HONG KONG | Wednesday, 28 Mar 2012 | Views [573]
It was very convenient to use Hong Kong as my pit stop in between trips to Australia and within Asia. Better yet, I've been able to spend a lot of time with my family, totaling over a month, the most ever since the family spread out. It was amazing ... Read more >
Tags: hong kong, octopus card, recycle, shenzhen
THAILAND | Friday, 16 Mar 2012 | Views [735]
With all the diving courses completed, I decided to leave Koh Tao a few days earlier to visit Koh Samui, and then leave from Koh Samui back to Bangkok. Koh Samui was only a 2.5-hour ferry ride away from Koh Tao, and from there I could take a day trip ... Read more >
Tags: ang thong national park, bangkok train, bo phut, emirates airline, koh samui
THAILAND | Sunday, 11 Mar 2012 | Views [810]
Outside of the four courses, I also took in several fun dives, and met may other divers and travelers. Some divers were on holiday, and had previous diving experiences or were certified elsewhere; some were new divers who just took and passed the Open ... Read more >
Tags: fun dive, koh nang yuan, koh tao
THAILAND | Saturday, 10 Mar 2012 | Views [452]
Many divers I met recommended taking the course and getting certified in Nitrox diving. Nitrox is the commonly used term for enriched air, or air that has more oxygen added so it's above 21%, and thus less nitrogen. For recreational divers, we could ... Read more >
Tags: koh tao, nitrox
THAILAND | Wednesday, 7 Mar 2012 | Views [459]
After a few weeks in Thailand, I've come to miss a few things dearly: 1. Washing machine!! Laundry by hand all the time sucks! It's impossible to wash anything thick cleanly, so no more denim after this trip. Will have to make do for the rest of the ... Read more >
Tags: laundry, tea tree oil, washing machine
THAILAND | Monday, 5 Mar 2012 | Views [543]
I learned about the Save Koh Tao conservation group through my flatmate at the "penthouse"; his dive shop was a participant of the group. The first weekend I was in Koh Tao, it held its monthly ocean and land clean-up event, so I joined. ... Read more >
Tags: buoyancy world, marine conservation, save koh tao
THAILAND | Saturday, 3 Mar 2012 | Views [437]
My next class, Rescue Diver, wasn't so popular, so I was the only student. Being a rescue diver included learning to be an emergency first responder on land, so the course started with watching another DVD (a poorly made video with bad actors acting ... Read more >
Tags: koh tao, rescue dive
THAILAND | Thursday, 1 Mar 2012 | Views [2350]
Koh Tao, aka Turtle Island, is a great place to release your "inner tortoise". No one really observes time, and days of the week don't matter (unless you want to join the pub crawl, which takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays).... Read more >
Tags: koh tao, scuba diving, thai massage
THAILAND | Wednesday, 29 Feb 2012 | Views [900]
Once I settled into my permanent room in Koh Tao, I took a look around the room one day and noticed how I was able to live comfortably with surprisingly few things, compared with what I had in the States. I pride myself in having gotten rid of many ... Read more >
Tags: live simply, luggage, real simple
THAILAND | Sunday, 26 Feb 2012 | Views [1113]
Having endured the embarrassment of being lost, I returned the next morning for the next two dives. The French couple in my class didn't seem annoyed that their dive was cut short when I got lost, but then again I don't know French. The first dive ... Read more >
Tags: advanced open water, koh tao, night dive, thailand, wreck dive
THAILAND | Saturday, 25 Feb 2012 | Views [1776]
The advanced open water certification allows divers to dive up to 30 meters. My class this time had three students, me and a young French couple. First we had to choose three of the five specialties to focus (the two mandatory are Peak Performance ... Read more >
Tags: advanced open water, buoyancy world, koh tao, thailand, underwater navigation
THAILAND | Thursday, 23 Feb 2012 | Views [725]
The fourth and last day of the open water course were two dives in the morning. We met at 7 AM, went through the whole routine of loading, boarding the boat, gearing up, and dived in by 8:30. The first site was Shark Island, which sadly has no sharks;... Read more >
Tags: adobe premiere, idvd, koh tao, open water diver, padi, thailand, underwater videographer
THAILAND | Wednesday, 22 Feb 2012 | Views [627]
I started the PADI Open Water Diver course the day I arrived on Koh Tao. Once passed, this course gives a diver the credential to dive anywhere in the world up to 18 meters. There were three other students besides me in my class: a young guy from ... Read more >
Tags: blue-spotted stingray, koh tao, open water diver, padi, scuba diving, sea turtle, thailand
THAILAND | Wednesday, 22 Feb 2012 | Photo Gallery
The island sisters of Koh Tao and Koh Samui
See all 36 photos >>
THAILAND | Monday, 20 Feb 2012 | Views [908]
Getting to Koh Tao from Bangkok required an overnight bus ride. After being assigned a seat on the bus, all of us passengers waited at Khao San Road for an hour before the bus arrived. Once on the bus around 9 PM, I was given a pillow and light throw.... Read more >
Tags: daily life, food voucher, koh samui, koh tao, penthouse, thai cuisine
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