Koh Tao
I spent 11 days on Koh Tao diving with Asia Divers getting my dive numbers up. After diving in the Philippines I’m more interested in the other two thirds of the planet than ever before. So this time last year I began diving and am half way through the rescue course but I really don’t care to be an instructor but to be comfortable under water. It’s coming along.
The reason I dive with Asia divers is two fold, they are competent instructors and guides but the diving is also as cheap as it gets cheaper as you go. If you do your Open Water/Advanced Open Water, or just dive a bunch the price is dropped to 700 baht = $22.00 per dive. Good luck finding a cheaper place to dive. Each time you go out you dive twice so either 730 am or 1230 afternoon costs $45.00. Comment and tell me a cheaper place to see Seahorses, Spotted rays, Eels, and stacks of fish including the aggressive Trigger Fish loaded with colors and a set of chompers that’ll draw blood if you enter their lovely cone of territory. The guides know and will keep you to the edge. There are the occasional whale sharks that eat plankton and don’t want you. They are slow and massive. While I was there two were sighted on different occasions but not by me or anybody I dove with.
I easily fell into a routine of diving in the mornings and having the afternoons available for down time reading or writing by the pool or wandering around the beaches or over the hills to other beaches. Take water. All good and I’ll return again. The coastal bars and music are worth stopping in and watching a sunset or chilling with friends. I am one of those people that can talk to anyone without a moment’s hesitation and figure out quick enough whether I’m going to enjoy their company or wasting my time. I have a tendency to move along because there’s always something to do and I want to do it.
I met some awesome new people of all ages, sizes, and countries and shared stories with many of the past and towards the future of what they’re up to or what I’m up to. Evenings, if possible, were spent at Maya’s restaurant at sunset with great music and a new sushi style menu of fresh fish with great chefs from around the world. You couldn’t ask for more while waiting to go to Nepal.
I head to Bangkok for a few days of visas and so forth and I’ve loaded up on reading material for research for the film project coming up in a couple/3 months in Paris so now I feel I can really enjoy Nepal for what it is, above sea level.
Just FYI on your flights and connections from Bangkok to Koh Tao, if your flight is going to be late like mine was there is a great little place to stay right around the corner from Lamphraya Pier which will take you to Koh Tao the following morning. It’s about a half hour by van from the airport and dumps you off at the dock. Around the corner is Phalarn Inn Resort, www.pharlarninn.com, tel. +66 77 247111, email - Pharlan_inn@hotmail.com. The manager's name is sugar. Go through a back gate and the people, food, and pool are lovely. There’s a wooden sign pointing in a obscure direction but if you are flexible you will understand and see the waist high gate. It’s a quaint little hide away bungalow place with rooms ranging from 400 baht to 45,000 baht/month with two bedrooms and a kitchenette, your call. Right now it’s 32 baht to the US $ + $12.50/night (double beds, bathroom, and high powered fan, no need for air-con when the trade winds blow and it’s better for your health. At the same dock you can catch snorkeling day tips around Samui or all the way to Koh Tao to Nuanyuan Island just off Koh Tao. Have fun and see you in Bangkok.
www.davidcdagley.com
www.davidcdagley.blogspot.com
www.davidcdagley.blogspot.com
