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Published: September 20th 2007
Night dive
Headed out to swim with the fish of the nightI wanted to give Ko Tao a separate entry because I loved it so much. Left it yesterday but you nearly feel like one of the locals because it's so small & the people were so friendly. I went to Koh Tao on my own to learn to dive. I'd been looking forward to it for so long so it was great to do it in such a beautiful place & not to forget the nice warm ocean.....the Atlantic ocean doesn't exactly lure you in the same way.
I stayed in a small village called Chalok......away from the more bustling town of Sairee. There was such a relaxed, laid-back feeling there....like you're cut-off from the rest of the world cause the only world there is diving. Hadn't a clue what was going on in the world around me. I rented a nice bungalow that was up high & looked out on to the bay of Chalok....so saw some beautiful sunsets......yeah was too tired to make it up for sunrise.....between reading & diving I was amazed at how tired I was in the evenings.
I was recruited by a tout on the boat who brought me to a diving school
Chalok, Koh Tao
As the bay goes to sleep called Big Bubble. There I did my Open Water PADI course. I wasn't feeling particularly confident diving after I finished this...thought I would end doing harm to myself or someone else..... like neutral buoyancy....what's that?? ...but I was down for a fun dive after the course so I planned to do that & then head back to meet the others on Koh Phangan.
But that wasn't the case.....I had the coolest most chilled instructor ever that completely changed my experience of diving & after this fun dive I was hooked......I would be swimming along after him, revelling in the fact that you can breathe....function underwater, while hovering there in the ocean looking around at this underwater secret garden. It was so fantastic!! The fish were so colourful & varied. On that dive we went down to a 30 meters depth & saw grey reef sharks. They were beautiful....& it's always good when they're not particularly interested in eating you!! So I continued on with this instructor & my buddy to do the advanced open-water diving & it was so much fun. We went diving at night time.....torches in hand & it was so great rising up from the water
JP Resort
My view over the bay from my top of house room.... in a quiet bay with only the stars lighting up the sky. Could definitely stay in the water for an eternity now!! May need a sponcer to keep me supplied with air-tanks.
At night it was strange being on my own at first but then neighbours moved in so it was great having someone to natter away to at night. One of my French neighbours very kindly left me his snorkel & mask when he left so all I need now are the fins!! Then 2 lovely Irish people moved in...I didn't realise how much Irish people talked until I met these two.... it was lovely talking to people from home!!
Okay I best go. We're here in Bangkok for the last time & I'm excited about going to Australia tomorrow......landed in Perth with no itinery as yet....but sad to be leaving South-east Asia. It was so enjoyable & can't imagine being somewhere that is so like home....in that everyone speaks English fluently. Time is up here so Bon Voyage from Thailand. Koh Tao is a must see & experience destination.
Love Alison 😊
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