The tides change

It has been a crazy past week for me. Odds are that I will have to break this up into many posts. One week in Thailand outside the comfort of a contract and Bangkok has shed a new light on my entire world.

May 31^st my contract extension ended, free me from the lockdown of city living. I immediately took advantage of my newfound wings and headed to Koh Tao. At first it appeared I would be alone on my adventure, but with some smooth talking from Kevin and a little from myself, we convinced my Brazilian buddy Arthur to break free and join me. 

The new 6 days would be filled with firsts for me. Excluding public transit systems (BTS, MRT, LRT and Subway) I have never been on a train. That all changed with an overnight sleeper train to the pier city on Chumpon. I swear the guy serving us on the train had the sole intention of getting everyone hammered. For myself a single Singha was just enough to hit the spot. Meanwhile the dozens of backpackers in my car seemed to enjoy beers by the half dozen.

Finally around 4:30 am, we arrived, in a half dazed, sleepy almost comatose state we lumbered off the train only to wait an hour and a half for a transfer bus. If that’s what you want to call it. The bus more closely resembled a flat bed truck with rails and a makeshift roof of canvas. Piled in by the boatload, I felt like I was an illegal immigrant trying to slip past customs, although for us there was nothing illegal and the thai company was taking advantage of the relaxed laws in Thailand on the number of occupants per vehicle.

Boarding the ferry things continued to keep us on our feet, or for some their hands and knees.  The sees were rough and the ferry had a shallow rounded bottom not designed to take waves. As evident by much of the boat, neither were the passengers. I am not one to get sea sick, but this was the closest I have ever come in my life to that. The 13 hour adventure eventually landed us on the beautiful island of Koh Tao.

 Where is Koh Tao? Why Koh Tao? Koh Tao is a small island located in the gulf of Thailand. Translated the island name means “Turtle Island” but unfortunately with the intrusion of beaches by humans much of the turtles have left. The primary attraction of the island is the scuba diving. Upon discussion with a few people and some internet research I registered for my Open Water PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and received complimentary accommodations.

I hate wasting time, so we started the theory part of our training 2 hours after our arrival on the island. Just enough time to venture into a bowl of Thai Green Curry, knock back a mango smoothie and drop off my bags.