After registering for the 4 day PADI open diver course we had bought with our itinerary, we were left with a day to stroll around and relax. And to take a couple of photos:
Nice colours, nice vibe, cheap food.
And hooray for the upgrade in living standards!
Koh Tao is all about beaches, within a walking distance
Fewer scooters (par to none), less persistent salespeople
All in all - it's all about scuba, restaurants and bars. There isn't really much anything else but to dive and to hang out. And well, diving for long periods is pretty exhausting - it's not that you'd want to run a marathon afterwards.
Well, you could always try one of these babies - mmm. Hope you got an air bag.
Nice cafes to hang around (well, you have to study your padi stuff)
As the day turns into night, the sunsets aren't too bad on the beach.
And the entertainment begins - clubs, fire shows, drunk Aussie / British tourists. The usual stuff.
And you can buy pretty much anything in your local grocer - including snow.
Thai food is really nice and cheap - also on Koh Tao. You can't really cook much (well not in most of the places anyway), so you're left with eating out or buying something overpriced at the local grocer.
Eating the proverbial Fried rice for the thousandth time does, however, make you wish for something different (M would argue the contrary, but he's got no say in this):
1st PIZZA in Thailand - Check
On the following days we were mostly occupied with the PADI open water course stuff. The first two days we mostly scrambled through the basic theory, watching videos and doing pop quizzes. Our instructor Kenji ("a real beast", as the other instructors call him) made the material a tad less boring with his hyperactive demeanor and japanese-accented english. >> Kick kick keeeeeeck!
The second morning we also got to the pool, for some practical training on how to use the scuba equipment - bcd, valves, regs etc. In essence, plenty of repetition of hand signals, repetitions of the safety routines and the like. Seemed tedious at the time, but later on made perfect sense.
After the certification exam on the third morning we were finally ready to set on the course to the first actual dives - Twin peaks and Junkyard. Toilet seats, coral, fish, fin pivot, orienteering.. You name it. Your first 10+m dive is weird - the major pressure difference happens, contrary to the prejudice, during the first few meters. When you dive with a tank, equalizing on the way, 10m feels like nothing. Probably the most novel experience you have is a shortness of breath that you haven't necessarily encountered before - it's get a bit heavy the deeper you go.
Diving also makes the crew look fluorescent green - and happy.
All in all, Koh Tao comes highly recommended - but remember to dive. Crystal Dive isn't bad at all - the guys are nice, fun-loving and professional. You'll like it :)
With all the dives are done, all is fine in the world.
Ready to move on, up North to Chiang Mai.
And when it's Thailand - it's all night fever in the busses.
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