Wide Eyed Heading East: Koh Tao: Round 1

Koh Tao is a small island on the gulf coast perched on a ledge of coral reefs, making it famous worldwide for both diving and snorkeling. I headed to Koh Tao because I wanted to dive; I had tried diving as a teenager and really enjoyed it so I was keen to do it again in the tropics and see what was going on under the surface of the turquoise waters.

As diving is so big in Koh Tao there are tonnes of dive schools to choose from (96 if you believe the talk), so my first day was spent wandering around Sairee beach talking to different dive centres to work out who offered the best deal.

I bumped into my Swiss friends again while walking around and had lunch with them to catch up. They had already done their diving and advised me to go with a school that taught in small groups as they felt this offered the best experience.Taking their advice on board I decided I would learn with 'Siam' dive school, as they teach in very small groups and also do all their skills in the sea rather than the pool. This decision led to the best few weeks of my trip so far!

I ended up learning on my own and having an instructor to myself, which was perfect. My instructor, Lee, is from Wales and is absolutely full of beans! He made learning to dive so much fun and we really bonded during my 4-day course, so I ended up making a great friend as well as gaining my open water certification.

The course itself was awesome, we started with some theory work and a day practicing dive skills, then spent two days out on the dive boat doing 4 dives in the ocean. It was inexplicably cool swimming around the colourful coral and among the various tropical fish, and I was immediately hooked.

The other great thing about learning to dive with Siam is that they are such a social dive school, and so every night students and instructors get together for dinner followed by drinks in their favourite haunts, Diza bar then Lotus then Fishbowl -always-

I got to know so many other people through the dive school that by the end of my week I had made a whole group of friends, most of whom actually live and work on Koh Tao. It was really nice to make friends with 'locals' rather than tourists as they know the best places to eat/drink, the best things to do, and I knew that if I came back they would still be here ... and at the end of my week in Koh Tao I knew I would be coming back! It wasn't in my initial plans, but I had enjoyed diving so much that I was keen to do a further advanced certification. So I left the island for Christmas and New Year promising everyone that I would be back at the beginning of January.