Koh Tao - Let's go diving - Ueli & Alisha

Koh Tao – Further adventures at the gulf of Thailand

Our search for adventure continues. From Koh Phangan, we took a ferry ride, approximately 1 hour 10 minutes long later, we find ourselves being herded off the narrow pier from where the high-speed catamaran Lomprayah had docked. Almost all backpackers, with the odd tourist lugging their four-wheeled massive suitcase, Ueli & I weave through the crowd for what seems like an hour in the blistering sun although it was probably only maybe 10 minutes. Once we were successfully off the pier, the next challenge would be to find our taxi driver, the driver our resort/school had so conveniently sent for pick up. I spotted the small A4 sheet he held up in a weak attempt to find us. I signal we are here. It’s us he is looking for! We follow him outside of the docks and as we walk out, the local taxi drivers continuing to offer us taxis to our hotel… all in vain! Outside the ferry station, we are asked to wait in a ‘quiet’ corner while the taxi driver dives back into the crowd to search for more Ban’s Diving Resort customers. Joining the three already waiting, who knows for how long, we put our bags down too, somehow relieved just to be under the shade. Ueli and I, both are now accustomed to living out of our backpacks, switching and moving to the next place of stay and each time we check into a new hotel, hostel or lodge, we are excited and hoping for the best one yet!

Arriving at Ban’s Diving Resort

Well, as we walk into Ban’s it’s a town, geez, it’s almost a small city of its own. With a beach facing bar to watch the breathtaking sunsets and four pools in which new & learning divers seem to be hanging out on the floor of the pool. Tomorrow, we will also have a chance to closely, really see what the floor of a swimming pool looks like! LOL, Anyway, the schedule is strict for the next few days. The goal is clear! Target; Open Water Certification PADI. Period; 3 days. Number of dives; 4!

Four! Which means four times that I have to jump off a boat into the water. I mean, to be fair, the distance from the boat ledge to the water is less than 3 meters… but still! That alone makes my stomach turn.

First day – PADI adventure starts

Once we are settled into the rooms, it’s time for class! But let me rewind a little and mention something that I think is important. The room… best one yet!! Of course, us being us, we had to say yes to the upgrade. The staff is trained to ask all arriving guests if they’d like to upgrade and most of the people we met said they had declined but it is tourists like us that the staff is more than happy to come across. The concierge barely finished the sentence before we ‘calmly’ said ‘Yes… upgrade please!’. Our justification for this luxury we had just gifted ourselves? It’s going to be a challenging few days! And we were right. I was under the impression that the first evening of orientation would be a quick overview of what’s to be expected, introductions, etc… you know… the usual first day of class where the professor having taken mercy on the tired students ends the class earlier than scheduled. Yea! That! I was expecting that. So much so that when asked how long the introductory video will be for the orientation, I laughed out loud having taken it as a joke when the instructor responded to my question with ‘three hours’! Man, he was not joking. Out of the five lengthy chapters of theory on scuba diving, we were meant to cover three on the first evening class. I wasn’t expecting that! Nevertheless, better to be well prepared in theory & fundamentals before making that dreaded jump of the boat ledge. The class consisted of another German/Thai couple, a Brazilian lonesome traveler, us, and a group of Israeli dudes. After a long video session filled with information that we are supposed to recall in case of an emergency underwater, it’s time to end the day. Oh, how happy we were already to have upgraded. The only downside, a group of lizards liked to congregate above the door to our room. Having noticed this, our usual game plan was, have the key card ready in our hand as we start to walk up the stairs leading to our room. Then run the narrow path from the top of the stairs to the door (perhaps about 10 meters) and without braking or wasting any more time loitering, scan the key card, wait for the heavenly unlocking click of turn the handle and run-in! All while remembering “Don’t look up” – of course when I say “we” had a game plan, it was basically just me… so… ‘I’ had a game plan which ‘I’ implemented very carefully and effectively while Ueli walks in nonchalant, not really worried about the group of mosquito-eating, beady-eyes-bulging, tail-dropping, creepy creatures.

Day two – Pool action awaits us

It was time to experience our first breath under water, and boy it is memorable! Most of us were too young to remember a first step, or first word etc. but this first breath under water, something your body & mind fight with all its power is unforgettable! Having learnt the procedure for gearing up, checking to ensure all equipment is working, your buddy’s equipment is working, once all ready, the underwater training begins. Skills needed in case of an emergency are practiced, controlling movement under water is another big topic. The day started at 9am and ended at 6pm with more than half of the time spent underwater and as mentioned earlier, most of this day was spent at the bottom of the swimming pool! Man, they are filthy! At the end of day 2, feeling somewhat comfortable, we are now ready for an actual underwater experience. By 7pm we were ready for bed but we thought since food is just as important as air underwater, we might indulge in fried rice, pad thai, some good old spring rolls, all ordered for…, wait-for-it… room service! I must be honest, from this moment onwards, all our diving days ended with fried rice, pad-thai ordered to room service watching yet another action movie on HBO. Another uncalled-for-validation for the luxury upgrade.

