Turtle island - the island that sucks you in and keeps you there


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Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Tao
June 12th 2007
Published: August 8th 2007
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fun with tripodsfun with tripodsfun with tripods

Mark the trainee dive master demonstrates the incorrect way to set up a bendy camera tripod
We arrived on Ko Tao the afternoon following the full moon party. Everyone on the boat had also been. Many had not slept or washed the fluorescent paint off from the night before. There were rucksacks and people lying everywhere. Noone was in the mood for the touts trying to get you into their guest house / dive school. Luckily we had been tipped off about the Buddah View dive school.

Ko Toa is a small island, not much more than 21 square km. Tao is the thai word for turtle as the island kind of looks like a turtle. The dive sites are excellent and we got to see reef sgharks, hawkbill turtles, moray eels and countless fish. We stayed on the south beach at Buddah View Dive school. It was always one of my plans to get certified to dive on this trip, and this was the best chance to do it. The open water course started the following day and lasted for 4 days. We started in the swimming pool before being taken out into the ocean to dive 5 times in 3 days (including a 7.30am start on the final morning - which was filmed). It
the open water teamthe open water teamthe open water team

celebrating PADI certification after the course

the open water team
celebrating PADI certification after the coursewas a fantastic experience and the plan was then to leave to go to Ko Samui. Plans change.

After the open water course had finished we stayed an extra couple of days and did 2 fun dives. Still we had no inclination to leave, so we signed up for the advanced open water course, the next level of certification that allows you to dive to 30m. This lasted for 2 days and involved 5 dives in a 24 hr period, including a night dive with uber torches.

13 days with 11 dives was the diving side of the story: the rest is Buddah View. Every evening there is a fresh seafood BBQ that keeps you going back for more. There is a team a dive master trainees who seem to be keeping the Tiger brewing company in business. 2 assisted us on our open water (see photo below). Every day was fantastic, every night was fantastic. The weather was fantastic and the place was fantastic. We intended to stay for 4 nights and ended up there for 13. If it hadn't been necessary to extend the visa we would still be there, but that's the next story......




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17th June 2007

uber torches
I wonder where you can purchase an "uber torch"? It sounds like just the kind of thing any self respecting man should have at their disposal! :-)

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