Up at dawn and en path to the harbor, my abdomen fluttered with each nerves and pleasure.
I had booked an all-day boat dive by my hostel in Phuket, although I hadn’t been scuba diving in years.
Regardless of the short refresher course I’d accomplished in preparation for the journey, I nonetheless felt not sure. I hoped I wouldn’t be a nuisance to my dive grasp or the opposite divers in my group.
You see, this was additionally my first solo journey and I used to be alone – no dive buddy to lean again on this time. Nonetheless, my worries weren’t sufficient to sway me. Nothing beats the sensation of respiratory underwater… particularly when the water occurs to be crystal clear and a balmy 89° Fahrenheit. Whereas the Thai island of Koh Tao is well-known for its world class diving, I had no thought what to anticipate in Phuket. I merely needed to revive my scuba expertise and have a enjoyable day trip on the water, even when we didn’t see a lot sea life.
See additionally: High Koh Tao Diving Websites
Arriving on the harbor, I used to be launched to my dive grasp Praew (an area to the island), and one other diver from Germany who would be part of us for the day. Praew briefed us on the dive websites we’d be visiting and patiently answered all of our questions. Approaching the primary dive web site and feeling only a tad queasy from the boat experience out, we slipped into our gear and (after a fast security test), slid into the water.
Right here goes nothing!
As we slowly and quietly descended, my pre-dive jitters melted away and my respiratory relaxed. A complete world opened up earlier than me. Colleges of fish darted earlier than my eyes, a turtle swam within the distance, a sea snake slithered above the sand and big boulders fashioned mini underwater canyons to swim by. Within the distance, my dive grasp identified a reef shark darting out and in of view. This dive was proving to be probably the greatest of my life. We caught up with a sea turtle and swam alongside it (at a respectful distance), and I quickly misplaced monitor of time.
Earlier than I knew it, our tanks had been working low and we needed to ascend. Again on the boat, we loved recent watermelon and fruit juice as we recounted all that we had seen whereas transferring in direction of the subsequent dive web site.
Over the subsequent two days, we encountered numerous extra turtles, reef sharks and fish, together with my favourite – the batfish. I even swam by my first shipwreck and colleges of sea life inched out of my means whereas I explored the varied corridors.
It was, to place it evenly, the expertise of a lifetime and one I’ll always remember.
After our last dive, Praew was variety sufficient to share his GoPro footage with us (freed from cost!), and I now have a whole bunch of lovely images to recollect the journey.
Again in my room that night, I drifted to sleep exhausted, however ever so content material and completely happy. I vowed to return to Thailand the next 12 months for an additional solo dive journey – and I did – this time in Koh Tao. I now plan to proceed to return for years to return.
Scuba diving in Thailand gives the whole lot one may hope for when it comes to service, local weather, sea life and variety, and actually caters to all ability ranges. In reality, there’s no higher place to get licensed for those who’re curious about changing into an open water diver.
To e book your personal scuba diving journey in Phuket, preserve your eyes peeled for dive journeys departing to Racha Noi and Racha Yai. Journeys are usually all-day excursions and your chosen supplier will choose you up straight out of your resort. In 2017, my journey price $105 USD (3,700 Bhat) and included breakfast, lunch and equipment.