Day three – the sea is calling

As we gear up at 7am and wait for our boat in the crowded Ban’s restaurant trying to finish hastily a much-needed breakfast, we are told last minute introductions ending with a very convincing “Don’t forget to have fun” and off we go. The boat docked perhaps 50m from the shore, we first hop onto a smaller transport boat. The smaller boat powered by a car engine most likely lets out a whirring roar before being turned around and steered to the dive boat. Once on the boat, we prepare our equipment and ready ourselves mentally for our very first unforgettable breath underwater. With giant strides into the water, I see other divers heading for the waters without any hesitation. As it’s my turn, knees carrying the weight of the weight-belt, the very heavy O₂tank, hands shaking. I take a step towards the ledge. With the scuba glasses on and regulator in my mouth, as my heart rate increases, so does the effort and loudness of each incoming breath from the regulator. A bit difficult to keep my nervousness a secret when everyone within a 10m radius from me can hear my panicked breathing, LOL. As I step on the ledge, the first thought as I look down at the water is, “Why do I always get myself into situations like these…? How?” Remembering the well-rehearsed procedures, I take a giant stride into the water and off we go. Clear views up to 10m-19m, swimming through colorful marine life going about their daily business. Truly a whole new world! The whole diving experience has taught Ueli and I to work together as a team, no man left behind. After 2 dives, day 3 of Open Water training is over and again, it will end with room service, or that’s the plan anyway.

Life as a lizard is hard

As we make our way back to the room, I execute my usual game-plan effectively but I never thought that as I would enter my room, and turn on the lights, a brown, beady-eyed, mosquito-eating creepy creatures would be eagerly awaiting my arrival. They scurry away to the corner of the room as I stare in disbelief and panic. I didn’t have a game-plan now. So, what do I do? I call the front desk and explain my emergency. As I am talking, I realize the absurdity of the phone call. They’re harmless lizards! I mean c’mon! Nevertheless, the potential of being mocked by the hotel staff doesn’t stop me. In fact, it is as if they receive panicked calls like such on a regular basis because as soon as I say ‘Lizards’, she says ‘OK, I send someone!’ That easy huh! So now I just wait for a hero to knock on my door! Any second now! Tick tock! About 20min later, a boy of small stature, an innocent face, carrying a broken plastic broom walks into the door. What’s he going to do with that? (I wish I took a picture of the ‘weapon’ he carried). So, he begins, tapping on the walls to guide the two lizards towards the door. We lost one lizard that disappeared into a crack in the wall while the other one runs under the bed. “And now what?” I can see the thought on his face! Sorry, it’s gone, I can’t help you any further. This is my horror story. Luckily, my hero Ueli comes back to the room and saves the day yet again. Pulling the bed forward so the lizard becomes visible, tapping alongside the walls so it scares, the lizard drops its tail and out the door it goes! What a relief. But I won’t forget the other one still in the room, but alas, I am too tired to care. Last day of the dives tomorrow.

Day four – Final course day

The day started like day three, same time, restaurant, breakfast, small boat, big boat, giant stride, skills underwater, fishes, poses, Go-Pro, Okay! And so, with four dives under our belts, we achieve our goal. PADI Open Water certified!! The evening celebrations included dinner, four drinks, beer pong and dancing. It’s the same night that we decided to continue and also complete our PADI Advanced Open Water which allows us to dive down to 30m, another unforgettable adrenaline rush!

Underwater silence

Day five – Day off, relaxing & exploring

The next day consists of; us, rented scooter, and a map of Koh Tao, ready to explore. It’s this day that Ueli learns that I can play Mini Golf slightly better than him. A realization that he doesn’t accept gracefully. LOL. I’m joking! This day break was much needed after spending the last four days doing nothing but diving. Advanced Open Water would require five additional dives. It started only a day later and we were ready for it.

Further PADI certifications – day 6 & 7

Overall, Ueli has successfully completed his Advanced certification with no hurdles, a calm mind. On the other hand, I decided to stop at adventure diver certificate, two dives short of advanced certification. Something to do with panic set-off when my mouth fills with salt water and having to switch to my alternative air source with limited visibility. At least, I remembered the emergency procedures. That was during my third dive at the 10m mark still more than half the dive left to go. As panic set-in, all I would think about was heading straight to the surface. Ueli noticed the panic in my eyes and my movements and did what a great buddy should do. Calm me down! How grateful I was to have him beside me in that moment, words cannot justify! For the remainder of the last day, as Ueli completed his advanced, I decided to accompany him on the dive boat and make myself useful by taking pictures of the dive. After all this, I walked away with a warrior wound, not from the dive at all, but from a careless fall while on the boat. In my defense, the seas were out seeking a revenge that day by throwing the boat around through massive waves. It was a relief to finally walk on solid land, of course still a bit wobbly.

Koh Tao’s dive sites

We decided to stay an additional two days at Ban’s Dive Resort in Koh Tao just to enjoy the non-dive aspects of the island. Another exploring drive, an afternoon of Indian food followed by a food coma, sunset at the bar facing the beach, and finally a goodbye dinner with fellow students ends our trip in Koh Tao. From the beautiful beaches of Thailand, it is now time for rainforest & orangutans of Borneo

Until next time…!

Alisha