Flying back to France from Australia we decided to stop a few days in Thailand as we have both never been and it seemed like a good idea to break up the 24hr flights. Well it was hot and beautiful and very Asian! A bit like Bali in some ways with the eclectic, run down, patched up buildings and everyone wanting to sell you something, from imitation Nike’s to Ping pong shows.
Our first stop was just out of the hustle bustle of Patong Beach in Tri Trang Beach. A beautiful hotel with a private beach and stunning views of the ocean and landscapes.
A couple of days here was enough to relax and soon enough Jen and I were looking for something to do. We asked about boat trips to nearby Phi Phi Island to try some snorkelling, but soon realised doing an introduction to SCUBA diving would be fun too. Luckily we met Darren at Aussie Divers Phuket who organised everything, and the next day we were onboard the dive boat heading for Phi Phi. After a slow start with some basic skills (Jen hated filling the mask with water to show she could clear it) and we both felt a bit weird breathing underwater, we enjoyed 3 dives on the introduction course. Saw sea snakes, turtles, tons of tropical fish and ….we were hooked !
Sign us up for the full course !
We signed up with Darren and he provided Fabris to instruct us which was great as he spoke French and English. A day of theory and in the swimming pool and another couple of days back diving on the islands and we received our PADI Open water certificates. It was pretty full on for a week so we decided to chill for a couple of days. Fab introduced us to Brice, who gave us a nice tour of the island (after we picked up a motor scooter, and set us up in an amazing bungalow set in a private tropical garden. It was pretty rough (think spiders, snakes and big bugs!) but it was a great place to hang out for a few days and the food was really awesome.
After a break we still wanted to do some more diving before we left so we caught the ferry to Phi Phi and booked a room for a few nigths. We met Bill and Brigitte who run a small dive buisness and arranged a couple of days diving with them. Phi Phi was great, we did a couple of yoga classes on the beach and swam and soaked up some sun before heading to still freezing Europe..
In all a few days turned into a few weeks.
