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Published: June 14th 2007
Hello again, this time from Koh Tao. Since we last updated you we have continued on down the coast towards Malaysia. We had decided that we wanted to go to Ban Krut, a little beach town where we had seen a nice looking hostel on the internet. We couldnt get there in one journey from Hua Hin so we stopped over in Pratchuap Kiri Khan for the night. Not much to report there it was a little fishing town we didnt bother exploring too much. We had some dinner at a restaurant next to the hotel we found. It was funny because the English menu wasn't translated very well, so you got choices like 'fresh seasonal' and other nonsense. We tried to ask whether it was fruit or vegatables but didn't get much luck. So we tried to show them that we wanted fresh vegetables by pointing to the fresh seasonal option and then trying to combine it with vegetable soup. She nodded like she understood what we meant but then we got vegetable soup and a big plate of fresh seasonal fruit. Oh well. We ate it anyway.
Next morning we caught the train to Ban Krut and
took a motorbike taxi to the hostel/resort. The place was beautiful. The only problem was it was near empty. When we arrived we met an Australian guy, David (Hi David!) who greeted us with "Ah, people!". At that point he was the only person staying there after a german couple had left the day before. The place was huge as well - over 200 beds including dorms. Unfortunately we didnt have much money on us and the nearest cash machine was 20km away. The hostel rented out mopeds so i hired one and set off to try and find it. Stupidly i didnt really learn the way before i set off. I had a quick look at a map and then set off but after passing a few junctions i completely forgot where to go. After riding around for about an hour and a half, and running low on petrol i ended up in the middle of a big industrial estate and asked some guys in a security office where it was. Luckily one of them must have been bored becasue he hopped on his bike and showed me where it was. I wasn't that far off actually but i
needed to fill the tank up again. It only cost about 2 quid to fill it so i filled his aswell. When i finally got back 2 and a half hours later i think Donna was thinking the worst as it should only have taken about an hour!
The next few days we spent relaxing round the pool and on the beach beds. Eating, lounging, eating, drinking, talking, sleeping. Thats about all really. Lovely! The place was really well kept and the beach huts and gardens leading down to the beach were nice. They had a mini basketball court and table tennis. There were loads of lizards and birds and squirells, probably because it was so quiet. All this for only 3 quid a night.
David left us one day, maybe friday? Cant remember the days anymore. He was going the opposite direction back towards to Bangkok. We stayed one more night and then headed off the next day to Chumphon. We had to stay the night before we could catch the boat to Koh Tao in the morning. Chumphon is nothing special, the book describes it as transport hub to get the islands but we didnt stay
long enough to check it out. Of course we scouted out the only KFC in the village and had us some fried chicken.
The boat to Koh Tao was a high speed Catamaran and only took about an hour and half. As soon as we arrived we were bombarded with diving offers and TAXI, TAXI, TAXI. I think there must be more taxi drivers per square mile then anywhere on Earth. Its funny you see them on a night time laid on the back off there pick up trucks and when they see you coming they all pop up there heads 'Taxi?'. Donna thinks they lay like that seductively to entice you in. Im not so sure. We settled on Crystal Dive resort. We had seen it when we were in Hua Hin and it looked pretty good so we jumped right in (ha!).
We decided to go for the PADI Openwater course, which would take 4 days to complete and included 4 dives at 12 and 18 metres and we also got really cheap accomodation as we were diving with them. Once that is completed you can dive anywhere and it is also a qualification to dive
to 18 metres.
