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Published: February 5th 2007
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Martina and Alex
A lovely Austrian couple we met on the night ferry to Koh Tao, Martina and Alex spent time with us eating, drinking, and making music on our Moonlight Bungalow porch. Koh Tao (translated Turtle Island - Koh Tao resembles a turtle from up above) makes up one of the three developed islands off Thailand's east coast…by far the smallest of the three. This little spot of paradise became our destination for about a week. Ready for some diving, swimming, and more beach time, we set out on a slow night ferry from the mainland.
In the small city of Chumpon, just before departure, we pre-booked an enticing open-water dive course before we reached Koh Tao. Although this was a bit of a risk, considering we hadn’t met any of the staff or instructors, the company New Way Diving seemed professional and well-organized, so we booked the four-day course in advance.
Arriving on Koh Tao, we had two days before our course started, so we booked a place at Moonlight Bungalows, high up on the hill overlooking the entire bay. It had a breathtaking view of the northwest part of the island. The road leading up to the bungalows was something to behold…mostly dirt and pretty much straight up about ¼ of a mile. This, we learned later, was one of the better roads on Koh Tao. We learned this
when we rented a motorbike (glorified scooter) and explored the far reaches of inhabited Koh Tao the next day.
The roads turn into rivers/waterfalls in the wet season, leaving huge, jagged trenches in the already windy and steep dirt roads crossing the island. It scared Heidi something fierce and left us a bit tense by the end of the day....Grrr.... (Imagine flailing Heidi on the back of speedy scooter). After a particularly trying section of road we came across another couple about to take the same stretch of road and we advised them to turn around or risk domestic strife. Taking one look ahead, they followed our advice. Upon our return to the bungalow, Chris’s arms were locked into "biking position" from the intense grip he had on the bike handles.
Also during our first few days on Koh Tao, we had the pleasure of meeting Alex and Martina - an Austrian couple - who are physical therapists taking time off to travel the world. Instantly we hit it off with them and spent an evening wining and dining around Koh Tao. Sharing stories and a few bottles of Austrian "home brew" we had a fantastic evening ending
Island Highway
Once every couple of days, Chris and I decided to torture ourselves and rent a little scooter to cruise around Koh Tao with. Unlike Koh Lanta, Tao has miles of unruly stretches of gravely roads...Although this photo doesn't do it justice, imagine something much narrower and going straight up. Needless to say I opted to hop off on the considerably rougher parts. on our bungalow porch. We hope to find a way to meet up with them again in future travels!
After our initiation to the island, we got all set up for our course. Included in the price was a 5 night stay at the apartments above the office in Sairee Beach main town, so we proceeded to descend from our mountain top and ready ourselves for the dive course.
We met Mike, our Scottish instructor, on day one of the course. He is a tall, laid back fellow whom kick-boxes for prize on the side. The rest of the ‘class’ consisted of a rambunctious Englishman (Simon), a gentle Dutchman of Indian descent (Sudesh), a woman from Northern California (Amanda), and a funny Aussie actor (Christian). Of course, we can't forget Ricardo, the Italian assistant who was always there at every turn when you're underwater and might need some help.
(Day 1) Was all about watching videos, reading, getting oriented and scheduling homework. We learned the basics (and more) and we were prepped for a ‘contained water dive’ the next afternoon.
(Day 2) We set out for our ‘easy conditions’…getting orientated with the equipment, learning the hand
New Way Diving
Simon, posed in front of the New Way main office on Sairee Beach. signals, emergency procedure, etc.
...That is when the weather turned on us...
25mph winds and a ‘cold front’ came through right as we were heading out on the boat (a large, converted fishing boat). Due to the weather we tried a plan B location and then a Plan C location where we ended up doing our first "real dive". A bit chaotic and stressful, the conditions made it difficult to do any real learning underwater - However, as Mike suggested, at least we had some experience as to what it was really like floating, sinking, and tumbling about with a crazy mask on our faces. Leaving us all feeling a bit apprehensive (except Chris, of course), the feelings multiplied into deep concern later in the night for Heidi. Although the first day of anything new and somewhat dangerous can seem terrifying, the next day had smooth operation and everything worked itself out.
(Day 3) We got into a pool and properly learned more emergency procedures: how to establish neutral buoyancy, what is equalization, etc. After the pool session we headed out for our first dive where we were able to descend about 30 feet. This is where
Mike!
Originally from Scotland, Mike has been here for 6 years teaching dive courses to people from all over the world. A fantastic teacher, he helped ease us into the underwater world... the real appeal of diving began to take shape and the class comfortably settled into the routine.
(Day 4) We encountered yet another day of high winds and less-than-optimal conditions. However, the day was fun as we dove with a pro cameraman and a photographer for the company. This is where we really saw vast wildlife of the reefs, and to our pleasant surprise, encountered a hawksbill turtle. Nibbling at some food in the coral, his curiosity about us led him out into open sea. He followed us closely, checking us out and putting on a great show. This coupled with entertaining underwater games, dancing, and bubble-blowing made the day the best dive day yet....Back at the shop, we completed our final exams, signed our cards, and became official PADI certified open-water divers.
So with the course over we went out for the big celebration. We played a bit of Texas Holdem over beers and photo sharing, then capped the night off with an all-nighter beach party. It's amazing how a few beers can release some hilarious qualities in out boisterous group! We had a fantastic time and sadly parted ways the next morning over breakfast.
The
Dive Crew
From left to right: Ricardo (our Italian assistant instructor), Simon (English), Chris, Heidi, Mike (Scottish Dive Instructor), Amanda (U.S., Northern CA), Christian (Aussie), Sudesh (Holland) next few days were filled with chill time and another crazy motorcycle ride (hadn’t quite learned our lesson).
Then, our final day on Koh Tao was a mixed bag. This was the day for our scheduled ‘fun dives’ where we go with a guide and dive in some of the more well-known dive spots. Once again the weather was bad, downright stormy actually, which prompted Heidi to get very sea-sick (for the first time ever). Unfortunately she spent most of the day curled into a ball on the top deck.....Chris however was able to dive at a place called Chumpon Pinnacle and it was quite nice…..huge schools of barracuda, a reef shark, stingray, batfish, and plenty of color. Our last evening was spent over a giant BBQ beach dinner - a perfect way to say goodbye to island life.
From Koh Tao we ferried to the mainland…this is the point where Chris’s guitar disappeared - left on the island and upon inquiry was gone…hopefully to a desperately poor troubadour. Luckily Chris found a cheap ($70) classical replacement in Bangkok that should suffice. Now we are safe in Bangkok, preparing for our night train departure to the border town
of Nang Khai. From there we head across the Friendship Bridge into Laos.....excited for some new territory, we will kiss the blissful beach days goodbye and prepare for mountains, rivers, and quieter way of life.
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Jonas
non-member comment
Wicked
Nothing like meeting like minded party people in the traveling circles. Wish I was there with you guys. Meanwhile here, same old. Had a minor flood in da house yesterday. Good thing I was on the ball and able to turn the water off. Ian comes on Thursday and will be here for a week. Peace. Jonas