12. 1-11th Sept. Hello Thailand...hello shark!!

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1/09/07
So the alarm went off at 5.45am, packed my things and said goodbye to Andy. I was outside my guest house by 6.15am so I had 15mins to get to Matt and Amy for where we were getting the taxi to the airport. I knew roughly where they were but being very early and feeling a bit to relaxed I got a motorbike taxi since I didnt feel like rushing. The first place we stopped at was closed and had been for ages but shared the same name as Matt and Amys guest house. Some local lads came over and told me that there was another guest house further down the street that has a similar name. I rung the bell and woke up the people inside but they showed me their log book and Matt and Amy were not on it. By now it was about 6.30am but the bloke in the guest house told me there was another street not that far that had a few names that were all very similar to the one i was looking for. He also told me that he could order a taxi for me to take me to the airport for $9 if I could not find them. I jumped on another motorbike taxi and headed to that different street. Turned out the driver didnt have a clue what guest house I was looking for and i ended up deep in the middle of all the back alleys. He finally got me back at 7.15am where I got in my own taxi and arrived at the airport by 8am. While checking in a girl called Simone fron Austria joined me in the queue and asked if I could look after her luggage while she went to the toilet. We checked in together seeing that her suitcase was huge and my backpack is tiny but that was obviously part of her plan but fair play to her for using her initiative. Simone, her friend who booked the wrong flight and I had breakfast. We were to bust talking and realised that we were suppose to be boarding in a few minutes. We said goodbye to her friend and for some reason(I dont know why since I just about grew up in airports!) we had forgotten all about getting through customs! We ended up being those people that everyone hates as we got pushed to the front and rushed through. After running we managed to get to our gate in time as they were doing their last calls for the flight. I got on the plane and there was Matt and Amy with big smiles on their faces looking a bit puzzled. I told them why I didnt get to them on time to which we had a few laughs. For some reason we were expecting to have people sitting in the isles on the plane since it was Asia Airways but it was a really good flight. We got to Ko San Road and Simone and I checked into Donnas Guest House. By this time i was exhausted since Simone had broken her colar bone in Vietnam so being somewhat of a gentleman i had no choice but to carry her huge suitcase. She did end up making the taxi drivers day though as she gave him 3000 bahts instead of 300! Whoops!! I walked around the shops bought a book about the power of thinking without thinking called Blink and an alrm clock as it was about time. later on I jumped on the internet to update my travelblog where something really spooky happened...The only thing I was logged onto was the travelblog to give it my full attention and after about half an hour a msn screen appeared and it was one of my best friends Duncan saying "hi guys." After being extrememly puzzeled for a minute it turned out that Amy had just happened to be on the same computer and not logged out properly. So siezing the moment I realised that this was a perfect opportunity to wind Duncan up and I done so for an eye watering half an hour. I think the lady next to me thought i was crazy! Matt, Amy, Simone and I had a few drinks in Central Koa San and was in bed by 11pm. I cant actually remember my last proper night out that I made it out after midnight!ha

2/09/07
Got woken up with a cup of tea by Simone at 11.20am and after experiencing that I think every lady shoud do the same for their man as it wakes them up in a great relaxing mood. In return though the man should only watch 2-3 football matches a week rather than the usual 3-4. A fair world makes a happy world!ha Anyway........we checked out, Simone went to the hospital to check on her broken bone and I wasted time till I was to meet Andy on Ko San Road at 3pm at a certain bar. I have to admit I had major doubts but I met Andy dead on time which proved that you dont need mobile phones at all! Andy, Simone and I arranged to get the bus and ferry to go to Ko Tao at 6.30pm so we said goodbye again to Matt and Amy who were heading off to Ko Samui after another day in Bangkok. The nightbus stopped at a restaurant at midnight and I bumped into a girl called lorna who I met in Vietnam. Its amazing how many times you bump into the same people! We got to the bus station by 3am where we had to wait for 3 hours for the next bus to take us to the ferry port. They provided beds...well a concrete floor and a hard square pillow to sleep on which I found luxury as i cant sleep on buses. I slept like a baby for them 3 hours!

3/09/07
We were on the ferry by 7am where we met a bloke called Mick from Finland. The four of us sat at the front of the boat enjoying the awesome views and the fresh ocean air. I was hanging my legs over the edge when the boat brushed past a long thin stick used as markers for the boat lanes. The marker missed my legs by inches and I have to admit it made me jump! I looked round and the captain of the boat was in stitches behind the wheel. Apart from that it was a very relaxing 3 hours watching flying fish jumping out of the water and we reached the most picturesc dock I haver ever seen. We jumped onto a open top jeep and got taken to Sai Ri where an awesome beach and palm trees were waiting for us. After looking around we decided to book our advanced diving course and accomodation though Simple life Villas. Amazingly enough we went to the beach and had some lunch followed up by some sleep. After that hectic day Andy and I needed a Thai massage to relax us so we done just that. Its great to be back in Thailand! We met the other two at the beach bar at 9pm for dinner and was in bed by 10.30pm since we had a busy day planned the next day full of diving.

