18th to 20th December Diving on Koh Tao

On Tuesday morning, I woke up early and went to a nearby beach to take a morning swim due to the sunlight.

Shortly after returning to the hostel, the monsoon struck again and gave us a tropical rain shower. The island was under its grip until noon, but then the sun came out again, which we used for a walk along the southern coast. From there, we had views of beautiful bays and the forested hills of the islands, especially when we stood a bit higher and the panorama was even more impressive.

Soon it was time to return because our first theory lesson for the diving license was scheduled for 5 p.m. After some paperwork, we watched the theory film for our license, which made our heads smoke after about an hour of learning about various pressure effects and things to consider. However, after this lesson, there was another one and then we had to answer review questions, which we could do in groups. We couldn't answer all of them, but we did fairly well for our first lesson, I think.

The next day, Wednesday, was all about diving. In the morning, we watched the video from the previous day again, this time in a group of six that made up our entire course, and we were now able to answer almost all the questions. These mainly dealt with behavior rules and physical effects during a dive and were more or less interesting. Then we finally got on the boat and after a short ride, we arrived at an island and our first diving spot.

Together with our diving instructor Max and another beginner diver from our course (the other three were with another instructor), we familiarized ourselves with our diving equipment and set it up ourselves. Then we put on a wetsuit and the diving gear, which, in addition to the air tank and breathing mask, consisted of a buoyancy vest and a weight belt.

We jumped into the sea and thanks to the buoyancy vest, we were easily kept afloat while swimming towards the beach to reach shallower water. At the bottom, we performed various basic operations such as putting on the breathing mask underwater, clearing the flooded goggles, or sharing air with our diving partner. We also practiced staying at a certain diving depth. This is necessary because after taking a deep breath, there is a lot of air in the body and you rise, and after a deep exhale, there is little air inside and you sink again. So it was important to breathe calmly and evenly so that you don't swim up and down like a yo-yo. Later, we could use our breath to avoid obstacles and avoid pumping air into our vest unnecessarily.

After about three quarters of an hour, we happily returned to the boat to take a proper break before the second dive. It was then announced that a couple from the other group of three in our course would not continue after this first smaller dive because they couldn't cope with the situation underwater. It remained a mystery to us why these two had bought brand new diving equipment like the expensive dive computer...

For the second dive, there were only the four of us left in the course, plus the friend of the remaining female diver. We descended to a depth of 8 meters next to an anchor buoy. Three of us waited for the diving instructor and the fourth member. She tried very hard but was unable to equalize the pressure in her ears. Since it was already quite late and we were slowly getting cold at the bottom, we all had to swim back to the boat after 20 minutes. On the way back and after a hot tea, we packed up our equipment and cleaned it as well as our wetsuit.

Back at the diving school, we had a late lunch together and sat together for a while in a nice group.

When it was time for dinner, Andra and I went to a very good restaurant that we had already visited the previous two evenings and then went to bed in the hostel after watching half a movie - diving makes you tired.

A new and exciting diving day awaited us on Thursday. In the morning, we had another theory review lesson with Max, our diving instructor, which he used to discuss the most important physical conditions underwater with us again. This included the relative change in pressure, which decreases the deeper you dive, the changing volume of gases under pressure, and the effects of the partial pressure of nitrogen and oxygen in the breathing air below sea level. Everything was important and easy to understand, and afterwards, we took a small theory test for the diving license, which we all passed with flying colors.

We went back to the boat and, together with Mr. White, we went to two diving spots near Mango Bay and the Japanese Garden.

At the beginning of each dive, we practiced and repeated important procedures, including an emergency ascent in case our breathing air runs out and our diving partner is not nearby. After these exercises, we finally explored the underwater world at depths of up to 12 meters. It was simply incredible. Floating between coral reefs of various shapes and fish that you usually only see in an aquarium and that have all imaginable shades of color was and is an unbelievable experience. The only sound you hear is your own calm breath and the bubbles rising underwater - a unique feeling. Due to its species diversity, the area around Koh Tao is simply perfect for getting a diving license, which is why it is probably so popular here. Unfortunately, our fourth group member again failed to equalize the pressure, so she had to give up too, and our course was now reduced by half.

Nevertheless, the four of us plus the friend of the remaining female diver went to a restaurant together after spending some time at the diving school. Since we had to get on the boat at half past six the next morning, it didn't last too long. But it was still a beautiful evening.

After a long break, my 60th blog post finally appears. Due to the diving license, I simply didn't have enough time in the past few days. Thank you for reading up to this point. In the following days, the last posts of this fantastic journey, which is coming to an end, will be published.