Paul's Big World Blog: Koh Tao

Phad Thai is probably the ultimate pre-scuba food. Lots of good carbs for energy, protein from the shrimp and tofu to keep you going, and with a good sprinkling of chilis, it wakes you up and gets you ready to plunge into the cool blue. I could do that every day.

Phad Thai in Samui, waiting for the boat

I love being here. It’s impossible to be stressed in a place like Thailand. It’s hot, but pleasant. The people are warm and friendly – but even when they show signs of farang fatigue, they are generally harmless. Other parts of Thailand are easier to categorize than Koh Tao. Bangkok is a big, fast moving city with a well-known reputation. Phuket is an international destination for beaches and nightlife. Railay Beach is still quaint and understated, even though it’s grown and become more expensive.

first night sunset

To me, Koh Tao feels like it breaks the rules. It’s neither an undeveloped paradise, nor an in-your-face high end resort. Instead, it’s more of a resort wannabe – which to me means it makes promises that it can’t really deliver – which can be worse than making no promises at all. The place I’m staying – the Coral Grand Resort, is a nice collection of bungalows right on the beach. Beautiful in every way, but the finer details are lacking. Generally, I would rather pay less, expect little and get less - or pay more and get more. A good friend of mine once said – 1 star or 5 stars – nothing in between. I tend to agree. No complaints - just observation. Very happy to be where I am.

my bungalow by the beach

I came to Koh Tao to get my feet wet in a place that is known as scuba school central. It’s been over 6 years since my last dive, and a refresher course and some easier diving seemed like the right thing to do before I go back out to the deep dives and strong currents of the Similan Islands. Scuba schools here are all run by 20-somethings using diving as an excuse to escape Germany/Sweden/Australia/etc. for a couple of years. In retrospect, it doesn’t sound like a half-bad plan – kind of wish I’d have thought of that way back when…

After doing a “refresher course” in the morning – a mini classroom session followed by some time in the pool going through various drills to clear my regulator, practice taking off and putting back on various pieces of equipment underwater, and practicing staying neutrally buoyant – I was ready for the open ocean. My first two dives in over 6 years were spectacular – in that they were my first two dives in over 6 years! Visibility was decent, and saw many beautiful fish, great coral, and a couple of blue spotted sting rays. Tomorrow, I head out at 6am for some deeper dives at a couple of the better sights around Koh Tao. Nice to be back in the cool blue.

aquarium

underwater garden

Nemos - sad ones are called Emos

Day 2 - Dive #3 was at a place called “Green Rock” – to distinguish it from dives #1 and #2 at Red Rock and White Rock (said they were first mapped by an Italian). Visibility was poor, and our ~22 y/o Sweedish dive master didn’t know the site and took us on a fruitless journey over barren sand for 20 minutes before we found signs of life. In contrast, dive #4 at “The Twins” made the 6am start totally worthwhile. If Disney built an underwater garden for visitors to explore, this would be a Fungineer masterpiece. My new Canon G12 in its plastic housing was awesome, taking both great pictures and videos. Compared to 10 years ago when I was shooting my Nikon SLR with slide film, having the instant feedback and gratification of digital makes getting great underwater shots so much easier. Tomorrow, I’m on the 6am boat for 2 dives followed by the 12 noon boat for two more.