Travelman's Travels in Thailand Chapter 4: Live and Let Dive in Ko Tao (part 1)

Yesterday I completed my open water certification course at Big Blue Diving School on Ko Tao. I logged four dives over a four day training course. The dives came on the last two days. That doesn't count the dive we took in the resort swimming pool on the second day. I bonded with some fellow travelers and had a fun-filled four days of personal growth.

Travelman's useless travel tip #3: Travelman does not recommend taking a "fun dive" in the Big Blue resort swimming pool. It's for training purposes only and you'll only see students learning how to take off their masks and use their regulators.

My journey to Ko Tao consisted of a sleeper train to Chumpan, a shuttle bus to the pier, and a ferry ride to the island. The train arrived at Chumpan station at 0400. The shuttle busses were not due to arrive until 0600.

While waiting the two hours at the Chumpan train station I sat next to an attractive young woman on a stoop. She sat in front of a display welcoming travelers to the town. The display consisted of statues of little people interspersed amongst the letters of the town, a mock-up of a two wheeled rickshaw-like cart accentuated the display. I struck up a conversation by telling her I was tempted to sit in the big, wheeled chair.

I learned she was from somewhere in Europe, I think it was Germany. She was traveling for a month in Thailand and planned to learn to dive on Ko Tao.

I told her of my experience in Bangkok with the tuk tuk con man. It was at that time that an Australian woman and her husband chimed in about encountering this as well. The couple was sitting on a bench to our left. The conversation turned to their stories of travel in Vietnam prior to Thailand. A young man sitting on the bench in front of me and to the right joined the conversation. He was in his mid-twenties and lived in Finland. I learned that he had recently obtained his nursing degree. We talked a bit of shop about nursing in our our respective countries.

I sat on the stoop behind the two benches. You can figure out who's who from there...

This was exactly the sort of encounter I had imagined before embarking on my adventure. I sat swapping travel stories with people from various parts of the world, thoroughly enjoying my time waiting for a bus at five a.m. on a rainy morning at a depot.

The ferry shuttle buses arrived on time. My new friends had bought tickets with the competing ferry company so we parted ways, wishing one another safe travels, and agreeing that we may happen upon one another on the island. It was still raining lightly, I hurried across the street and boarded my bus.

The bus ride began a few minutes later when everyone was aboard. The bus was 2/3 empty, the sun was rising, we rode through town to the docks. A group of five college girls from the states sat in the back giddily singing their favorite hip hop songs while trying to freestyle rap about going to Ko Tao (they failed comically).

Some shots of the ferry dock before boarding. Here's a playground through the bus window...

Cool boats next to the ferry and a motorbike with a sidecar...

On the ferry...

We boarded the ferry, I chose one of the many empty seats. A representative from Big Blue Diving school made his way down the aisle talking with everyone and casually presenting pamphlets to those who may be interested in diving with his company. It was a very soft sell, simply letting you know that his company was an option, and making conversation. he even recommended to the guy in front of me to ask the buddy he was meeting on the island where to go to diving school. They had plenty of customers. I hadn't decided yet if I was even going to dive, much less go with the first company that pitches me.

I struck up a conversation with the young woman sitting in my row. Her name was Katherine, she was German but had a bit of an Irish accent. She even looked Irish with her reddish brown hair, round face, big eyes, and apple cheeks. She explained that she'd spent the last year of University in Ireland. She was studying bio-chemistry with the intent of becoming a forensics investigator. I asked her if she'd seen the american show CSI. She said, yes, they had all the CSI shows. She and her travel mates, sitting across the aisle, had been traveling throughout Thailand for the past two weeks. They were on holiday from school and had to head back home in two weeks.

Katherine told me stories of their travels in Chiang Mi. She said the city was much better than Bangkok. She and her companions had gone on a three day/two night guided jungle trek that took them on a challenging hike to two secluded villages. She raved about the experience, warning that it was unexpectedly challenging physically, with steep climbs up mountain sides.

Katherine told me of an unnerving, yet still pleasant, experience while the tour group was on a rest break on the jungle path. A group of very friendly young men came along. These young men happened to be drunk, and possibly high, and happened to be brandishing large automatic rifles. The young men sat with Katherine and her group for a spell and proudly showed off their weapons like they were new iPhones. They were simply kind, young, gentlemen who happened to be drunk and holding their prized automatic weapons, no biggie. Her stories made me want to go on a jungle tour.

Katherine hadn't slept the previous night and I'd woken up on the train just after 0100. I told her it was hard for me to get back to sleep because even though I could only see darkness out the train window, I could still hear Thailand whooshing by as the train gently rumbled down the tracks, and I was just too excited to sleep. I told Katherine I'd let her take a nap, she said she was too tired to sleep. I told her I was going to give it a try and excused myself to an empty row of seats where I was free to lie down. I succeed at falling asleep within minutes, maybe seconds.

I woke again as the Ferry was approaching Ko Tao. Five minutes later we docked in Ban Mae Hat I felt like a pirate entering a port town after a long voyage. I exited the ferry with my two bags on my shoulders, walked along the wooden planks, and took in the sites. I had an idea of where I was heading, but no more than that. The young German woman at the bus stop had told me about a hostel she had booked in the neighborhood north of the port town. She said it was well rated in her guide and cheap so I figured I'd find my way there. Problem was, I'd forgotten the name of it. All I remembered was its general location on the map.

No pictures of Katherine, but here's the ferry arriving in Ko Tao...

As I came off the dock, I passed travelers sitting on a restaurant patio with their bags. They looked like they were waiting for a ferry. A few feet further, I entered the street.. Taxi drivers held signs saying "taxi" and asked me "need taxi?" Motorbikes and scooters whizzed back and forth, seventy percent of them piloted by tourists. I turned left at the first cross street a few yards from the docks and headed north. I passed a different scuba school every few feet, or at least it seemed to be true. Employees sat out front ready to sign you up if you were up for it, plenty of schools, plenty of fresh divers on every ferry.

I turned right and went up a hill toward what looked to be the main road heading north, I passed more schools, bars, grocers, and travel agencies. I turned left again to regain my northward setting on the main road. The town thinned out after about a half kilometer. I followed fellow backpackers up another hill and back down again. It was hot and muggy, and I was tired. I couldn't wait to find the hostel, or any decent hostel.

I passed resorts, bungalows, shacks, the occasional restaurant, supermarket, a boxing/cross training resort, abandoned buildings, and graffitied walls. Trucks and motorbikes passed me and the other pedestrians like we were invisible. I marveled at the brashness of the motorbikes especially, if I were to go down from a collision, they'd go down as well.

First impressions of Ban Mae Hat...

Notice the child sitting in front of his mom on the scooter. Helmets, child seats, and child endangerment are not an issue here in Thailand. It's just the way you get around.

After twenty to thirty minutes of walking the rolling hills of the road, I reached Sairee Village. I'd decided on the walk that I'd sign up for an open water certification. Most of the deals included a hostel bed, and the price of the course was half of what I'd pay anywhere else in the world, so why not dive. My plan was to find a bed for the night, lock up my things, shower, venture out for food, and then select a diving school.

It wouldn't be long before I'd learn that I was meant for Big Blue and Big blue was meant for me.

On the road to Sairee...

Everyone loves Putt-Putt, all over the world!

A temple...

A mural...

Another mural/graffiti?...

A side street in Sairee...

To be continued...

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