4/09/07
We had breakfast and was on the dive boat by midday ready and excited for what the day has in store for us. Mick had already got his advanced but was on our boat to do some fun dives which was good. Our first dive was the Navigation dive where you and your buddy have to swim in a large square etc using a compass and estimating the distance using kick strokes and other means. The second dive was the bouyancy dive which was real fun and it is on this dive where you can really start to feel like the benefits of the courses. You start to have complete control of all your movements just by using your lungs. Going from the open water to the advanced course is wierd though since when you step onto the boat with your open water qualification they treat you as a qualified diver since...well...you are one. Instead of holding your hand and talking you through things they just say "ok guys, get your gear on and jump in!" Its like driving for the first time after passing your test. Its an amazing feeling. We got back by 4pm but only had 2 hours till we were heading out again. We had a night dive to do! We were at our dive location by sun set and jumped in in almost complete darkness. As we were bobbing up and down ready to descend cleaning our mask Andy and I just looked at each other with the biggest smiles in history slapped on our faces. You shine your torch downwards as you descend revieling only what you shine your torch on. It really does feel like your in space(it also makes you feel like your a navy seal on a mission but thats really sad i know!ha). I dont know if everyone has seen the film beach with Leonard Dicaprio but there is one scene where this gorgeous French girl and Leo jump in the sea at night and have sex surrounded by glowing organisms floating in the water. Well we experienced the same things as we were swimming...apart from the sex thing! After swimming around for about 30mins we resurfaced to where we were greated by heavy rain beating down on our heads. This in itself was an amazing experience and I think there were a few shouts of joy from myself and the others. I know I have been saying this alot but this whole diving experience was one of the best things I have ever experienced. It really is hard to find something that matches it or even comes close to it. Something that sould be experienced by everyone once in their life in my opinion! After a long hard day at the office we treated ourselves to another Thai massage!!ha

5/09/07
We were up by 6.45am and already excited about what the morning had in store for us. We dived at Shark Island where there are...well...sharks and it was our deep dive so it was the first time we could go down to 30m. Now i have always had a thing about getting munched by a shark. Its never been high on my agenda of things to do. But when you go down and you see a shark you cant help but be amazed by it. They were 2m grey reef sharks so when they swim within 5m of you it makes you realise that they are really big fish! To think great whites can grow up to 8m is a scarey thought! We got down to 30m and we done a quick test each to make sure the pressure wasnt making us go crazy. Our next dive was the naturlist dive where you learn so much about the undersea world and how it all works. It was on this dive where i saw my first trigger fish what everyone is so scared about and also saw a moray eel swimming out in the open which was cool. This was the last thing to complete our course so we resurfced as advanced divers. We had dinner at our beach restaurant where if anyone walks past in speedos a load of people shout out speeeeedo and clap and cheer! I was so tired I was in bed by 6pm even though we had arranged to meet some people out later including this crazy Dutch bloke called Tijs. When i mean crazy i mean crazy but in an awesome way!! A well funny bloke with a heart of gold!

6/09/07
Had another early rise to start my first aid course which you have to do before you do the rescue diver course. Andy was going back to Bangkok to get a flight out to Isreal where he has got work lined up and where more importantly he was meeting his girlfriend for the first time in about 6 months! So we had breakfast and said our goodbyes. I have to admit it was sad saying goodbye to my diving buddy as we had been travelling with each other for the past couple of weeks but all good things have to come to an end and I already had another diving buddy lined up in Mikka who was going to do the rescue diver course with me. Maxine, Allison and I completed our emergency first response course but only after practicing first aid on this dummy that looked like the man out of Red Draggon that got fed to the pigs(the bloke with half his face missing!). We got back and I had dinner with Mikka and Tijs while getting the piss taking out of me by one of the Thai blokes who works in the retaraunt as I keep going to bed early! To be a rebel i forced myself to stay up till...10pm!ha

7/09/07
So Mikka joined the three of us today in the classroom for the rescue diver course. We were in the classroom till lunch then spent the afternoon on the boat practising different pulling techniques. I got excited because i thought i would finally learn the art of pulling the ladies but it turned out to be dragging fellow divers to safety!ha One of the other scenarios was a panick diver at the surface and this was really fun! Sarah the diving instructor was playing the panic diver and she loved it as it was her first time doing so. I think people on Ko Samui heard her screams!ha We were allowed a fun dive before we headed back to shore. Come night time we spent the night sitting in the sea drinking beer and having a good laugh. Only had a few beers though since we were to be in the classroom again early in the morning.

8/09/07
Once again we were in the classroom till lunch and spent the afternoon diving. Todays scenario was an unresponsive diver at the bottom on the sea bed. We also practiced doing a rescue diving search using a compass etc. After all this we were allowed to go for a fun dive but just the four of us with no instructor for the first time. They asked who wants the compass to take on the responsability of getting us all lost and I grabbed it hoping to bring us all back! We all came back to the boat fine and knowing what my sense of direction is like on land I was very happily suprised!! We were back fairly early in the afternoon and we met Lynsey, Michael and Jack from England playing frisbee on the beach. We got a load of us out for the England game and the pub we were in had three screnes showing England playing live in the football, rugby and cricket. We actually one all three games which is something special for England! Tried to get back for a reasonable hour since we had a final exmas in the morning.

