I first went to Thailand in early October 99 to visit a mate who was training to be a divemaster on the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. Whilst I was there I decided to learn to scuba dive - (this was mainly to protect my liver from all the partying that I was doing!).
I did an PADI Open Water Diver (OWD) course which consisted of an introduction to the equipment, an explanation of the physics involved, the rules we must follow, the signals that are employed underwater (and all the other relevant bits for novice divers) and 4 dives in pairs with an instructor. The first dive was in shallow water (5m) in a sandy bottomed bay, to familiarise ourselves with what is basically an alien environment. We had to perform various acts underwater including removing our mask and retrieving it, to prove we were capable of dealing with problems, then we went for a little swim. The first proper dive to 18m (the OWD limit) was awesome and hooked me for life! The visibility was in the region of 20 metres but once on the bottom there was more than enough to look at close up! If you've ever seen the Discovery Channel doing an underwater feature then you've seen the fantastic array of colour and life that lives in tropical waters. It was like swimming through one of those programs, I kid you not! I have no idea what the names are for most of the things I saw, but it matters not. It was completely brilliant and I came up wondering why I had never done this before. It left me with a real sense of calm and wonder which lasted all the way to the bar!
So. Koh Toa is the next island up from Koh Phangan - the site of the famous full moon parties - and is dedicated to divers. There are an almost embarassing number of dive schools there and as such the prices are cheap, but hurry, it is being developed rapidly. My dive course cost about 100 quid all in - instruction, kit hire, paperwork and even a room in the local huts for the duration of the 5 day course! The only thing not included was food but that didn't matter because there are so many brilliant little restaurants that the main problem was choosing which one to go to. Pure value for money. I also found the instructors to be of a high standard but casual and approachable - esp in the bar!
There are somewhere in the region of 20 main dive sites around the island and more further offshore. Most are accesible to OWD's, being around the 18m depth mark. The water is warm enough in the summer to dive without even a shorty wetsuit and there's always the possiblity of seeing something really special,..... more about this later.... There are many knowledgeable guides working there from all over the world and as you would expect it is dirt cheap and the parties are huge!
To get to Koh Tao you must make your way to Koh Phangan and get a ferry boat over. There's no other way in. The nearest airport is on Koh Samui and flights arrive daily from Phuket. This is the easiest way to get there but may still entail spending a night on Koh Phangan.
The highlights of my 2 visits to KT were: learning to dive, diving in wonderful spots full of life and vibrant colour, getting charged by a trigger fish, swimming through short caves, schnorkelling with sharks (little ones.....) and, wait for it...... coming face-to-face with a Whale Shark! Ok, it was only a baby one, about 4 and a half metres long, but it's an awesome sight! I have met divers with 20 years experience who have never seen a whale shark and they are always envious when I mention it casually in conversation. They really are huge creatures but completely docile. It's very humbling to swim alongside one, trust me.
Koh Tao is on the edge of a National Marine Park and as such is the last island that visitors are allowed to stay on. Anyone read The Beach by Alex Garland? This is it!
Koh Tao: Go and Dive and forget your problems!
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