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| View from my room at Ban's |
From high heels to flip flops, peddling copiers to diving, taking the TTC to riding in boats and dredging through snow to basking in the sun…there’s not much to complain about in this new lifestyle of mine. Just about the only things I have a mild concern about (and that’s the overstatement of the year) are how noisy my room can be (but really how often am I in it?), how morbidly obese I feel compared to the in shape bodies on the beach (although this goes both ways since the eye candy ain’t too rough) and…well, that’s it really.
I completed my Rescue Diver course with a really fun and young German instructor named “Rocky” (her real name is Adrian so I’m sure you can all figure that one out) and my “victim” was Vikki who is also German. With the two of them taking advantage of the English speaking student, it was easy for them to create some very challenging and hilarious emergency scenarios which included ketchup for blood and two idiot divers who both got caught on coral and ran out of air under water. The whole experience was exhausting but I had such a blast doing it! Rocky has been kind enough to take me under her wing socially so I have only spent one night on my own since arriving in Koh Tao. I'll have another post on the food but so far so amazing...
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| Alex and his Sunday roast at Choppers |
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| Pad Thai at Cafe del Sol |
Two days after my Rescue, I have already started my Dive Master Training and done my very first Open Water assist at Sunshine Divers. Sunshine is the sister shop to Ban’s. Basically, I follow the instructor and the student(s) on their dive and help out wherever needed…at least for now. I have two giant textbooks to get through and a series of physical and written exams to complete. My head is still reeling from all of the information but if these 22 year old kids can get through it, so can I….even if it’s taken some of them 6-8 months to get through half the course and I’m planning to get it done in 3 weeks.
Also, I need to get my dives up to 60 for the DMT and 100 for the IDC which I have no problem doing since the diving here is unreal. There are literally highways of fish. It's like watching the 401 East and West but rather than being filled with cars, the water is filled with barracuda and other fish. And the thing I am most excited about is that there have been 2 days in the past week where whale sharks have been seen. I hope I am fortunate enough to see one before I leave the island.
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| Whale Shark |
The dives so far have been good. I have been “working” during all of them so far so it will be nice to do some fun dives. That being said, “working” has its privileges! Tomorrow I assist on a two day Advanced course where we will be doing a deep dive (100 ft), night dive and a DPV dive (YEAH!!!). DPV stands for Diver Propulsion Vehicle…think James Bond. How f’ing excited am I?!
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| DPV |
Speaking of which, I finally picked up my sweet ride of a scooter…on the side of one of the busiest roads during rush hour. I have never driven one before so the guy dropping it off says “oh…shit”. Oh shit is right my friend. Mum…don’t panic…it’s all good…for now…kidding!!! It’s black, not the newest or sportiest of models but it opens up a whole lot more freedom on the island. I have only had 3 close encounters involving a man with his daughter, a pick-up truck and a dog. Not bad so far! (mum kidding again…sort of). For the family and friends that have experienced my very safe driving techniques in Toronto (and by safe I mean pushing my boundaries), I drive like an old granny here. I could probably peddle a bike faster to be honest.
Off to Sunshine for some sunshine and more dives…boy it’s a tough life…
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