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Published: December 6th 2007
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So after a months hectic travel we came full circle arriving back in Bangkok. From there we headed for the Gulf coast islands for some much needed relaxation on the beach. First stop was Koh Tao where we had signed up for a scuba diving course. Koh Tao is one of the cheapest placed in the world to become a qualified diver and has some of the best dive sites in the world.
We took it easy the first day after a long trip on another "sleeper bus". Hired a scooter to tour the small island, discovering all the small towns and beaches. Koh Tao has some really gorgeous beaches with the private Shark Bay next to our resort being the nicest with soft white sand, palm trees and crystal clear water, like paradise. The part of Koh Tao we stayed on was really beautiful too, just not a private beach and famous for the rock at the entrance which is ment to look like a buddha, its was a bit of a stretch if you ask me. So after a bit of relaxing we started into the dive course that night. It was back to school as we started
the course by watching a short introductory DVD in a classroom and met the others in our group, 8 of us in total. The big difference from school was the instructors advised us to bring beer as the DVD was pretty mind numbing. Basic common sense stuff so not to taxing on the brain. That night we headed into the main town for dinner and a look around seen as we had the use of the scooter, which by the way got scratched by us, but we managed to sneak that past the hire company by cleverly disguising it with dirt!
So the next morning it was back in the classroom going through the theory. Not to strenuous as the instructors were sound and kept the info to the important stuff only, i.e. don't hold your breath as you swim up or you'll explode. We also had our first introduction to the trigger fish when we were shown the hand signals. Apparently they can be pretty aggressive during nesting and were well worth avoiding. After lunch they let us loose in the pool. We got all geared up and headed for the shallow end. After a few near drowning
we started to get the hang of it, although I wasn't to confident that this diving lark was for me after all. It looks way easier then it is, the breathing is really strange at first and the gear is so heavy! That night we tried out the famous BBQ which draws quite a crowd and is pretty good. The bar looks out over the water so was a good spot to have a few beers for the night.
The next day saw us in the classroom for the morning going through some more theory we would need for the test the next day. The instructor was a young Austrian guy who was talking us through the dive planner which was a bit like some of the charts we used to use for college! After lunch we went for our 2nd confined water dive, usually this is done in the pool again but our resort bring you to one of the shallower dives sites which was a bit of a bonus, as it was one of the top 100 dive sights in the world, the Japanese Gardens. We were a bit weary after nearly drowning in the shallow end
of the pool the previous day but once we got started it was like a duck to water! We learned a few more skills before we went for a swim and got our first look at the amazing corals and fish. The fish would swim right up to you and one species, the cleaner fish, would even nibble away at any cuts or scabs you had whilst you swam along. That night we went to the Irish bar and watched the Brits beat Australia in the rugby which didn't please our Australian dive instructor who was also there.
The next day we sat the big theory test in the morning. It was pretty laid back, nobody had really read the book and we sat the test in the restaurant. 50 multiple choice question, everybody passed. I won't mention any names but some of us did better then others! After that we went for another qualifying dive which was our first time to 18m. We learned a few more skills but most of it was just a fun dive. Sighted our 1st trigger fish, I think, the instructor made the sign and pointed and we all scatter. To be honest
the instructor pointed out a couple but I still don't think I would recognise one if I saw one.
The last day was two fun dives out at Shark Island. The brief was to forget all the stuff we learned and just try and look as cool as possible as the dives were being filmed for a DVD you could bring home. Al found it pretty hard to look cool as he had gotten food poisoning the night before and spent the time before and after the dives throwing up. Strangely the compressed air during the dive seemed to help and the instructor reckons it is a good hangover cure. When we got to the surface we realised we had managed to lose one of the guys on the dive, turned out he had wondered off with another group at some stage during the dive. Don't know how he managed that as it was a girl leading that group so pretty hard to confuse her with our guy.
That evening you meet back at the restaurant to watch the DVD, which was a bit of a disaster as everybody else had to leave that day so it was
just the two of us and the instructors watching all the antics! A nice souvenir though so we shelled out for a copy. The next morning we caught the ferry to the nearby island of Koh Phangan.
Koh Phangan is home to the monthly Full Moon, Half Moon and Black Moon parties. We stayed at Haad Rin which was the main resort and home to the Full Moon party which basically takes over the entire beach. We missed the Full Moon Party but where there for the Black Moon. We got ourselves one of those Beach Huts at the Paradise Bungalow which happened to be the place were the original Full Money started. To be honest the whole bungalow thing was over rated so we checked into a cheaper hotel the next day. You get what you pay for though which in this case was cockroaches the size of your fist living in the bathroom!
The days in Koh Phangan were spent lazing on the beach and the nights were spent in the many bars which lined the beach and pumped out music and cheap buckets until sunrise. For the uninitiated a bucket is basically a bucket full
of vodka/gin/whiskey and a mixer, pretty potent stuff! We headed for the Black Moon Party on one of the nights. It was basically a massive rave party on the beach, the theme was Neon and UV lights as it was pitch dark (black moon) and everybody was getting tattoos which glowed under the lights. Well worth a look, lots of buckets, dancing, etc… and you finished the night by getting a taxi, which was the back of a pickup, back to Haad Rin. The road is unbelievable, just like a rollercoaster, pretty stomach churning especially after a few drinks!
When we had enough of partying on Koh Phangan we headed for Koh Phi Phi on the opposite coast, which is the island made famous by the film "The Beach".
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