We're still in Ko Toa having moved to a different part of the island on Sairee beach but we're thinking of staying for another couple of nights before moving on to somewhere else. We were looking to head to Ko Samet and Ko Chang, two small islands South of Bangkok, but after a bit of research they sound like mini Ko Samui's so a wide berth is required.
So we're at a bit of a cross roads right now; we could either go back over to the East and head to Phi Phi, or we could head up North to do a bit of trekking - decisions decisions ;0). Kev and I will only be travelling together for another couple of weeks as Laura is coming over to see Kev on 13th Oct so we'll be travelling solo for a bit, meeting up again in Vietnam to finish off South East Asia.
Yesterday I finished my 2 day advanced scuba diving course which means I can dive to 30m. The course was purely practical, no classroom work and 5 dives in total. On the first day we took part in 3 dives. The first dive was all about buoyancy and we had to carry out a few exercises such as swimming through a small square without touching the sides. The second was navigational with a few exercises again using a compass and getting back to the boat. The third was a night dive which was the most memorable dive of the day.
On the night dive we caught the dive boat at about 6.30pm just as the sun was going down and it was practically pitch black when we got into the sea. There were 5 of us with our instructor, all armed with torches and a bit of apprehension to boot. To be honest I was pretty shit scared but it didn't take long to settle down. In terms of wildlife, we didn't see much except a few sting rays and barracuda but it was a totally surreal experience being underwater in the dark. Just before surfacing, we all got in a circle on the ocean floor and switched our torches off. We all waved our arms around for bit and there was a fantastic light show with all of the plankton and spores lighting up - that was probably the best bit of the dive. Surfacing was a bit hairy as the sea was pretty choppy and it was hard to see the boat and each other but fortunately we all got out of the water safely. Pleased I've done it but I don't think I'll be bothered about doing another night dive.
Yesterday we had the two best dives to date. There were only 3 of us, myself, Craig and our instructor, Gannon. The first dive was the deep dive where we were due to descend below 18m for the first time. We actually went to 28m which is only 2m off the allowed limit so we were pretty deep. The ocean changes so much with just a few extra metres and we saw all sorts of different wildlife. Mainly, I finally got to see a turtle; a green turtle about 1m long, he was huge! The second dive was called a naturalist dive which essentially entailed us doing whatever we wanted with Craig and I leading the dive. We saw all sorts of stuff again including sting rays, a sea snake and loads of obscure smaller fish including a box fish and a few clown fish. For me, the best thing about the last two dives was that I finally sorted out my buoyancy to the point where I was just hanging weightlessly looking at all of the weird plants and animals; awesome!
In the afternoon Kev and I endured another Thai boxing session after having a look around the island on mopeds. To be fair, I could hardly walk after the last session as my calf muscles have pretty much ceased to function but I went for it anyway. I found the second session miles harder than the first, even the 10 minute skipping session at the start has us sweating buckets. The little bastard instructor really pushed me, he knew I had nothing left in the tank but he kept laughing and making work harder - fair play to him. Think I'm going to have a day off today and have one more session tomorrow.
I think it's about time for me to catch a few rays now. I might even treat myself to a massage after a session in the gym (Mother, it'll be a nice old Thai lady not a 'special massage' in case you're worried :0). Can't be arsed doing much tonight as I'm still tired after a good few days of exercise but I get the feeling it's time to move on from Ko Toa
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2 comments:
HI babes sounds like you having a really crap time- ya bastard. I ve just typed this message once then lost it so here we go again. Glad to hear all is good. Work still pretty shite for me but hey i just luuuvve a challenge!!! Can you save all these blog inserts you have been writing cause its a great diary for you to remeber this experience by and you could write a book when you get back?? Glad to hear, you know who is coming over, wink wink nudge nudge. We ve been back to casualty today- this time with me, i ve split my head open. Its glued back together now, dont you think I ve been with ste too long!!! Take care lovie and look adfter each other. Love us three twisted ones x x x
Thanks Sue, you should really try to sort yourselves out to be honest, it's like the clumsy family, you've all caught 'the clumse' fropm Steve. Take care x
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