Live and let Dive!

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I did it! After 4 days of "work", an exam, and $170, I am now a fully certified open-water diver!

I am on Ko Tao Island at the moment, one of the cheapest places to get certified in the world. The first two days of the course were a bit of a pain as I had to spend the mornings sat in a classroom studying all the theory side of diving. On the second day we did our first dive in the sea, in a shallow sandy bay so we could do all the "skills" required for the certification - clearing the mask, emergency procedures, taking inflator jackets on and off under water etc etc.

The last two days were the best though, as there was no theory, only cool dives. Each day we did two dives and saw a lot of corals, plants, sting rays, baracudas... I even held a black spiky sea-urchin on the palm of my hand! (surprising for me, as it looked far too much like a spider for my liking!!!)

Now that I am certified, I can get discount dives if I go with the same company, so I'm planning a night dive which should be a bit freaky!

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