Koh Tao......by far my most favourite place in the world!

Hiya!

Sorry about the delay in my blog, ive been moving around so much i just havent had the time, but got lots to tell so here goes......

So last time i updated this blog i was on my way to Koh Tao with 7 of us! well that was interestung! Koh Tao is a diving island and so hostels like to save room for divers only! so we really struggled to find somewhere to stay. In the end we ended up squeezing 7 of us in one room, oh yes it was cosy, luckily it had 2 double beds so wasnt too bad but still nice and cosy! We went out for dinner in a fish restaurant on the beach and instantly i fell in love with Koh Tao. It is honestly my favourite place by far! all the restaurants and bars are all lined on the beach with cushions out side and fire dancers everywhere, everyone is so chilled out and friendly. We thought coming to Koh Tao would be a break from Koh Phangan, but after dinner we went to one of the bars and sat on the beach listening to live music watching the fire dancers (jealous yet!) but still the bar turned into a club and still ended up being a late one! im sure the party follows us everywhere we go!

Anyway, next 2 days i really wasnt very well :( think i caught a stomach bug off India so didnt really even leave the room! Then it came for Keith, India and the twins to leave :( really got on well with them so was sad to say bye! But the twins will be in oz at the same time so will see them soon!

Amy and Chris were also on the island now. and after feeling better we booked ourselves in the diving centre called bans! And this is where i had a lovely shack to stay in! It was weird the first night as this had been the first time since I had been out here that i had a room to myself, although it did only lock with a padlock but it was free with the diving course so i wasnt complaining!

Me amy and chris went to a thai boxing match. It was so good, was quite a lot of thai's there which is better so wasnt as staged as some can be. It started off with about 6 year olds and then went up in ages. Honestly was so amazing to watch! the control and strength of them is amazing! we saw one knock out, but the girls fight was by far the most brutal! and they are so tiny!

And then it was time to start our diving.......Amy was my buddy which was good because at least we already know and trust each other! very important as you rely on each other a lot! there wasnt really any British people in our group, mainly dutch but was one Scottish girl who we got to know! the group size was abuot 25ish for the theory but when actually diving we were only in groups on 5 which was good. The first day we spent starting to learn the theory, honestly was like being back at uni again! and did about 5hrs worth of skills in the pool, it was so knackering because your breathing alters so much. we had to learn all the basics and emergency skills, such as what to do if your mask come off, what to do if your regulator (the thing you breath from) comes out, how to set your tank up etc! I was exhausted by the end of the day and so much to take in! The instructors also asked that we dont drink a lot on an evening (no drink and dive)! I was glad to have a rest as so far its all been quite manic. So me amy and Chris just chilled out in the evenings. The next day I did my first 2 sea dives, both went down to 12m. I struggled the first time with equalising my ears but got down eventually, the 2nd dive i took a thai equivalent of sudofed which really helped! so enjoyed my 2nd dive so much more and could actually relax and look at the fish. Its a very surreal feeling being sat at the bottom of the sea floor looking up to the top! amazing though! Dive 3 and 4 i went to 18m and saw sting ray, clown fish, trigger fish and angel fish was absolutely breath taking! and obviously passed my padi diving course! definately so glad i did it! Although on dive 3 i did have a small panic attack as my regulator filled with water and i panicked and took it our of my mouth and obviously couldnt breath! for a second i just looked up and thought shit im actually going to drown! but instinct and trainging kicked in and soon put my regulator back in and cleared it! panic over :) Me and amy bought a copy of a video of our last dive! its a bit cringy and the guy kept asking me and amy stupid questions but funny anyway.

I was absolutely loving Koh Tao and really didnt want to leave but as time is fast running out we had to move on, next stop Krabi.......