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Leaving Koh Phangan early Monday morning we boarded straight onto what was the worst ferry crossing all of us had ever endured (!). Not only were the swells massive, but they were multi-directional which meant we were being shaken about at all angles - those that dared ventured inside never made it back out again as they would have joined in with all the spewing no doubt! We chose to survive the crossing outside…which meant enduring a thorough soaking by all the waves crashing on board - refreshing to say the least!
An hour and a half later we arrived to the welcoming sight of Koh Tao - a very small island in comparison which only measures 5km from one end to the other, and so is very easy to get around. Described in the Lonely Planet as a 'pistacio' coloured island, it is not far off the mark! The waters surrounding this small paradise are incredibly blue in colour - a somewhat milky turquoise appearance which shone brilliantly under the sunlight, with beautiful visibility just off the shore...
So we headed straight to where we had booked in to a week's worth of scuba diving tuition and accommodation - Simple Life Divers on Sairee beach. It was no problem arriving a day early and these guys were incredibly laid back and very accommodating, so we felt straight at home! The only inconvenience was the fact that the resort was in the process of renovation, so we had to head elsewhere to grab a bite to eat…which was no problem at all on this well-appointed island! We had a great room - large, clean and comfortable (abeit cold water) just metres back off the beach…
And so we began our scuba diving tuition that very afternoon. Over the next 3 days we ended up watching about 5 hours worth of dvds (pretty mundane and repetitive…though essential!), completing quizzes and the final exam (we both got 100%!) and most importantly applying the skills we learnt in water…We spent one half day on the beach (a 'confined' dive), being only just submerged under water - learning hand signals, emergency procedures, and other skills such as taking our mask off under water then putting it back on and clearing all the water. Once we became familiar with all the sensations (it's amazing how you soon forget that you are carrying incredibly bulky and heavy equipment - you soon feel weightless and the sensations soon feel natural) we were ready to head out into the open…This meant 2 more half days going through the same 'skills' on deeper and deeper dives (firstly 12m, then down to about 18m), otherwise termed as Open Water (OW) dives. By Thursday afternoon we had completed all 4 of the compulsory OW dives, as well as the necessary skills, and were now certified Padi Open Water Divers! During our final 2 dives, a videographer had accompanied us and at the end of the day she showed us a pretty entertaining video of us looking like unco, disproportional fish species waving wildly at the camera - all with no obligation to buy haha (which we did in the end!).
Next day we wasted no time in starting the advanced course - thank goodness there was no classroom time, though instead it was replaced with a fair bit of homework which entailed between 45-60minutes per topic (total of 5) = fairly quiet nights! So over 2 days we were to complete 5 specialty dives: 2 compulsory ones (a deep dive down to 30m and a navigation dive armed with a compass, where we had to complete a full square whilst compensating for obstacles), then we could choose 3 others from a whole list of options. We ended up opting for a night dive (pitch blackness other than a torch!), a 'peak buoyancy dive' (essentially learning how to remain motionless in water, therefore gaining far more control, and making you less likely to bump into coral, which can be harmful on both sides) and lastly a photography/ fish identification dive (more or less a 'fun' dive where we swam round taking underwater photos and then identifying everything afterwards…). By the end of this course we felt far more confident in our own skills…It didn't take long to become familiar with everything - whether it be gearing up at the start of each dive, checking our air supplies and equipment , breathing without stopping (the golden rule!) and having a lot of fun.
So the diving itself…unfortunately the water did not have the best of visibility; the island is renowned for an average of approx 15m of visibility underwater, yet over the week we were there, the dives ranged from between 5m to 12m (with most of them being under 10m). Furthermore, most of the really good dives sites around the island were out of bound due to the rough sea conditions…BUT we weren't disappointed regardless. In fact the poor conditions probably enabled us to learn better as we weren't being distracted by our surroundings! Usually every dive opened our eyes to different things - of highlight was seeing a couple of massive pufferfish (about 80cm), blue-spotted stingrays and many territorial large triggerfish (in other waters, these fish are usually passive and harmless, whereas here we were warned about their aggressiveness). A favourite dive site of ours was 'White Rock' where there were two massive pinnacles which raised from the ocean floor, to just below the water's surface. The wildlife was teaming and the colours were absolutely stunning, especially if the sun started coming out…In addition the dive boat was really well-equipped with a massive sun deck with free snacks and drinks, and so was great to lounge out on in between dives…
Other than diving, we didn't really have too much spare time! This was probably quite convenient, due to the fact that having arrived close to the full moon, the high tide was so high that there was virtually no beach by day. At night it would pull back and all the bars and restaurants would race out to set up chairs, loungers, cushions and mats on the sand, with massive BBQ buffets everywhere and candles lining the beach. Almost every night the sunset wouldn't disappoint and a few cocktails were usually enjoyed. After the consumption levels of late (!) Aza found it very difficult to consume even a single beer and so we enjoyed the relative soberness that this island offered us!! For those who weren't diving though, the island didn't fail in terms of partying as most bars would be pumping out the music until the early hours. After a few days, the tide had pulled back, so when we had a couple of days off we were able to stretch out on the small stretch of sand (which hadn't been possible when we first arrived) and soak up the views or enjoy some really good snorkelling just off the beach.
On our last day, we took a long-tail boat and headed out to a nearby small island, called Koh Nangyuan. It is apparently the only place in the world whereby 3 mini islands are all joined together through 2 sandbars, thus the waters are absolutely stunning. Although the sun wasn't out, we still climbed up to the look-out and were very impressed none-the-less! After milling around for a few hours, we headed back to Koh Tao and killed time before departing on the overnight boat which left at 9pm. Andy, our travelling companion way back from Vietnam had joined us at the pier to give us a farewell (as everyone had spread out over different beaches on this island, so we didn't really get to socialise as much as usual!)…He was staying on the island for another week before flying home to Australia - we would have very easily stayed on Koh Tao for longer as it was so beautiful and relaxing, though we had to push on, with several more destinations to cover during our last 2 weeks…
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