world!

Our first dive was all about buoyancy and and finding your own neutral buoyancy under water (ie - not sinking or floating). Surprisingly its more difficult to sink that I thought it would be! We both managed to float up to the surface when we should have been firmly planted on the seabed 12 meters below sea level!! After finding our way back to the bottom and a bit of practice we both managed to level out and by the second dive we managed to avoid the yo-yo impersonations that we were doing so successfully on the first dive.

We also had to practice some "skills" we learnt in the pool like finding your breathing regulator if it falls out, putting your mask back on and clearing it of water if it falls off, sharing air, emergency ascents etc. All pretty important stuff. The 3rd dive was a bit more of the same but this time we went to 18 meters which is the maximum we can go to on this course. The last dive was all about fun though - as well as exploring a new dive site we did some somersaults, blew bubble rings and other random stuff.

There is a huge variety and quantity of fish in Koh Tao but I won't bore you to death on what we saw. One of the other dive groups spotted a Whale Shark but we weren't that lucky. I guess I can sum it up by saying it was an incredible experience and we are really looking forward to doing some more dives in Australia. We have also started planning a long weekend in Egypt for when we get back!! Its a tough life.

So, we have been in Koh Tao for 7 nights now and leave tomorrow (16th) to head back north to Bangkok on the overnight train and then start up the northern line to Ayutthaya (the ancient Thai capital), see a bit more of Thailand then drop down through Laos and Cambodia to southern Vietnam. We are very excited about the next leg as we should get to see some pretty amazing sights.

No more beaches for a few weeks so a bit more sunbathing and maybe some more snorkelling today before we leave. You will be pleased to know the tans are coming along nicely. Slight problem with the underwater camera though, after Dan taking it snorkelling yesterday it appears to have packed up. Slightly annoying as we only bought it 2 months ago at Heathrow! I knew those Prada sunglasses were a much better buy!!

Well that's all for now. Keep in touch, we miss you all (but not the weather!!). xx