9/09/07
I got 96% in my exam which i was pleased with and then we done our scenario exams in the afternoon. The main one was towing an unresponsive diver back to the boat which sounds alot easier than it actually is! Not only have you got to tow the diver back but you have to provide rescue breaths every 5 seconds, keeping your left hand as dry as possible not to get water in the persons face, take of their equiptment and yours while suporting their head with your right hand keeping the airway open! It was alot of fun though!! All of us passed with few mistakes and about ten of us went out for dinner to celebrate. As we had nothing planned for the next day the beers were going down fast and with ease! We ended up in the Cactus bar on the beach and danced till 4am! I did manage to get my sandals stolen but we all had an amazing night. We were blessed by the company by Leo who is one of the dogs that belongs to our guest house. Somehow he had managed to find us?! This dog is a great dog who is slightly crazy!

10/09/07
Woke up this morning not feeling that great to say the least! Felt better though as when i bumped into Tijs at breakfast he had managed to hurt is foot to the point where he could hardly walk! None of us could remember him doing it though! It was to be a lazy day and a lazy day it was! We spent the day sat in the sea drinking beer and...some water. We were joined by a girl called Virginia from OZ. It just happened to be her birthday and she needed cheering up as the blokes she met and was travelling with turned out to be wierdos! We had a really good laugh just sitting there swapping stories all day and Virginia turned round to us towards the end and said that thanks to us she had her best ever birthday. We even got the chance to try out them propeller things that you use while your diving or snorkling since some bloke was advertising them. After this relaxed fun day at the beach we were all in the mood for another night out and being it was Virginias birthday it would have been rude not to! Before i went out though i was on the internet and managed to see my family for the first time in 3 months on web cam. So that put me in even in more of an awesome mood to go out and party! We ended up in the Cactus bar again drinking vodka and redbull buckets! I did manage to get my new flip flops stolen again...i know...you dont have to say anything!! Tijs and I were the last two back and as we got back to our guest house we were greeted by Leo again. The three of us sat on the beach till 6am and Leo barked at anyone who walked within 20m of us as he gets slightly over protective!ha

11/09/07
We were up suprisingly early in the morning but we had to check out by 10am and Mikka was going to move in with Tijs as I was leaving today to meet up with Matt and Amy in Ko Samui. We had breakfast and spent the rest of our available time sitting in the sea playing with our new found family member Leo(yes the dog again!ha). My ferry was at three and it was only a 5min taxi ride away so I had a good chance of saying goodbye to the great people i had met over the past week at Simple Life. Watching Leo jumping in and out of the water trying to catch fish brought tears to my eyes as she was not to know any different and that I would no longer play such an important part in her life no more(im only joking people but it is quite wierd how you can get attatched to a dog so easily!!). I caught up with Maxine and Alison (my diving buddies) before i left and wished them luck as they were staying at Simple Life to do their dive master course. I jumped on the back of the taxi accompanied by Mikka and Tijs as they wanted to see me of from the ferry port...aahhh!! I think they just wanted to make sure i left!ha All joking aside it was a lovely gesture and they are both really good blokes. Mikka is going to be in New Zealand the same time as myself so chances are that im going to meet up with him there and I told Tijs that I would try my best to visit him in Holland late next year as he is going back home in a week. So it looks like all our paths will cross again which would be good! I got on the extremely busy ferry and I think the 3 hour sleep during the night wasnt enough as I managed to make the only spare space left on the boat that was free my bed...the small gap infront of the exit door! Atleast this way i knew that no matter how deep a sleep i was in someone would wake me up when it was time to get of...and they did! At Ko Samui I jumped on the back of a motorbike taxi and got taken to Chaweng beach where i knew my friends were. Its amazing how easily it is to meet people when your travelling. Who needs mobile phones!! I was walking along the beach and heard someone shout out my name and there was Lee, Chloe(the couple we met in Cambodia) Owen and Carla (Amys brother and his girlfiend who have flown over for a holiday). Apparently I had just missed Matt and Amy but i placed my bags on the sand and we all sat there for three hours cathing up on what people had been up to. They took me back to their guest house called Green Guest House, met up with Matt and Amy and i checked in. I opened up my backpack and there was a brand new Simple Life t-shirt with a love note on it from Tijs(in a joking manner before you get any ideas people!ha) What an ace guy!! After my laughing fit we went out for dinner where there was a film showing so we could all just chill and relax. I think they all had a hectic night before and they were all suffering as well!

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Photos

Drinking in the rain!!
The lady is Simone from Austria.

On the ferry heading to Ko Tao!
Andy, Simoneand I. Mikka took the photo and thats where we met him!

Mikka, Myself, Tijs and Virginia.
It was Virginias birthday so for that reason only we got drunk!!ha

We mat have all been falling over while taking this one??!!ha
The girls are from Isreal and yes, they were hot!!ha

Comments

[Neilski]

Livin the dream
Alright buddy glad to see your still having a blast out on your travels, seriously jealous i couldnt have been there to experience it with you mate. Missing ya like crazy mate and cant wait to see you again when you come home. laters Neilski