Hey again I'm in Ko Tao; which be a tiny island paradise where water does not go much below 30c and many coconuts grow. So it's fantastic and scenic and little and friendly with coral reefs and nice beaches and you should all go. I've been scuba diving as well which is incredible - you get a huge rush and feel relaxed at the same time.

Since Khao Sok our group took an insane amount of buses and a ferry to Ko Samui which I for some reason really didn't like. Don't quite know why, we stayed in a fairly nice place by the beach and the town wasn't a bad place I just didn't like any of it. All we did was laze on the beach, have dinner at a restuarant on the beach and then see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 in the evening; that was actaully the highlight of Ko Samui. Maybe I'm being a bit hard on the poor island - it was really pretty though nothing like tao.

Was totally blown away by this island, it's only about 2 miles long, has three villages, about one paved road and it only got 24hr electricity last year. That said it is pretty developed in 2 of the villages and there's a 7/11 supermarket (so it's not that remote). Our group stayed in Sairee beach, which is the best beach I've ever seen, with a coral reef about 20m offshore and nice sand and a peaceful row of restaurants and huts at the back. We went on a snorkelling trip round the island on the second day and due to Krysten's poor suncreaming (and my own) we both got badly sunburnt on our backs. I was itching really badly for two days and have started peeling today (yay...). Anyway my group left for Bangkok on the 11th (was very sad, will hopefully see them again). Two stayed behind with me but the guy we picked up for the second leg creeps me out loads so I ran away to the next village and booked onto a PADI open water dive course; basically one of the best things I've ever done. I'm diving with Easy Divers, my instructor is great fun and there's a really laidback feel to the whole thing even though they are actually very professional (thankfully). My group are 3 Germans and a Swiss guy and we all get on really well, which is a relief.

On the first day we met and watched a video about how to dive basically. Yesterday we did some academic stuff and then went out on the boat for our first dive. Some schools do it in a swimming pool but the waters are so clear and calm we did it in the sea and practiced skills like mask clearing and what to do if you run out of air - it's not actually that scary. Today we did two dives on the coral reefs, went down to 12 metres (which is a lot deeper than I thought it would be) saw moray eels, nemo's!, angel fish, puffer fish, giant clams and all sorts of weird fish and coral formations. I seem to be getting the hang of it quite well though I still have trouble with staying neutral in the water and not shooting up high and then almost crashing back down into coral. Was also "attacked" by a cleaner fish who seemed to think my ears were very dirty.

Now I must go back to my gecko infested bungalow and sleep for tomorrow I dive to 18 metres and get certified as a trained diver. Thinking about doing the advanced course afterwards as well. Will put photos up at some point soon. See ya.