Scuba Diving – Ko Tao, Thailand

I started to get bored after 3 weeks in Chiang Mai and decided it was time for a change. Scuba diving was on my mind. Originally, I was lead to believe it wasn't diving season in Thailand, and excluded diving from my original schedule. The guide books indicated that the dive season starts in mid-November after the monsoons subside. The monsoons affect the underwater visibility. Later I learned that the monsoons subside in mid-November on the West Coast of Thailand and it was fine to dive on the East Coast of Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand prior to November. Anyway to make a long story short, I decided to go diving. I flew to Ko Samui (Ko Tao doesn't have an airport), connected with a dive master, Adam, and we motorboated over to Ko Tao. On arrival I learned it had been raining for four days prior to my arrival. Nevertheless, I proceeded to dive. For two of the five dives that I completed, the water visibility wasn't the best. During one of the dives, for a brief moments, I could barely see Adam, the dive instructor. However, the underwater visibility on the other three dives was fine. We saw a sea turtle, moray eels, clown fish, parrot fish, a spotted ray, puffer fish, and angel fish, just to name a few.

In the end, I was glad I did make to trip south to dive. My only other real diving experience was in the Red Sea where I completed my advance open water training. During the training I wasn't exactly relaxed, partially because I was concentrating on completing the training exercises correctly, I also was part of a larger group of divers, and I didn�t have a lot of experience diving. This time because it was only the two of us, and the object of the dives was purely pleasure, I was able to relax and thoroughly enjoy the dive. My air intake efficiency improved significantly. I can't wait to get to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in a couple of day for more diving.