Diving course

---

The whole idea of going toThailand initially was hooked up onto diving, so we had no excuse not to do it. Or at least to try. Of course we had no idea how much it would cost, so on our second day in Phuket we sailed into the first PADI advertising shop we saw, and got filled in on the thing. One day in the pool plus 5 dives over the next three days, all yours for 300 quid, the lady said. We left thoughtful. First, it’s 300 quid, which is about the amount the hotels cost inThailand and India together. Second, it’s 4 days out of our 9 in Phuket when someone will tell us what to do all day long. No-no, no good, we thought. Or…? We came toThailand to do diving after all? Reading through some touristy stuff we had, we came across another diving place, which was recommended. We went there and discovered that we can part with the same amount of money in three days instead of four. Well, sounds like a deal!



We were handed in a coursebook each of about 200 pages long to read till tomorrow (ha-ha!), and next morning we found ourselves in a room watching the videos about the basics of diving. We’ve got an instructor to ourselves, but because Christian has done all of this, and lots more about 10 years ago, effectively I got two instructors all to myself. Theory tests done easily, and we are heading off to the pool nearby to try things. It’s in a very nice location, and the lunch is nice there, so I’m happy and a bit nappy, when I’m told to get into the wet suit, bottle on, and into the pool. This is when it started being a bit scary. The pool was so murky you couldn’t see 2m away, and so full of chlorine you really didn’t want to open you really didn’t want to open your eyes. I managed to get completely disoriented there in mere 1.7m of water, and shoot up to the surface when my mask got flooded deliberately in an exercise. Next 2 hours the instructor spent convincing me to take to take the mask off underwater, Christian spent swimming around us being bored, and I spent being scared and cold, and refusing to take off the mask. But finally I did it, and with very empty bottles we got out of the pool, and headed home, dead tired.



The next day it was raining and the sea was a bit rough, but our boat set off happily to the Racha Yai island.

<!---->- <!---->Are you getting sea-sick?- the instructor asked me.

<!---->- <!---->I don’t really know.

<!---->- <!---->Maybe take a sickness pill, just in case?

<!---->- <!---->Nah…

An hour later, after setting up my equipment while hardly able to stand upright because of the waves, I thought differently of a sickness pill. Half an hour more, we are docked at Bay 3, the equipment is on and we’re to step off the boat to start the dive. But… another news. I can’t actually step off the boat into the sea. It’s just shit scary.

<!---->- <!---->But didn’t you jump into the pool yesterday?

<!---->- <!---->No, I never jumped into pools.

<!---->- <!---->How did you get in then?

<!---->- <!---->I just sat down on the edge and sort of slid in.

<!---->- <!---->Oh…

It took another instructor and good 15 mins to convince me to take that step. I hated the universe, but surprisingly, survived. Our instructor, I’m sure, had someone to hate too. Ok, going down, funny squeak in the ears when equalising, can’t equalise, go up…. Ooops… can’t stop going uuuupppp!!! Christian catches my foot and pools me down. This will be his main worry for the next 2 days – to stop me suddenly going up when we are not meant to by catching my foot and pulling down. Hell I’m happy he did dive before. This all is very annoying, but… what we see is amazing. So many fish, sea urchins, corals, sea snakes and stuff I have no idea what it’s called. The instructor was taking pictures, and I’m going to upload them but here’s the disclaimer – all underwater photos are by Alexia Beeble. The stuff is very very cool, and it’s lot better to dive in a clean sea full of creatures than in a murky pool full of chlorine. And when we sail back we can appreciate how beautiful the nearby islands are. Just like on the pictures, u-hu.

The next day everything repeats but the storm: the boat trip, the shit scary step into the water, the ear-squeezing going down, the amazing fish and other sea life, and me finally starting to be able to be where I want to be in the water, to swim and enjoy what I see without panicking that any moment now I will float back to the surface.

<!---->- <!---->You know, I’m glad we did this course in the end.

<!---->- <!---->Hurray! Now we can dive together, in the US!

<!---->- <!---->Yeah… I just wish I didn’t have to step off that boat 😊

---