Three Hours Underwater

I am writing from a new internet cafe, at least new to us. We have been using one that is near our hotel. It offers competetive prices, and a nice atmosphere, but we have grown tired of passing the massage parlor on the way. Without fail, a tall, broad-shouldered Man-Woman repeats in a raspy voice "You want masaaaaaaggge"? It does not speak well of the kind of place this is, that a massage parlour would put that kind of person out on the street as its saleswomanman.

Today we got to go scuba diving. We were picked up right on time at our hotel by the dive company's pickup truck loaded with bench seats. We were transferred to Chalong Bay, where we were shown to the boat. It was the most beautiful boat in sight, and we felt fortunate to board it. The tour guide gave us a good description of the boat so that we could make full use of it. On front half of the upper deck of the boat were placed several foam mats. Larissa immediately set off to find some lost sleep. In fact, she used more than one mat for awhile. Maybe she was just saving one for me.

It was a very comfortable one and a half hour ride out to the first of three dive sites. Anenome Reef was the first place we stopped. It is a pinnacle that rises from about 65ft. up to within a few feet of the surface of the water. After being briefed about the dive site, we entered the water to find that the site had been aptly named. Everything in sight was covered with various colored anenomes, waving in the slightly surging current. We enjoyed circling around the pinnacle a couple of times.

Once reboarding the boat, we were met with fresh fruit and drinks. The surface interval was well spent eating, drinking, and napping. It wasn't long until we were ready for the next dive site, Shark Point. While shark point was given its name because of the leopard sharks found around the site's two pinnacles, the tour guide warned us that it is now often referred to as "No Sharks Point." I guess the likelihood of shark sightings here has gone down in recent years. While we did not see a leopard shark, it turned out to be a great dive. Among the dives highlight sightings was an Ornate Ghost Pipefish.

After a very nice vegetarian lunch, identifying some of the fish we saw in our book, and another short nap, we jumped in the water at the day's third dive site, Koh Doc Mai. Koh Doc Mai is an island (Koh means island) that is somewhere between the Phi Phi islands and Phuket. The dive site just looks like the island, upside down, and covered with corals instead of trees.


The site had quite good visibility, and the colors were stunning. Sorry, I forgot to bring any underwater pictures, or pictures of the boat. We'll see if I can post them at a later date.

Today was a great day. Larissa is feeling very comfortable with diving now. She says that she is enjoying the scenery much more than she is worrying about potential dive equipment failure or being eaten by unknown creatures. We are glad to be headed for the relaxed Koh Tao. Koh Tao looks to be a place small enough for us to explore without relying on too many taxis, and the dive site are only a small ride off shore. We leave Phuket tomorrow. If all goes well, we will be on Koh Tao the next day. There is internet access there, but we doubt that it the connection is very fast. We'll probably be able to post from there, but I wouldn't count on getting many pictures. We have arranged for a beach bungalo, conveniently priced at a %50 discount for divers, which brings it down to around $5 per night.

While we are excited to explore a new island, we are going to miss our wonderful room. We are going to go back and watch some TV over a ramen and bread dinner. We miss you all.