- Koh Tao

Think I'll make this update a little bit more detailed for once and it will be more focused on me! 1: Because I'm more important anyway 2: Because Nix did absolutely nothing for 7days. ha ha

Well we arrived in Koh Tao by boat which took about 5hrs in total and we couldn't believe it... it was sunny!! Straight away we knew where we were going, as Koh Tao was the last place we had been before having to get an emergency flight back home. We headed straight to Seashell diving resort. We got a bungalow and I got the 4day padi diving course for 9800 baht incl accom (Just under £200). Admittedly, the bungalow was an absolute sweat box and was probably just bigger than my garden shed, but it would do.

I started my diving course the next day; I had to watch a few DVD's and do a couple of quiz's which took about 4hrs. The bloke who runs the dive centre said that I was the only person doing the course that day, but if I wanted to, I could wait a day and start the open water diving with 3 others who were doing it. Seeing as it would be more fun learning and diving with other people and obviously me being competitive as I am, I decided to have a day off and join when they had finished day one. We went boozing that night obviously.

The next day me and Nix went to the beach which our hotel pretty much sat on, and messed about in the pool - standard holiday stuff.

I met the rest of the divers in the morning; the instructor 'Sedrick' (the master diver), 2 German girls called Katja and Sandra and a French Lad called Jean-Phillip. All of them were a good laugh and we got along really well. It was an early start for a holiday (about 8ish). Jean-Phillip was my diving buddy which means we were to dive together and always stay in close proximity underwater. Pretty much the whole day we went through the diving drills and underwater scenarios... no problem!

The next day it was again another early start, few more DVD's to watch, theory and more exams.. and then we were set to go out on the boat to do proper diving... no more of the gayboy confined water stuff. We set the equipment up ourselves and had our buddy check over everything again. We were to dive at Japanese Gardens, a dive site just off the Sairee' Beach. All set, we jumped into the sea and swam to the buoy line. I have to admit it was a strange feeling on the first descent but it only took a minute to get used to it. I descended as quick as a falling stone... as I knew I would.. I just sink!! Jean-Phillip had a problem equalizing as he had a sensitive ear and one of the girls panicked a little but within a minute or so they were fine. The dive itself was pretty straight forward; we went down to 12m and did a few more exercises underwater, like taking the regulator out of your mouth and practicing an out of air situation and also taking your mask off under water. We saw loads of fish and it was pretty damn amazing! Also, our instructor almost got bitten by 2 territorial Trigger fish! That would have been one good first dive!

After that dive we did one other dive that day to 12m, and followed by two other dives the next day to 16m and 18m. They were all the same pretty much, just different location but all quality; I think the best one on the course was the 4th one.

I got my PADI qualification on the fourth day! The next day, me and Jean-Phillip went out on another two fun dives just because it was only £30, and because we could. Those 2 were the best - a lot better than the course dives! Again, we went to Japanese Gardens and another place called White Rock. That night we went to the brilliant ladyboy cabaret show; Jean came along too and so did an Irish couple Nix had probably forced herself upon when she was by the pool! To be fair they seemed friendly enough. Jean got pulled up on stage at the start of the show. I don't know what it is but ladyboy's seem to love me.. it's probably my blonde hair and blue eyes, my handsomely good looks and my defined bum chin... but even so inevitably I got pulled up on stage too........ that's the third time! It was a hilarious show!

After 7 days in Koh Tao, we left for Koh Phangan!