Arriving in Koh Tao we headed to the main beach of Sairee and straight to Scuba Junction which is the scuba diving centre Gemma worked for. Looking to surprise her she was out on the boat working so we spoke to Natalie who organised some accommodation for us and being an unbelievable sales person had both of us signed up for our scuba diving course. We were going to start the following day with a Discover Scuba Course to see how we got on before heading out onto the Open Water. I was well up for it but I think Kate was in shock. She had never contemplated scuba diving due to being claustrophobic and hating seaweed and sharks. Being a trooper she took one for the team.
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| Arriving at the Island of Koh Tao, So Excited |
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| Nearly There |
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| Well we get here. No sign of Gemma, but we're all signed up PADI style |
We eventually managed to catch up with Gemma once she was on dry land and it was definitely a surprise. Even better was the fact that she would be our instructor. Happy Days! The first night we all went out for food together to catch up before hitting the sack early before our course in the morning.
The following morning went well. We had our briefing learnt about the equipment and headed into the ocean from the beach into a confined space where we learnt lots of skills like clearing your mask underwater and got our first scuba diving certificate, Discover Scuba. There was fear and tears from Kate especially when she purged her regulator not ready for the blast of bubbles that followed but Gemma was great and part of us were now hooked.
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| Gemma got Kate through Day 1 |
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| Who'd have thought Scuba Buddies in the making |
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| Discover Scuba DONE! |
Forgetting about demolishing our travel budget we signed up for the PADI Open Water Course that was to start that afternoon so this ended up being day one of four where we would be wet a lot and pretty much living underwater. The first evening of the course was very relaxed where we got our PADI text books and watched videos as well as a run through of what would be expected over the coming days. The two of us with Gemma was one group and there was another group of four people. Scuba Junction seemed a great company to learn to scuba dive with. It is one of the smaller ones but had a really friendly family atmosphere and small groups with more one to one tuition rather than being one of twelve people. Definitely recommend it to readers if you find yourself in Koh Tao wanting to scuba dive.
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| Our Scuba Studying. 3 days 1 whole text book... |
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| A nice end to day one Koh Tao |
It was great having Gemma as a local guide in the evenings and we met her boyfriend Justin who was a great guy and a Dive Director at another Scuba Diving Company called Crystal. We had amazing food at different restaurants including Lung Pae Restaurant up in the hills which was delicious and even hoped on the back of their motorbikes to bear witness to the snorkel initiation. This is apparently carried out all over the world and consists of newly qualified Dive Masters drinking manmade buckets through a snorkel with a mask on. You then run around your chair before sprinting to the ocean and back again. The first one back wins. It is very entertaining to watch and extremely messy. Being good students alcoholic drinks were kept to a minimum in the evenings but we were able to sample Leo Beer.
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| A must find Restaurant |
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| A great meal & fun times at Lung Pae |
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| Justin Rev-ving Up the Snorkel Test at Crystal |
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| The Master Divers are OFF! |
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| The girls seem to be amused. Check out the San Miguel Light & hidden Leo Beer |
LEO BEER, PALE LAGER, THAILAND, 5% ABV
Leo Beer was introduced to beer connoisseurs in 1999 and can be found served in cans, both 330ml and 660ml bottles as well as draught. Brewed by the masters of Singha at the Boon Rawd Brewery in Bangkok, Leo seems to be a mid market pale lager aimed to compete especially on price with Chang in the Thai beer market leaving Singha as the more premium Pilsner style option. This little guy has also picked up some awards along the way:
2000 – Best Quality Beer from World Brew.
2001 – Gold Taste Award, USA
2003 – Best Beer Brewing from International Trophy for Quality, Spain.
Loving the packaging and marketing around the place the beer seemed to be selling pretty well. A very light golden straw with high carbonation and a frothy white head it had an aroma of lemongrass, green apple, rice and even crackers. The flavour was well balanced with more fruity sweetness than hoppy bitterness like its big brother, a light and crisp finish.
A great session brew for the masses, which is why you don’t really see it in the farang bars. That’s left for Singha while Leo is found outside the cities in the smaller towns and villages. Growing in popularity all the time it is a good brew if you’re looking for something easy drinking in the souring temperatures of Thailand. There is also no sign of the banging headache the following morning unlike what is referred to as the Chang Head or you’ve been Chang’ed.
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| Leo Beer 330ml Bottle |
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| While talking about Boon Rawd Brewery. As well as Singha Beer & Bottled Water we also came across Singha Soda Water... |
Back to the Open Water Course! The remaining three days consisted of videos and quizzes in the morning followed by equipment set up and checks. Lunch was next and amazing bagel sandwiches from Zanzibar’s were delivered to the centre. A highlight I can tell you. The afternoons were then spent diving putting all of the theory into practice. The second day was again from the beach adding to the Discover Scuba Course. I would definitely recommend doing that first. The evenings then had us studying for the following day. Yes you heard me correctly studying. Now this was hard work. We had both switched our brains off many months ago and forgotten how to use a pen.
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| Being a good student!!! |
Day three and four saw us complete our four open water dives from the boat visiting the dive sites of White Rock, Japanese Gardens Twins and it was just the most amazing experience. Kate cried every day until day four but marched on and ended up loving it. On the open water dives we saw so much aquatic life including little Nemos and Sting-rays. The best was however saved for last. Just as we were about to complete our final dive we were lucky enough to see a turtle. It was unbelievable and like a sign as it swam off waving at us. It was like congratulations guys and welcome to the world beneath the surface. We passed and were now qualified PADI Open Water Divers, especially after passing our written exam in the morning. What a feeling and there was only one way to celebrate. After filling in our dive books we opened the Singha Beer with a Chunky Kit-Kat. Now that’s living the highlife.
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| Everybody aboard the long-tail boat for Open Water Diving |
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| Probably the greatest & most needed full english breakfast ever at The Greasy Spoon |
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| Days beach chilling |
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| & seeing the town |
That left us with a farewell dinner with our new diving buddies and the ever popular San Miguel Light Beer.
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| Thought I would try another Chang before Dinner |
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| Cheers guys for being great hosts. Enjoy the beer Justin |
SAN MIGUEL LIGHT, BLONDE LAGER, SPAIN, 5% ABV
San Miguel Light is brewed in Thailand at the Pathum Thani Brewery just North of Bangkok and is marketed in Thailand as a premium priced beer. It has caught the imagination of the Thai female beer drinking market. This is probably because they think it is lower in calories etc...
Wondering about the taste I was actually quite impressed and it seems to be a firm favourite amongst the healthy scuba diving community. The beer is light in taste but still 5% ABV. It has a slightly sweet, malty taste with high carbonation but lacks head. It has a slight dry aftertaste with no noticeable hoppy bitterness. Not really much to bang on about especially to the beer nuts but amongst the local expats, popular. Leaving you on a beer note there is only one thing left to say...
Koh Tao we love you XX
PS: We can't say enough how much we enjoyed learning to Scuba Dive. It is was one of the most amazing experiences ever. We are now addicted and remember if you are ever on the island of Koh Tao check out the following link and say hi to the Scuba Junction Gang.
http://www.scuba-junction.com/
Cheers Gemma. Amazing skills to get us two through that course!!!
This is very nice tips on Padi Open Water Course so i want to give to more detail on thailand padi course. so am giving more tips on padi open water course.
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