Going from fun dive along with an instructor to diving independently is something every diving enthusiast dreams about. After my initial diving stints at Andaman and Mauritius, I was eager to learn more and decided to take Padi open water course. While I was looking for a place to get certified, I found Koh Tao.
Koh Tao is a small island located on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. Not many people have heard of this place but it is well known amongst the diving community. It is one of the best places to take Padi courses and attracts many thousands of divers every year. The underwater scenery is grand with many corals, vibrant reefs, and even shipwrecks. With luck stingrays, whale sharks and eagle rays can also be found here whilst diving. Koh Tao has around 25 diving sites. Each dive site is unique offering divers of all levels something different. Koh Tao has over 70 diving schools with many of them being amongst the best in the world. The cherry on the top is the low cost of the courses. Having discovered all this, we decided on Koh Tao to get Padi open water certification.
Now it was time to choose a Dive center. After thorough research, I registered with Black Turtle Dive Center. They had excellent online reviews, took small batches of students, and were quick to respond. After registration, I had to first complete an e-learning course. The videos taught all the theory and gave me an overview of everything we were going to do in the 3-day diving course. I was also required to give a series of tests before starting practical sessions. I completed the e-learning course and the tests before reaching Koh Tao so that I could have more time to explore the place.
Day 1 of Diving.
I woke up early as I was very excited to start my training. We reached the Black Turtle dive center at 8.00 am and met our instructor, Nathon. He gave us an introduction to the skills we were going to learn. We were a group of 3 students- one of them being my close friend. We were trained in a confined swimming pool on day 1. First, we were taught how to assemble the scuba gear and wear it. After going inside the pool we learned how to breathe underwater, equalize our ears, how to ascend and descend and how to jump into the water. Other skills that we learned were removing and wearing the mask underwater, removing the oxygen regulator and locating and wearing it again, BCD removal, buoyancy, etc. While learning these skills I was a bit nervous but completing each one felt like an achievement. After completing all drills I was exhausted. We spent 8-9 hours in the pool. Still, I couldn't wait for the next day. I was looking forward to facing new challenges.
Day 2
On the second day, we did 2 dives at different dive sites- Aowlvek and Tanote Bay. Both dives were of around 35 minutes which included exploration and practicing the skills we had learned in the pool. Day 2 was way more fun than Day 1 as we were at real dive sites and could see beautiful fishes and corals. Finally, my dream of seeing the beautiful underwater world was coming true. Day 2 was much shorter and less tiring.
Day 3
We did 2 dives on the third day as well. Both the dive spots - Mango Bay and Twins were truly amazing. We had to plan the fourth dive on our own and then follow it.
After 4 amazing dives and some tests, I finally completed my open water certification. We had a small celebration and were given our PADI Log books. Overall I had an amazing time with black turtle. Apart from learning how to dive, I enjoyed getting to know people from different backgrounds and hearing their stories. I look forward to more dives and way more adventures in the future.
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