Bye Bye Koh Tao

Day 19

Unfortunately, we have to leave Koh Tao and head towards Khoa Sam Roi Yot National Park to visit the Phraya Nakhon Cave. One out of our top three visits on our Thailand list.

I'm glad we did the diving course, it had me overcome some fears and I did something new. We met some great people too during our stay at Big Blue Diving Resort. People from the UK, Canada, The Netherlands and Australia. I had so much fun with these guys! Thanks for the wonderful days!

We took the ferry to Chumphon. The sea was very rocky and I got seasick yet again. The ferry is some kind of big speedboat and was almost flying over the waves. For the first time in my life I had to puke in a bag. Luckily, I have a very good boyfriend who takes care of me. He even went to the bin with my pukebags. I'm so jealous of him, the water is his home!

From Chumphon we took the bus to Hua Hin. I did not need a pukebag here, thank god for that! During our 30min stop at a gas station we managed to book a hotel. My boyfriend chose something fancy this time. We were in desperate need of a hot shower and a clean room, since the free rooms at Big Blue Resort weren't like that! 

We arrived at Nicha Resort Hua Hin, just before closing of the reception desk.
We immediately crawled into bed and I called the home front to see how things were going. Kitty is fine, doggie is fine (and was confused on how we got into the computer), so I'm fine too!
We need a good night sleep now :-)!

Koh Tao: Big Blue Diving Day Four - Certification Day

Day 18
Hooray! I got my certificate for the SSI Open Water Course!
Everything went fine on my last dives. I had to join another group and our instructor said me and my buddy were the perfect together! Everything under control and perfect communication! 
A cameraman accompanied us on the dive and made a movie. When we get back to Belgium I'll upload it on Youtube. 

We got to see:

Parrotfish

• Parrot fish (my favourite!)
• Groupers
• Butterfly fish
• Clown fish (Nemo)
• Blue Spotted Stingray
• Yellow Margin Trigger fish
• Bat fish
• Angel fish
• Pickhandle Barracuda
• Banners

Koh Tao: Big Blue Diving Day Three - Second Attempt

Day 17
Because I wasn't able to do my dives yesterday, I couldn't join our group to the last two diving sites. Our instructor, Nat, took me on a private dive in the afternoon. I had no problems this time. The sea was not as rocky as it was yesterday and I just concentrated on preparing my equipment. We got into the water and everything was just fine.
We saw some pretty cool things down there. A sharksucker even accompanied me until we got to the surface. I think he was around 20 cm long. 
I totally loved it. Tomorrow I'll be joining another group for my last two dives. I already met my buddy. 

Fish I saw:

Remora

• Weibel Butterfly fish
• Groupers
• Wrasse (Slingjaw - Red Breasted - Moon)
• Clownfish (Nemo)
• Pink Anemone fish
• Porcupine fish
• Gobies
• Remora (Sharksucker)
• Sgt. Major
• Damselfish
• Christmas Tree Worms

Koh Tao: Big Blue Diving Day Two - Into the Sea

Day 16
Ok, this didn't go as well as I had hoped...
When we got up this morning the sky was telling us rain would come. And it did in the morning. It wasn't a biggy, we had to pass our exam first anyway! I passed :-) 47/50

The wind didn't make it easy on us in the afternoon. We had to take the boat to our diving spot, but the waves made most of us really sick. I was already worried about the weather, about my first dive and then the seasickness came to hassle me. I started to panic a little bit and at one point I almost fainted because I was so sick. After a shake from my boyfriend to wake me up I managed to finish our buddy check and to dive into the water. I managed to calm down from the moment I jumped into the sea. 

Diving hand signal: 'Problem'

When I had to go down into the water it became really bad. During my buddy check I expressed my worries about my regulator. At the swimming pool I used another regulator that worked fine. I wasn't comfortable using this one, because I had the feeling my air passed through it in two times while I inhaled once. Hard to explain, though. Everyone said it was normal, but when I got under the water it really bothered me. It felt like I couldn't get enough air, so I started panicking. I was maybe half a meter below the water with my head, so I indicated there was a problem and asked to go up. My instructor saw I was panicking and couldn't calm me down so I went up. She told me to go back to the boat. I immediately started crying, because I really wanted to do this! I had to climb back onto the boat. I drank some water and calmed down. Failure.

If that wasn't enough for today, our banks blocked our cards and we were running out of cash. With our last money we managed to call to the bank's office to see what the problem was. Luckily, everything got resolved and we were able to withdrawal some money from the ATM again.

