Scuba certified!

One of the activities Chris and I had decided to do at some stage during 'the big adventure' was diving; Chris had only ever done an adventure dive around 10 years ago while I have never even been scuba diving so we were both excited to do a professional course. We also knew that Thailand was one of the best and cheapest places on the planet to try diving and do an Open Water Course. Koh Tao, just above Koh Pha Ngan, was apparently one of the best and this is where we headed after the excitement of the Full Moon Party.

With our Christmas money from my Mum, Dad and Grandma we were able to sign up for a course that included accommodation and even food. A great deal for us bargain-hunting backpackers!

Adam, already certified to Advanced level, was also able to get in on the accommodation deal so it worked out well for the three of us.

While Adam went diving, Chris and I were put in a group of eight people from all over Europe and worked in groups of four underwater with our two instructors.

Chris and I LOVED DIVING! We truly loved it. Also, I must admit rather geekily, I enjoyed being back in the classroom learning again! I love learning. So even the theory work I enjoyed. Furthermore I can geekily report that we both scored 100% on the final exam. Not that it was easy or anything.

As for the actual underwater 'tests', we were a little more towards the bottom of the class! My absolute least favourite task was when we had to take the air regulator out of our mouths for a few seconds before putting it back in again. Very scary when the water goes in your mouth and you know you've to breathe in again soon! Chris on the other hand really felt anxious when we had to take our masks off - not only could we not see, but our noses were out in the water and we were both scared we would subconsciously try to breathe in through our noses while they were out in the sea! Chris used up nearly all his air during this test.

Despite these fears, we overcame the challenges and thoroughly enjoyed our four dives. We saw some very colourful and exciting fish and coral and it made me want to watch the film 'Finding Nemo' again (which, incidentally, Chris has never seen! A crime...).

If you're backpacking and want to try diving, definitely go to Koh Tao - it's the cheapest place we've found so far with lots of great dive sights and lots of choice between dive shops.

Thank you so much Mum, Dad and Grandma for this opportunity!