So the next day we began our course, there was 6 of us including our instructer and the day was spent watching dvd's and filling in workbooks and learning the theory. The dvd's were very bad and so boring it was hard to stay awake. The next day we did more of the same and also did confined water training in a really deep swimming pool. We had to get used to breathing underwater and controlling our bodies, flooding our mask with water and clearing it again so that you dont have to surface. That was really good you just breathe in and blow out through you nose and the air pushes the water out of the mask, also we had to learn how to set up all the equipment. That night we went for dinner to this really nice place on the beach where you sit on beanbags and your surrounded by candles it was lovely. We ate with a woman from Finland called Kaisa and Simon from Germany. The food was really nice, and there were people with chains or sticks with the ends on fire doing funky moves to music, well they were
good too. A huge cricket landed on Lauries top and i think he broke the poor things leg by batting it off, i think it gave him a little fright but he will probably never admit it but i seen the terror in his eyes haha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The next day we had our test which we both passed and we were ready for open water dive number 1. We were so excited so we got all our equipment ready (FINS, WETSUITS, MASK AND BCD) and we were ready to get on the boat. When the boat stopped and we were getting on our weight belts and oxygen tanks which are so heavy, and we were ready to go. We had to hold our belt, hold in our regulator ( thats what you breath from) and our mask and jump in the sea, as soon as your in the water you inflate your BCD untill your ready to descend.
It was amazing, its quite hard to get used to swimming with fins but apart from that it was great. We saw corals and lots of fish and were down there for about 40 minutes at 12 metres. Our ears were
popping like mad but it was not painful so we were ok. You have to keep equalizing the pressure in your ears and sinuses by holding your nose and blowing into it. Unfortunately i (Laurie) had problems with my sinuses. When we first descended it felt like a dull pain in my forehead but on the first dive it was not too bad. We practiced some of the skills on the sea floor and went for a cruise around before we surfaced. We then had an hour to change air tanks while the boat moved to the second dive spot. When we descended on the second dive i couldnt get down as the pain in my head was building and building as i went deeper. That was the end of the diving for me (I'll tell you more later). Donna was ok though and carried on down so ill let her tell you more. I had to demonstrate the skills we were shown in order to pass the course and then we just enjoyed the underwater life, which is just fantastic just like swimming in a huge aquarium. The next day we dove to 18 metres which was even better
so much more fish to see i just wanted to go deeper and deeper but its not allowed untill you do the advanced course. It was gutting not to be able to experiance it with Laurie but he will give it some time and maybe finish the course at another place. I saw barracuda and huge shoals of beautiful tropical fish, there was also 4 sharks circling underneath us but could not see as we could not go that deep but the cameraman swam down and the footage is on the dvd that i will buy when im at home online. It is addictive you just want to do it again and again. There was eels, sea snakes, puffer fish, angel and triggerfish, i cannot remember all the names. Im so glad i did it as it was scary being that deep but the scenery made up for that and it was something i will never forget.
I had another dive to complete which was also excellent and there you have it i am now an open water PADI Diver. We watched the dvd later that night which is really good, its quite expensive to buy so will just
wait till i get home till i get it. I think my phobia of deep water is definitely over now and at least me and Laurie can go snorkelling and swimming without me freaking out!!!
So I (Laurie) am proper gutted that i couldnt finish the dives. I went out on the boat to try again at the fourth dive and Leran, our instructor, was going to take me out after the rest had finished and do a shore dive so i could have completed the four you need. Unfortunately i couldn't descend again, the pain or pressure in my sinuses was too much. Nobody can tell for sure exactly what the cause is because i dont feel like i have a cold or bunged up. I took decongestion tablets beforehand but still no joy. Simon who we met out here is a doctor back in Germany, thinks that if i dont have a cold it may be just the way my nasal passage is. Maybe it is very narrow as it enteres the sinuses. I am going to go to a dive doctor tomorrow before we leave to see what they say. Hopefully i can continue where i
left off at another place. I had been looking forward to it for ages so im gutted but these things happen.
To celebrate the end of the course me, Donna, Kaisa and the rest of the Dive crew went on a bit of a mad one round a few bars in Koh Tao. The nightlife is pretty good here considering its low season in the rest of Thailand and we drunk our fair share of lager and cocktails until the early hours.
Tomorrow we head to Koh Phangan. We wont be there for the full moon party which would have been good but it should still be fun. See ya soon.
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rosie n jay
non-member comment
wow
wow, those photos are just amazing it looks like paradise, id have trouble leavin the place if i were you! Was going to pop some ibiza pics up but i dont think our sunset n borabora beach really compare to yours!! haha hope ur well pls email me if you get chance to update you on all here so far properly i dont have ur email address xxxxxx