PADI Open Water Diver

Hooked - SCUBA SCUBA SCUBA - I am now officially certified as a PADI Open Water Diver. I can dive anywhere in the world up to 18 meters. I passed the course, taking a final exam at the end which was similar though much easier than the CPA exam - (broken into 5 sections where you get instruction, watch the official PADI video, and then take a test) - also, I completed 4 Open Water Dives over the past 2 days at a reef (Ko Haa) about an hour boatride from Ko Lanta, which were all amazing. Diving in a range from 6 to 16 meters (20 to 60 feet) coral reefs are incredible - there is so much colorful life swimming and sationary around you - we saw all sorts of crazy reef fish, huge corals, eels, etc. It's so amazing to look around at the underwater world around you - but the diving is amazing. You learn how to remain completely neutral in teh water - just suspended there - only controlled by your breathe - breathe in - you slowly begin to rise due to air in your lungs - breathe out - and you slowly descend now that the air is gone. Perfect bouyancy. And moving underwater is crazy - you learn to control your breathe so you rise when you want to just hoovering over the reef and descending when you want to. There is so much that goes into it - the science of breathing, bouyancy, movement, the physiology of the pressure, volume, density of your body as you dive, the nature of all the amazing marine life around you, and even the math involved of calculating and planning your dive to ensure that the amount of nitrogen in your body is always within an acccepable limit based on how deep you dive, how long you dive, and how much surface time elapses between dives. I am totally hooked and can't wait to get in the water again. I also purchased an incredible DVD that has both above ground action shots from the boat preparing for our dives today, and underwater shots of us in the water with all the amazing things around us. You'll all have to check it out in another 9 days.

So, the diving continues after a one day break tomorrow - as I begin the 3 day advanced course where I can dive at deeper depths, do more adventure dives, and learn skills like underwater photography and fish identification. I'll get to dive the sites with the potential for whale shark, leopard shark, and manta ray sitings like Hin Dueng and Hin Muang, and also go wreck diving at the King-cruiser site - I also get to learn to do deeper dives and get certified to go up to 30 meters (100 feet!)

So the plan is this - chill out on Lanta tomorrow, then do the 3 day advanced course followed by 3 days in Railey Beach, Krabi, then head back to Bangkok for my evening flight on the 26th. Time is such a strange concept - on one hand, I can't believe my trip is coming to an end as when I look back, everything has gone so quickly, but on the other hand, it feels so long ago that I was back home. I have done so many amazing things and gone to some unbelievable places - and really, everything has gone down smoothly and even somewhat on schedule. But I still got 9 days to go - so who knows what is still left in store for me.