Scuba Diving and Sunbathing
Trip Start
Feb 17, 2010
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11
27
Trip End
Feb 23, 2011
Koh Tao, Thailand
Monday, March 22, 2010
What was meant to be the one of the highlights of my trip started off the worst possible way! After the 12 hour bus journey to Chumphon, we had about an hour to wait at the pier for the boat to arrive. I went to the wee shop for about 6 min to use the internet, and in the process managed to get my awesome camera stolen!!! I was soooo mad!
However I live and learn and I have insurance so it is not the end of the world. It just means my pictures will be few and far between until I buy another one.
After 2 days of chilling on the beach I thought that it was highly likely that I would get bored just chilling out for the 10 days I planned to stay here, so I signed up for a PADI Open Water Scuba Diving course – which allows me to scuba dive anywhere in the world!
It was expensive for me (about £180) but this is the cheapest place in the world to learn, elsewhere it can cost around £500, but I thought sack it, you only live once, and it will keep me occupied for the next 4 days!
The course was pretty straight forward, the hardest bit for me was the 200m swim followed by 10min treading water – I am not a strong swimmer, but I managed to complete this task with ease! Going underwater for the first time was quite freaky but really cool at the same time! I couldn't believe the number of fish down there swimming around you without a care in the world! It was such a beautiful place and yet somewhere that is usually hidden away from human eyes! It was also really peaceful, with a great sense of stillness as you gently glide through the clear warm water surrounded by the glory of creation 18metres under the sea!
Any concerns or doubts I had about doing the course at the start were completely dispersed, it was worth every penny! Especially since now when I get to Australia, NZ and central America I will be already qualified to do fun dives…. Money permitting!
I head to Koh Pangnan for 1 day on the 30th for the legendary full moon party, before coming back here for a day to recover and collect my luggage and then head back to Bangkok to buy a new camera and then go on to Cambodia.
More entries coming soooon!
Mark
