Thailand #2

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Our travels in Asia are coming to an end and what better way to spend our last 2 weeks than on a tropical island. We flew South from Bangkok to Surat Thani where we then got a ferry to Koh Phangan. We have our own bungalow right by the beach, literally 150m away!! Unfortuanately for us though it was raining 😞 And irained for 3 days, solid, proper tropical rain and thunderstorms!! Nevermind, we were there to relax and thats just what we did, spending our time reading and lying in hammocks!! Once the skies cleared and the sun came out we enjoyed the beautiful beaches, white sand and warm water. One day we decided to explore the island, hiking inland to a waterfall, it was stinking hot but we got to see a different side to the island. On our way back we stopped by an 'English' pub and had possibly the biggest and best roast dinner since..........i can't even remember!! After a week on Koh Phangan we hopped over to Koh Tao, a short ferry ride away.
Koh Tao is a tiny island which is full of dive schools!! We were here to do our PADI open water course and couldn't wait to get started!! The first 2 days were spent learning the theory, watching videos and doing tests. We then got to practice the basic skills in the pool before we went out to sea. On the 3rd day we had our final theory exam in the morning and after lunch were on the boat heading out into the open water! It was such a scary feeling before that first dive. Once under the water though you forget everything else and are just totally focused on what you're doing. It was absolutely AMAZING, BREATHTAKING, UNBELIEVABLE and totally addictive!! I couldn't believe just how much life was down there, we were surrounded by fish from start to finish. The water was so clear we could see for about 15m. The open water course includes 4 dives and they were all just as amazing as the first. We saw so much, barracuda, clown fish, angel fish, jellyfish and so many other different types i don't know!! We had enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to do the Advanced Open Water course starting the next day!! This meant 5 more dives including a night dive and a deep dive down to 30m. The night dive was possibly the scariest thing i've ever done in my life!! The sea was so rough, the boat was up and down all over the place. The current was so strong it took a lot of energy to swim out to where we were descending from. Once we were down and underneath the current it was fine and we actually saw quite a lot of stuff, so different to diving during the day. But it was just as rough and hard to get out of the water as it was getting in. All worth it though, we're now qualified divers and are looking forward to diving in Australia!!
On our final night in Koh Tao we both went to get bamboo tattoo's. We had been thinking about it all the way through Thailand and decided what better place to get them done. We both went for marine based designs, Sadie asked for a starfish whilst i opted for a turtle. The Tattooist drew up some designs for us to choose from and 2 days later we were back to get them done. Its a traditional method of tattoo, they attach the pins to the end of a bamboo stick which they then repeatadly 'stab' into your skin. This method allows them to really add detail to the designs. We both agreed afterwards that it was less painful than a machine tattoo and it was suprisngly quick. What better souvenir to remind us of our amazing week on Koh Tao diving and the month we spent in Thailand.
So after 2 weeks on the islands it was time to fly back up to Bangkok where we spent our final 3 days in Asia.

Asia has been a real eye opener from Beijing right through to Bangkok and everywhere in between!! It's such an amazingly different lifestyle and culture. One that i'm so glad i've had chance to experience, would love to learn more about and will definately be visiting again in the future.

Next stop Perth, Australia........

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