When I talked to Shay about wanting to go to Koh Tao, she immediately told me I needed to get dive certified while I was there. Scuba diving was never on my bucket list, but when Shay told me about her night dive, I was sold. Mind you, Shay could convince anyone of anything. But still, this was an experience I definitely wanted to try. 

To get to Koh Tao, you have pretty much 2 options. You can fly to Koh Samui and then take a ferry, or you can fly to Chumphon and take a ferry. I flew to Chumphon as it as substatially cheaper than flying to Koh Samui. Unfortunately, the ferry to Koh Tao left at 1 pm and I arrived to the pier at 8 am. Good thing they had wifi or I would have gone mad waiting for 5 hours. 

I had done a lot of research about which Dive School I wanted to get certified with. Lonely Planet’s Thailand Guide listed 5 schools that all had some good reviews. I knew I didn’t want to go to a big school where I would be in a large group and have very little time with the instructor. I had no idea how I would react underwater. To be honest, I thought I would probably freak out a bit. Because of this, I wanted a smaller class size. I decided to go with Crystal Dive School and I wasn’t disappointed. 

My class had 9 people, including myself. Robin from Germany, Lars from Holland, Ben from the UK, Madeline from Germany, Tulin from Germany, Wim from France, Alex from South Africa, and Jessica from the US. Between the 9 of us, we had 3 instructors: Manu from Mexico, Tina from Canada, and Iggy from Spain. Ben, Lars, Jess and I got to be quite close during our Open Water Certification, and coined ourselves the nickname the “Awesome Foursome.” Ben’s friend Jon (who is already a Dive Master) got stuck with our group as well. But it was this group that made my last week of my trip so memorable. 

Our first day was a day in the classroom, watching videos and doing chapter reviews and quizzes. Day 2 was an entire day in the pool with our gear on, learning and doing a bunch of skills. Day 3, in the morning we finished the last few chapter reviews and wrote our final exam. I completed mine with 96%. Then in the afternoon we had our first 2 dives out on the water. Day 4, we had our last 2 open water dives and then that was it! We were certified PADI Open Water Divers.

I had said to myself that if I felt comfortable once in the water, and had no problems equalizing my ears as I went down, I was going to do my Advanced Open Water as well. Crystal Dive offers a discount on their Advanced Course if you complete the Open Water with them. Luckily, Lars, Ben and Jessica decided to stick around and complete the Advanced as well, which consists of 5 more open water dives. Two are mandatory, the Navagation and the Deep Dive, and you get to choose 3 from a list of other dives. Our group chose the Wreck Dive, the Buoyancy Dive and the Night Dive. Unfortunately, because the tide was bringing in jellyfish at night, we were unable to do a night dive, and instead we did the Fish Identification Dive. 

Diving is something that can’t be described, only experienced. The feeling of breathing underwater, and getting a glimpse into this entirely different world, it’s amazing. I thought I would be scared about what I would see. Fear of the unknown I guess, but really, it just made me curious. Made me want to explore more, and see what else is out there. Hearing the stories Jon and Iggy had from there countless number of dives, just made me even more excited to dive in different places and not only explore the world from above, but from below as well. 

Before I got to Koh Tao, I was ready to go home. I probably could have cut my trip short and headed home with Lloyd when he left. But going to Koh Tao and getting dive certified was something that had been on my list from the beginning, and I didn’t want to let that go. I’m so glad I toughed it out and followed my original plan, because my week on the island getting dive certified could not have been more amazing, and I know it wouldn’t have been the same with out the “Awesome Foursome + Jon”. We all share a passion for traveling, and a passion for diving. We just clicked, and our week was filled with so many laughs and experiences, it made it really hard to say goodbye. I can’t wait until our paths cross again, and I know they will because I’ll be the one to ensure it happens. 

Jessica, Lars, Ben & Jon, thanks for a killer week! Can’t wait for our live aboard and some crazy new adventures!

Until then…

Ciao!

-A<3