Koh Tao

It's been awhile since our last post, but we've traveling and we are finally staying at a spot with wif, so here goes. We left Bangkok at 7:30 pm aboard an overnight sleeper train south bound for Chumphon. We found our seats next to a Dutch couple, Ana and Stuarf.  Stuarf spoke English and was a charming neighbor the whole trip. We ordered some beers and some food on the train, and after eating and drinking and chatting with Stuarf we finally got our beds made and caught a few hours of sleep before arriving at Chumphon at 5:00 am.

We watched the sunrise at Chumphon station, then were bussed to the ferry with lots of rowdy Europeans sharing the trip.

The high speed catamaran ride took 2 hours and caused a few cases of sea sickness, luckily we weren't affected. As soon as land came into view it was a welcome sight and the natural beauty of the tropical coast almost brought Kate to tears. 

The water is so clear here, and the island is part jungle part jumbo rocks. As soon as we got off the boat we grabbed quick bite at a beachside restaurant and arranged for a ride to our dive school.  The New Heaven dive school is a small operation with a focus on marine conservation and restoration. After arriving at the school we were given some reading and taken across the island to our jungle bungalow. The 4 wheel drive ride there was something out of Jurassic Park and we were the only guests at the 6 room remote resort nested on a hillside above a beautiful rock and tree lined bay.

                                                 

We scoped out our digs, borrowed some masks and snorkels and headed down to the water for a swim. Minds blown. Legs burnt.

The bungalow was beautiful and a bit rustic, as we were sitting on the balcony we spotted a 12 inch gecko. As we tried to get a photo he darted into our room where he proceeded to spend the night on the ceiling, eating bugs and pooping them onto our mosquito net throughout the night. We named him Gary the Gecko aka Scary Gary. 

The next morning we woke up bright and early to read the 1st chapter of our scuba manuals and eat a healthy breakfast of fruit smoothies and granola served to us by a staff of six (once again we were the only people there) Tom (pronounced Tome) an excellent and careful driver took us down to the dive school where we started class at 9:00 am. 

Our instructor, Adnan, is an extremely nice 7 foot tall, muscular Turkish guy. He reviewed the 1st chapter with us, suited us up and by 11:00 we were in the water learning safety procedures and basic scuba techinque. This dive school is really cool, there were 2 instructors for just the 2 of us. We felt very comfortable and confident, and after 40 minutes in the shallows, we set out on our first dive to a depth of 6 meters (about 20 feet). Scuba diving was a bit awkward at first but after about 30 minutes underwater we both seemed to be picking it up. Tomorrow it the second of three days of lessons, and by Monday evening we will be officially certified open water divers.