Schundel's World Trip: Thailand - Relaxing and Diving (Koh Tao)

After a very interesting but also exhausting trip through India I continued my trip to Thailand. A quick stop in Bangkok to recover from a really bad cold and cough without really doing too much sight seeing. I simply tried to recharge my batteries, read and do some travel planning for the coming weeks. Only on my last day I ventured out and walked several miles through downtown Bangkok, watching the busy big city life, getting annoyed with all the sex tourists (unbelievable) and then had dinner ..... yeahhhh ..... at a German restaurant called "Bei Otto". It was good, but totally overpriced compared with everything else I have experienced in Bangkok so far. After a short stay of 3 days I traveled on to the small island of Koh Tao (close to Koh Samui). Life is passing on a different pace here ..... very relaxed and laid back. I am staying in a wonderful little beach resort (Sensi Paradise Beach) and have a little bungalow all to myself. Koh Tao is a divers destination and I completed a dive course "Advanced Open Water". Initially I had to fight my anxiety, even after several dives in the past I am still not fully over the problem to descend and breathing through a regulator. Somehow it does not feel normal to me and I always have the urge to go back to the surface and breathe fresh air, especially through my nose. Also, I had quite a few problems equalizing the pressure in my ears. Part of this might be caused by the cold that I have. The dive school ("Dive Point") I had chosen based on recommendations was absolutely great and the instructor s as well as the entire staff on the boat have been extremely professional and helpful. With every dive my fears diminished a little more and also my problems with the pressure. I was absolutely excited when I finished a deep dive to 30 meters. Not only could I actually enjoy diving without worrying too much about my ears, but seeing sharks very close by provided quite a thrill. I loved it and was almost excited to get back into the water for a multi-level dive. That very same day I also completed a night dive, which was something completely new and amazing. Everything is so different at night ..... however, when we met another group of divers I was a little confused at first since we had been just the two of us for quite some time. At first I did not realize it was other divers, suddenly their was some light and dark shades moving through the water. Nevertheless the night dive was an awesome experience and I want to do more.

The last days I have been just chilling, reading, catching up on my journal and pampering myself with massages and more ... life is good. Tomorrow I will be traveling to another island Koh Phangan where I will be staying in a resort to fast for 7 days, do yoga and meditation and of course have a massage every day. I will try to update my blog with some more details and photos over the next couple of days, Internet availability permitting.