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Published: April 17th 2009
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Wednesday, April 15th
After a night of little sleep (Ferdi’s been struggling to sleep lately and Talita got a little freaked by the bed sheet fluttering against her skin because of the fan) we got up early to prep for the dive. Our dive site for the day was Sail Rock, an outcropping of rock halfway between Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao.
We were taken to Chaloklum pier on the northern part of the island then sailed for an hour to Sail Rock. On the way we sat on the top deck of the boat and watched the water. We shouted with delight and amazement when we saw our first ever Flying Fish. We could hardly believe our eyes. They look like airplanes with big “wings” up front and little “wings” in the back. As the boat passed near them they would fly out of the water and glide great distances before crashing back into the water. We saw a really big one that just kept on flying. It was amazing! We were also the first of the dive boats to arrive and got choice parking. We were off to a great start.
The outfit we used is called
Reefers Diving. It’s run by Vic and Kim, a couple originally from the UK. They’ve been diving here for six years and finally opened their own shop a few weeks ago. They were great fun and very professional.
We rented an underwater camera. It was expensive but totally worth it. You just can’t put a price on the memories you capture. We’ll seriously look into getting one of our own soon. During our first dive we gave the camera to Vic to take pictures of us. Because of Ferdi’s haircut the day before, he looked like Doctor Evil from the Austin Powers movies. Hilarious!
We saw a Moray eel, a huge Grouper that allowed us very close to him, a few Batfish, a Queen fish and a Boxing shrimp amongst (literally) tons of others. We have never seen such an abundance of sea life. The whole area around the rock just teemed with life. It was spectacular! We went down to 26m and also did a vertical swim-through called “The chimney”.
After an hour on the surface we went for our second dive. This time we took turns with the camera. Turns out Talita takes better underwater pictures
Almost there
Leaving the top deck than Ferdi. She’s a natural! We did the vertical swim-through again and at 16m there’s a small air-pocket. We took turns going in. We had ordered the Whale Shark but he didn’t come to visit. Oh well, we’ll just have to keep on diving till we see one ;-)
We returned to our room totally overheated but thoroughly pleased with ourselves. There’s nothing quite like diving. We got on our scooter and scooted south to go get some supplies. We’re really tightening our belts now but luckily we’ve got great motivation: DIVING! It’s great to eat at home again and this way we use maybe a quarter of our food budget. Dinner consisted of sandwiches; one covered with Lays and the other with banana and honey. We have one knife and use a 7/11 bag as a “plate”. We’re finally feeling like we’re getting the hang of budget traveling in Thailand (it’s about time!). After forcing ourselves to read a little we hit the hay early, totally exhausted but very very happy.
Today’s highlights:
1. Seeing the Flying Fish for the first time.
2. Diving in the Gulf of Thailand.
3. Getting great pictures.
Thought for the day:
Trying to control things outside of your control just exhausts and frustrates you. Do what you can and leave the rest up to God.
Thursday, April 16th
After a night of great sleep we woke refreshed and ready for a day of maximum relaxation. After sitting in a cold bath for a while we sat on the porch making breakfast and reading.
We read all day and almost finished our books.
Today’s highlights:
1. Reading all day.
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Sarah
non-member comment
Wow "fantabulous" pictures!!!! Sail Rock is where I did my first qualifying dive, it's amazing out there! Although I didn't go down that deep and I was sooo sea sick from the boat ride I only did the one dive then passed out on the boat and did my next dive from the shore..... Anyway great photos!