So after a very busy last few days we are now both certified divers. When we missed our flight to Phuket we met a dive instructor from Khao Lak called Tuk. He told us about where he worked and that they operated a liveaboard in the Similan Islands, which is, exactly where we wanted to dive. When we arrived, we headed down to see the shop and were very impressed, they were really helpful and explained everything we needed to know, so we booked it on the spot. We were really fortunate as there was only one spot left on the boat but later that day someone dropped out making room for both of us.

The course started with all the necessary theory and basic skills in the pool to get us ready for the actual dives in the sea. It went really well and we seemed to pick it up pretty quickly, although breathing underwater is a little weird at first. The next day was an early start and we were leaving Khao Lak for the islands about 7 o'clock. To get to the Similan's took about 3 hours but as soon as we were there, we were diving straight away. The schedule for the next few days was literally dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, drink and sleep!

We had nine dives in total although you only needed four to get your certification. The first few dives were relatively shallow at 10 - 12 m where we had to practice a few skills and diving fundamentals on the seabed. Once we got those dives out the way the rest were all about exploring the underwater world. As we were now qualified we could dive to 18m although on occasion we got a bit excited and apparently we hit 25m! It was so tranquil underwater and an amazing three days with so much to see. The highlights other than the usual suspects had to be the huge moray eel sneaking up on us, the purple octopus that we spotted, the little nemo's that were everywhere and when we were lucky the green turtles that paid us a visit.

The diving, the islands, the instructors, the food (amazing!!) and the experience was unforgettable. The three days flew past but was jam packed and quickly became one of the best few days of our trip so far. When we got back on land Tuk sorted us out with a place to stay which to date has to be the nicest we've stayed in. We headed out for some farewell drinks with the rest of the divers and ended the night watching a Thai Reggae band at Happy Snapper!

After a very busy and expensive few days we have spent our last days in Thailand just relaxing by the pool. We rented a little moped for the day to see the rest of Khao Lak, although there didn't turn out to be a lot more than the road we were staying on!! We are now waiting for our bus to Bangkok that takes 12 hours, to wait in the airport for 6 hours, to fly 3 hours to Singapore, to then wait 6 hours for our connecting flight and then finally fly to Cairns that only takes another 9 hours! We can't wait!!

Now that it's the end of our time in Thailand and the first stretch of our travels we are looking forward to getting to Oz. After visiting the beautiful Railay and diving in the Similan Islands, we find it hard to believe anything can top it, but with Australia up next, we will hopefully be proved wrong!

Adam & Adam