After taking a flight from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, spending the night in Bangkok then taking a night train to Chumphon, I arrived in Koh Tao. The ferry from Chumphon to Koh Tao was an unpleasant experience full of sick bags and big waves. Thankfully years of changing diapers has honed my skill for breathing without smelling, and I managed to survive the trip sans motion sickness. That very night I began my open water dive course.
The open water course consisted of two theory/ pool days and four dives. I wasn’t sure how I would handle diving because I have never been and I had heard many stories of bad experiences. I am not one for moderation, however, so following a life long pattern I jumped right in.
I got incredibly lucky with my dive instructor and group. My group consisted of two guys from Australia, one girl from Germany, a guy from Ireland, a guy from Canada, and myself. Our group were not only good divers, but we got along incredibly well. I think I spent more time laughing than breathing. We all enjoyed the experience so much that we decided to do the advance open water course as well. Without a doubt the week spent diving, laughing, drinking, and joking around with this group has been the best part of my trip so far.
As I spent most of my trip diving I didn’t see much of Koh Tao, but I liked what I saw.