Koh Tao

I am writing this item while already being in Sydney. I will write an update on that part of my adventures right after this item, but first follows an overview of my 1 month experience on the turtle island, as it translates from Thai.
Koh Tao is the 2nd biggest dive area in terms of numbers of diving certifications. As such over 1 million dives occur around its waters. This was the principal reason why I decided to move over for a month to this island; gaining a lot of teaching experience and having plenty of opportunity to do so. So, I packed up all my stuff in Samui, gave away all the household stuff I did or could not take with me and got on the ferry to Koh Tao, the same ferry I have been many times when diving. This is the second reason why I decided to stay in Koh Tao; I did not want to spend each diving day 2 hours on the way up to Koh Tao and 2 hours back.
I also wanted to experience Koh Tao as I had not really checked out and, as it is pretty close-by, it offered me as such an easy way of change of scenery. With 3 bags of all my stuff, I made my way from the ferry to the diving school which is located right in front of the pier. Yes, 3 bags, but with stuff I need. Let’s not forget, one bag is dedicated to diving gear and I also have all sorts of instructor manuals with me.

The diving school, Planet Scuba (a sister company of SIDS), were aware of my arrival and helped me find a place to stay. I checked out a couple of them, but found a nice room up the hill of Mae Haad only a few minutes away from the diving school. Despite that, I decided to rent a moped as that would enable me to make my way around the island a lot easier.

Teaching Diving

I checked and could start teaching straightaway the next day. I would do a couple of so-called ‘team-teaching’ courses, where I would work together with an experienced instructor. Not that I could not teach on my own, but this would enable me to get a a quick insight of the tips & tricks that I did not learn on the IDC course and gain as such very valuable knowledge in very little time.

I was very exited to start my first course. After all, this was about what I learned and went to Thailand for. Luckily, it was a very relaxed group all though all sorts of stuff went wrong; going down to the swimming pool which was being being emptied, alternatively going into the bay, where, due to everyone’s moving, the stirred-up sand minimized visibility, but we managed to get everything completed as planned. The next few days were dedicated to the open water dives part of the course and that was also a pretty smooth operation. I must say, I felt excited about teaching but did not feel very nervous, not before the course, nor during the course. I felt actually more and more relaxed as we went along and had more and more fun!

My decision to start with team teaching was a good one in hindsight, as I received many very valuable tips which I apply now myself as well. As one can say:”better to have something properly copied, than wrongly invented...”. Tips I received are about things like which points to elaborate during the knowledge development sections, the order and combinations of skill practice, easy ways of conducting certain skills etc. After all, the course is scheduled over 3.5 days, rather then various days during a couple of weeks, so everything is very time sensitive and must be conducted efficiently and effectively.

I taught various courses whereby some were more challenging due to the lack of experience or the fact that these courses are not frequently requested. All by all, a great learning experience which I have applied in my current teaching!

Off hours

Koh Tao is not a very big island. It is a lot smaller than Samui and mainly dedicated to diving. Over 40 diving schools are offering there services. The are a couple of things you can do in the afternoon, as the diving would end at around 16hrs at the latest usually. You can watch a DVD, available at around Bhat 100 (E 2,00), go down to the bar, go on the internet and spend lots of time on Facebook (www.facebook.com - the international version of Hyves) and have some food in one of the many relaxing beach bars, full with bean bags, or lounge seats. I know, life is very tough down there having to eat your diner outside while watching a beautiful sunset over the bay at very nice ambient temperatures...

Fortunately, I already knew several of the colleagues of Planet Scuba and met some very nice ones too. I can definitively say that I have become friends with many of them and really enjoyed our time together over there. As everything and everybody lives quite nearby, it is very easy to meet up and chat, have a few drinks and have some fun. After all, Koh Tao is also a holiday destination with plenty of nice locations to go to, have fun and meet people (if I would state “do things”, then this could be considered PADI advertising ;-) ). I had great breakfasts, lunches and diners with all of the lot at Koh Tao, even a crazy St. Patrick’s day at the local Irish pub and a very excellent night after completing my instructor specialty training, right before I left for Australia.

So, thanks so much everyone at Koh Tao for having such a great time together!!! I will definitively be back to enjoy some more!

Departure for Oz

As I was to fly to Oz (Australia) on the 24th of March, I made my way back to Samui a few days before that date, so I could finalize some things I needed to do over there. I managed to bring down my luggage from 3 to 2 bags by scrutinizing each and every item on whether I truly needed it or not. Although having done that, I still had 2 hugs bags with a lot of weight, that would definitively cost me quite a bit of money when flying to other locations.

It was good to be back on Samui. This time I stayed in Chaweng, as I had to do various stuff in that area. Ivo - a local Dutch friend - asked me if I wanted to join him to the Full Moon Party at Koh Phangan. I did, as it might be my last opportunity to go down there. I already went there in November, so this was the second time. I can only say from my own experience, the first time is a lot of fun, seconds and probably more are much like the same; same music, same type of party, same type of drinking, only the people differ, although they are the same drunk as before. It wasn’t bad, but I do know now, that I will skip a 3rd time.

The next few days, I was able to complete my several chores and catch up with friends. That was even more possible during a get-together over a Thai BBQ (an all you can eat buffet with a hot pot on your table (sort of “gourmetten” for the Dutchies) for only Bhat 89 (E 1,80) excluding drinks). There, I had the opportunity to meet everyone and also to invite them to some drinks at a bar the next evening. We had an excellent evening with a lot of fun! Also those drinks together the next evening was excellent, where everyone seemed to be enjoying himself as well.

And then, it was time to say goodbye to Thailand for now and leave for ‘down under’ and see some familiar faces from back home in Amsterdam. I was to meet Brenda in Sydney during her last days of her 2-month trip around Oz and later Nicole in Dunsborough (South of Perth, Western Australia) and her little ‘kabouter’ (baby). More on that in my next posting!

Sawadee kap!

p.s. 1 - only a limited amount of photos are there to see, as I lost many due to a computer mistake on my side... :-( Luckily, the memories are not erased that easily
p.s. 2 - You can see also a lot of pictures on my facebook page www.facebook.com

Mobile number update - Oz!

Only a short message for now. I still owe you an update on my stay at Koh Tao, but that has to wait as I have a computer problem currently, so am writing this in an internet cafe.

Actually, not just an internet cafe, but one located in Sydney, Australia. Yes, I have made my way yesterday to this other side of the world and have moved from spring straight into autumn!

For now, I want to let you know what my Aussie mobile number is:

+61 4163 999 11

I will infrequently check my thai number, so please contact me on this number if you want to reach me!

see ya later, mate!