Positive about my day:
Although I didn't dive, I got to see some fish anyway. When I got back on the boat I had to puke overboard and fish came to the surface to eat my leftovers. Blue ones with a yellow stripe on their back.
I thought it was funny, so I had to laugh (and puke at the same time).

Koh Tao: Big Blue Diving Day One - Swimming Pool

Day 15
It was time for some diving in the swimming pool and some more academics.
It was quite exciting and weird to only breathe through your regulator. I always have the urge to breathe through my nose.
Tomorrow is real diving day, but first we need to pass our exam in the morning. Fingers crossed!

Koh Tao: Big Blue Diving & Lady Boy Show

Day 14
We took the ferry to Koh Tao around 12.30pm.
On the ferry there was a man who was spreading flyers from Big Blue Diving, a diving school. This was the company we chose yesterday and he told us there would be a free taxi waiting for us at the pier. Awesome!

We shared a the taxi with an Australian guy Leon. The taxi ride was very bumpy and I couldn't stop laughing. He was literally flying over hills and bumps.
When we got there we got our first briefing. Leon happened to take the same course as we did, the SSI Open Water Course.
We could start immediately by watching some introduction video's. Tomorrow we'll be getting into the pool.
We got our laundry to a laundry service. Everything was smelling so bad! I had to look for a new bikini in town because it was in my laundry bag and I wasn't planning to dive into the pool completely naked. Lets say that looking for a bikini isn't that easy as everyone says. At least it isn't if you don't have standard boobs. I think I tried on almost every bikini in town and they didn't fit. After a long search I happened to find one that fit and it's really nice too. I also bought a strapless one.

After my bikini hunt we grabbed for something to eat and went to a lady boy show in town. OMG, that was soooo funny and really good. I kept wondering where they all put their weeners! It's amazing how they can hide them! There were different acts like Britney Spears and Beyonce. Beyonce was really good. It looked very real with all her dance moves! I laughed my ass off!
It's time to go to sleep now. We'll have to be fit to get into the pool tomorrow!

Koh Samui: Ang Thong National Marine Park

Day 13
A spectacular visit to Ang Thong Marine National Park today!
We got on a boat for a 1,5h trip to the park. We got a small breakfast on board but we had already eaten. The Hammock has an amazingly good breakfast buffet!! Fruit, pancakes, cereals, eggs, fruit juices,... All fresh and delicious!
Ang Thong Marine National Park has around 42 islands.
We'll be visiting two of them.
Our first stop was Koh Wao. At this island you can climb a steep track to the highest point of the island where you get rewarded with a spectacular view upon all the islands. My boyfriend got to see it. The last 50 meters were too scary for me. The track were all rocks and roots from the trees where you had to climb up and you had a rope to assist you. The last track were only pointy rocks. I think I dared to climb up, but down was another thing to consider. I couldn't do it and I really regret it! I was so mad at myself, but actually it's quite an achievement for me to get that far. So maybe next time I will! 
While going back down we spotted some monkeys :-)!

After the climb we had lunch at the boat. Spicy curry but good!
Next stop was Koh Tay Plow where we started our kayaking trip to the other side if the island to see the Emerald Lake or Talay Nai. The kayaking trip was way too short because me and my boyfriend were in a very good vibe. We once went kayaking at Durbuy and ended up fighting because we weren't getting in the right direction. Kayaking is a real relationship test!
We climbed up the stairs on the rocks to get to the lagoon. The steps were really steep, but the view was totally worth it. Mind blowing, peaceful. Pictures aren't a reference for what your eyes see and what you feel! It was truly amazing how beautiful it was and it seems that nobody from our kayak group bothered to go the whole way down to the water where you could see all the underwater creatures. They just started snorkeling at the beach, missing all the fun!
After my battery run out to take pictures I enjoyed my moment of peace and quiet. After this we went snorkeling too.
This was a really great day and we ended up at Talay Café again. The food was so spectacular yesterday that we promised the waiter to come back.
This was our last day at Koh Samui. We'll be leaving for Koh Tao tomorrow with the ferry. We'll be taking an SSI Open Water Course there. I'm exciting to get diving, see some real fish!

After our wonderful and romantic dinner by the sea, with our toes in the sand, we went back to The Hammock and turned on the TV. We found a channel called Lotus Macau and they broadcast movies all day long. We bumped into 'Seven', one of the best thrillers ever made, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. If you haven't seen it, shame on you! 
Peace out guys, 'cause I'm totally relaxed! Brad is waiting for me!