Scuba Fun!

I was actually very nervous when I woke up this morning! I think my nervousness had to do more with the unexpected. While I had been diving before, I had never been on a diving “trip” and really had no idea what it would be like!

I was up around 6:30am and got myself ready while my two lazy guests got to keep sleeping! I was picked up around 7:30ish by the diving van filled with other divers. We made two more stops before driving to the pier. I was VERY tired so fell in and out of sleep but I think the pier was about 30-45 minutes away!

When we arrived at the pier we got on this little bus thing that took us to the end of the pier (which was quite long) and then got on our boat! The first floor of the boat had two bathrooms, a room that was the “dry” room (it was closed off) and the scuba diving part (where we would get ready and jump). The top floor had a place for us to sit and a little area that served food.

When we got there we all sat up top and met who we would be diving with! I was diving with Eric (very cute..but don’t worry Steve he was married) from Sweden! I told him how I was very nervous and he reassured me it would be fine! We went over the first dive site and hand signals etc. and then I had the rest of the 2.5 hour boat ride to relax. They did serve breakfast although it wasn’t too much so I was glad I had brought a lot of snacks!

I think I fell asleep for a bit because Eric asked if I had a nice sleep and said I should start getting ready. It was SO nice to have someone do ALL the work for me (I really am such a princess!) I knew scuba diving would be like skiing (SO much work but so worth it when you are doing it) but he had prepared everything. I remember when I was getting certified I hated figure out the dive beforehand (how deep we could go, how long we could stay down there, etc.) AND carrying all the equipment (weight belts and tanks were the WORST!)

I got on my wetsuit which was SO nice compared to the full length ones (with booties and a head covering) I had to use at home! This one just kept my core warm! Next thing I knew I was jumping in the water! I had never done the “stride walk” off the boat but I managed to end up in the water in one piece so I consider it successful!

I was VERY nervous about breathing with the regulator since I struggled with that the MOST in scuba class. When I was in scuba class we were in 4 feet of water practicing breathing with the regular and I would always stand up coughing because it was such a weird feeling. I think the best scuba divers are the ones who DON’T swim because it doesn’t feel so foreign. Luckily after a few breaths I felt comfortable, but what I did struggle with was equalizing my ears. My mom is a scuba dropout because she could never clear her ears (how embarrassing!) We started our descent but I had to tell him right away I was experiencing A LOT of pain (luckily I remember the signal) so we came up a bit to start it again. Now I know I really need to take my descent slow and stop a lot to equalize my ears.

The dive was awesome and I loved it! I expected the water to be a lot clearer but since Phuket had so much rain yesterday they did say it affected the visibility. I also was talking to other divers who said Australia has VERY clear water but not a lot of marine life while Thailand has GREAT marine life but not the clearest water! It was still amazing and so cool to see all the fish! My favorite part was seeing the “Nemo” fish. They looked JUST like the ones in finding Nemo and lived in the same type of plant as the movie.

After the first dive we had a little bit of time to rest and eat some fresh fruit before the second dive. It was very similar to the first but I was definitely feeling more comfortable diving.

We then had a bit of a break as we headed back to Phuket for a third and final dive. We had time for lunch and a rest. I thought lunch was pretty good and reminded me of the food I had in China. But, I made the mistake of eating something WAY too hot. I had to run downstairs with my mouth on fire and eyes burning and stuff a granola bar in my mouth. OUCH it hurt!

It was nice to talk to Eric about life and the world and cultural differences. I have met amazing people and I really enjoy learning about the world. He was telling me how the first baseball hat he owned (in Sweden) was the Boston Bruins which made me laugh!

I explained to him the rivalry between the Sox and Yankees, how diving in Boston is AWFUL and things like that. I also had some time to meet other people on the boat. There was a family from Denmark, a couple from Australia, a couple from Arizona and a father and son from Australia. It was a nice small group so we had plenty of room!

I would have been happy with two dives but I did enjoy the third dive because I was becoming much more comfortable! The third dive was different in that it was a wall dive so we swam next to everything rather than over it. Throughout our dives we saw a lot of fish, sea snakes and a shark (harmless) which was awesome!

The only time I was scared was on this wall dive. It seemed like we were swimming up to the “end of the world” which ended up being a cave, but it was PITCH black and I couldn’t find Eric (he ended up being right above me but in my blind spot). Other than that I felt very comfortable and I was SO happy I had a private guide. It was nice to be able to take my time descending (I still had trouble equalizing but was able to take my time) AND take my time diving! Unfortunately, I have picked up another expensive hobby! I am already wanting to research the next place I might want to dive!

I was exhausted when we were finished! We got off the boat and took the little bus back to our diving bus and then back to the hotel. I took a WELL needed shower and then we headed out to dinner. I had told mom and Lorna I didn’t care WHERE we ate..I just didn’t want to be responsible for getting us there. And where did they take me? PIZZA HUT! Aren’t they the best? I have now been to a Pizza Hut in China, Vietnam and Thailand. Quite an accomplishment if you ask me! It was delicious!

We then decided we were going to stay up late to check out the party scene. I had been talking to my new scuba friends who said how they heard Bangla Road (the road with all the bars) didn’t start happening until at least 12:00am. So needless to say we had a lot of time to kill! We walked around the big mall complex and ended up at the little market area downstairs. Lorna and mom got foot massages and I got a pedicure!

Afterward we came back to the hotel and my initial plan was to blog but I ended up falling asleep! I was SO exhausted and sore from diving! I felt silly taking a “nap” from 11:00pm-12:00am but hey I couldn’t help it!

We left our hotel around 12:15am and walked about 10 minutes to Bangla Road. Everywhere was happening and it seemed like the whole island was hanging out here! We walked through the bars and there were a lot of girls dancing on them, but I wasn’t ALL that impressed. I was hoping to show them what I saw in Siem Reap but we didn’t really see any of that!

I thought our people watching was a bust and I was bummed because I had missed out on some good SLEEPING! Oh well it was worth a shot!

Hugs and kisses from a scuba diving Julie!