As I was less than cheerfully checking out of my hotel and eating Dramamine with my breakfast, a gorgeous guy walked into the lobby yesterday to take me diving for two days. Instantly the 7am departure seemed reasonable. 14 guests, 6 staff and tons of gear and provisions boarded Greta for our diving trip through the Phi Phi (pronounced Pee Pee) islands. The group was very international (Australians and Irish, who are everywhere, but also people from Denmark, Germany, England and South Africa). My guide and instructor, Neil, was from England and had the patience of a saint. We did four dives on Friday including a night dive, which was less frightening than I had imagined. Two of the dives finished up my the Advanced Open Water Certification--a ship wreck and fish ID. Between dives we ate wonderful Thai food and told fish tales on the sun deck. My list of dream places to go diving has grown tremendously.
We docked on Ko Phi Phi for the evening. I love this town and wish I could stay longer in the little village. Many of the buildings on Phi Phi were devastated by the Tsunami and, unlike Phuket, it has not been rebuilt. However, our beach bungalows were adorable (photo of me on my porch above). We all went for drinks at a beach bar that was celebrating the half moon. They had a thrilling fire show. The Thai's are known for their fire throwing talents. It's so exciting to watch them twirl and throw the fire sticks and chains! The party was still going on when we walked down to the pier to board Greta at 7:30am.
Day two was fantastic! Each of our three dives were wonderful. The coral was endless and looked like colorful flower gardens underwater. We got to swim with a leopard shark, and even more exciting were the two yellow sea horses we saw. They were about five inches long and swimming along the reef. Unbelievable! The tropical fish were plentiful and oh so exciting. I hated to say good-bye to my new friends, and the banana pancakes after diving, when docked back on Phuket. Diving around the Phi Phi islands was certainly a trip highlight!
Tomorrow it's back to Bangkok to plan what's next...
No comments:
Post a Comment