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Hello from sunny Koh Lanta :-)
I'm still having lots of fun and looking forward to spending the season here diving. I'm only 4 days away from finishing the dive master course now - can't believe how quickly time has passed. Done so much and still so much to do despite only 4 days in which to do it.
I've been mapping divesites, assisting instructors in the swimming pool and big blue sea and today have just been a victim for a Swedish guy doing his Rescue course. I've helped an instructor with open water students - so Lena & Charlie I was helping on your courses!! Also helped Rohan with a horrible man who made his wife do a scuba discovery course despite knowing she would hate it and laughed when she cried about it and quit part way through. Men!! It's been so much fun...and I'm getting good grades which for those of you who know my perfectionist streak will fully appreciate how important that is to me ;-) It's not all been diving though sadly I have spent a decent amount of time sat in a classroom and doing homework. We have heaps of exams (boooo)- done physics already and got the minimum required score which I was thrilled with, I hate numbers - and got physiology and equipment lectures and exams this pm.
The most stressful thing I have done so far though is the guiding the other DMT's and my instructor around a divesite as if doing it for real. Their objective throughout the dive is to try and harrass you by doing awful things such as having ear problems, floating to surface, swimming off and getting lost, losing their equipment or putting it on wrong or not putting it on at all. Somewhere amongst watching out for horrible things I got lost under water for the last 20 mins of the dive. Everytime I asked the instructor for help he would smile vacantly at me. Needless to say I got super stressed out. We somehow managed to get back to the boat by pure fluke and by the time I got on to the boat I was about to burst into tears from the stress. Chris kindly took my equipment off me and told me to get the hell out of there and hide somewhere and sent Gene up to check if I was ok. No one asked me anything so I obviously looked quite shaken by it all. I confess to having a few tears.... under water too. It's awful cos you only have yourself to talk to under water and you are your own worst critic in those situations. Anyway turned out if I hadn't told my instructor I got lost he would never have known!!!
So in the next four days I have 4 more exams (physio, dive equipment, dive skills and decompression theory and RDP), a 400m swim test, a 100m tired diver tow test, presentation of 20 open water skills test in swimming pool, more assisting sessions and the equipment exchange. I love how they it that - it's actually better known as the stress test. Basically they take you 5m under water with a buddy with whom you have to swap all of your equipment while sharing only one regulator which provides your air instead of the normal 2 - so you only get 2 breaths before passing to buddy whereas normally you get continuous air supply. While doing this the Instructor then puts you under additional stress by taking your mask off and dropping it, undoing the strap that holds the air cylinder to your back so it floats in awkward position, tries to steal your air supply, maybe even turn it off so you have to stop everything to switch it back on etc.....this is just the beginning of it. I am petrified....I have heard so many horror stories including little Lena who told me she cried continually throughout hers!!! So I need everyone to think kind thoughts for me on Wednesday.
Then as if that isn't enough I have to endure the snorkel test. Lena you will remember seeing this from Gili T hols in September!!! Basically you sit on a bar called Ozone on the beach wearing your mask and snorkel....the entire dive shop plus customers will be watching you while someone pours an evil, horrible concuction of alcoholic nastiness in all colours into your snorkel while you have to drink it quickly trying not to suffocate! I am sure I will have photos by the weekend for you all. Let's just say I am taking a change of clothes to the bar with me..... The 'someone' will more than likely be Gene who has been begging my Instructor since day 1 of the course to be the one to pour the alcohol...not to be nice though, to make sure I 'get the proper experience'. Nice hey... That happens wednesday evening so again more nice thoughts please.
Claire so excited you are coming out in March - it's looking like end of March will be best as I have a visa run to do at start of month and we are thinking about going to Cambodia to do it. We have another one due in december and we are going to Penang to stay with Gene's friend in his gorgeous house on the beach :-) It will be nicer than my last visa run to the Malay border which took 5 hours to get there, 30 min to cross the border and walk back into Thailand again with a new stamp and then 6 hours to get home again. BORING.
There's been lots of people visiting so far which is cool and usually makes for a messy night out. Photos to follow soon I promise. Let's just say the shots are just as lethal in Thailand if not more than back in london and I suffer even more so here in the heat. It was Gene's birthday this week....he was all geared up for a big night out and ended up getting into rounds of shots and having all of them hit him at once. I had left him alone by the bar for like 30 mins max and went back to see how he was doing and he walked up to me with a pale face and said babe it's time to leave now.....Enough said, very funny!!
Our bungalow is looking very cool now and Sayang our kitten is getting really big now. She is loving being outside and exploring her garden etc....I'm still worried she'll get eaten by a horrid rabies infested dog though. The weather here is wicked, very hot and sunny every single day.
Oh oh oh can't believe I forgot to mention this - I have been swimming with Manta Rays twice at Hin Daeng now.....SO exciting. The first time with Gene and Pato and we forgot the camera, there were 4 massive ones swimming around.....then earlier this week I was with Gene and Carys and Carys and I got to spend 25 minutes on our own (everyone else ran out of air sooner than us) with this one HUGE manta ray. I had my camera and got heaps of photos and filming of it which I will add soon. Best dive of my life so far, best experience ever :-) Was SO exciting, it was at least 4m wide. Someone saw a whale shark last week at Koh Ha as well.....I was snorkelling about 200m away and missed it - gutted! Determined to see one this season though.
What else....oh yeah am desperately bored of my limited wardrobe already - if anyone wants to post me anything fashionable then feel free!!!
That's it I think for now. I have to go and revise for physiology and equipment exams now.
Take care everyone, keep in touch and remember I have the mobile now would be great to hear from you. Mum I'm about this weekend if you can call me? Anna & Claire thanks for calling, was so cool to speak to you both!!
Lots of love xxx
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