While they are only a couple hours apart by ferry, it
was really odd to see the canyon of difference between Ko Samui and Ko Tao. Ko
Samui, by many standards, is overdeveloped with resorts and where all the rich Thai, Australian, and
European families go for an all-inclusive beach holiday. On the other hand,
you have Ko Tao.
Ko Tao has only been populated with people since 1947 (unless you count the fact that it was a political prison from 1933 to 1947. The then newly elected prime minister pardoned all of the prisoners in 1947). Even while one might imagine that that would be enough time to build more than a few resorts on the island, it just hasn't happened.
Honestly, I didn't know any of that before coming to Ko Tao.
1. Ko Tao is THE spot in SE Asia to get a diving certificate.
2. As there are no official police on the island, Ko Tao is a place that is relatively* autonomous from Thailand's laws...most notably, their drug laws.
Up until that point, I had only ever snorkeled, but I had put getting a diving certification on the top of my list of things to do during my 3.5 months of travel. I organized my diving certification course with Big Blue Diving prior to arriving (they were really great and I would highly suggest them).
I ended up with a small class of just five students (including me). Two British guys, one Swiss guy, and one German girl. Our instructor was a British guy who had been diving on Ko Tao for about 14 years. He said he came to Ko Tao like many people do: backpacking through SE Asia. But he loved it so much he just decided to stay. Over the years he had passed a string of diving certifications to make him one of the most senior divers on the island. If I remember correctly, ours was his last class before he was heading somewhere to get a certification that would allow him to teach diving-instructors-to-be how to teach diving. Essentially, he would learn how to teach the teachers. It's always interesting to hear how expats get caught up in a life abroad like that.
****
In other words, I panic.
It's not a lasting panic, but the momentary realization that I am submerged in water triggers this natural physiological reflex. It's very odd that while I'm conscious of 1. being less than a foot underwater (and therefore, having very easy access to the surface), and 2. having a breathing apparatus, my body still reacts the way that it does. It's one of those moments where the disconnect between your conscious thought and unconscious reactions is made more than apparent.
Obviously, with snorkeling, you can only go so far as your breathing apparatus will let you. With this specific diving certification course, we would be going as deep as 18 meters.
We started the course learning about our equipment. What each piece is used for and how to use it. Then we learned how to put all of the equipment on and off in a specific order along with equipment safety checks.
Finally, we hit the water.
As part of the Big Blue Diving facilities, there is a swimming pool where students can learn basic diving skills. We learned different techniques of flushing water out of our masks, of sharing breathing apparatus, of retrieving our breathing apparatus.
The only technique that gave me anxiety was when we took off our goggles completely and then put them back on. My instructor could tell that I was momentarily freaking out because of the abruptness of my movements and because of the air bubbles that were rushing out of my nose. He made hand signals to indicate that I should relax.
I tried to. I focused on my breathing and bringing myself to a center of control.
Finally, I calmed myself enough do complete the technique without freaking out too much.
My instructor addressed this to me after we got out of the water. He subtly mentioned that it seemed like I became a bit anxious during the specific technique. I told him that, even though I still had my breathing apparatus in, the act of taking off my goggles somehow made me think I was exposed and capable of drowning in that moment. He accepted this explanation in stride and offered his best advice: just focus on the completing the technique.
The next day, we did our actual dives a few miles from the Ko Tao shore. As I mentioned before, Ko Tao has some of the best diving in SE Asia, which is partly due to the fact that the waters that surround the island offer a vast array of underwater life.
Diving is an incredible experience. It's really hard to describe to someone who hasn't done it before, but it really does feel like you're not on Earth. It feels like you're exploring an entirely different world. Nothing looks the same as it does on land: the fauna and flora, the landscape, and even the colors. I have no problem understanding how, like my instructor, people will spend years on a small island doing almost nothing but diving.
On our last day of diving, we had to repeat the various underwater techniques we had done a few days earlier in the swimming pool. Just like before, I got anxious during the technique where one removes one's goggles. Via hand movements, my instructor told me to relax. And again, I relaxed enough to complete the technique successfully.
This made me think a lot about fear.
Sometimes it's not about OVERCOMING your fear as it is about FACING your fear. It's possible that in facing your fear, you're still going to continue having that fear. But, if you face your fear over and over again, then eventually you might overcome it.
"Fear is the mind-killer." - Dune
****
The last day of our diving certification course was also my last day on Ko Tao. The two British guys and I would be heading to Ko Pha Ngan for the Full Moon Party.
To celebrate our successfully passing the diving certification course, we decided to join the Ko Tao Pub Crawl. We started off the night at Big Blue drinking beers and watching footage that a 3rd party business took of our dives. To be honest, the footage would have been a great keepsake, but they were charging entirely too much for a copy. The cameraman was really nice, but was noticeably irritated that none of us were remotely interested in buying a copy. Our instructor told us that that's how the cameraman makes his living. By making the videos and selling them. It being the low season, times were tough for him.
When we started the actual pub crawl, they wrote our names on our arms and gave us a free shot and drink. The best part of the pub crawl was when we were taken to a cabaret club where all of the dancers are kathoeys. Kathoeys are essentially considered a third gender in Thailand. Kathmoeys range from what we would consider drag queens (effeminate gay men dressing as women) to post-op transgendered women (men who undergo operations, such as breast implants and Adam's apple reductions to become women). While they still face discrimination in Thailand, Thai culture is much more accepting of them than we are of our transgendered people in Western countries.
The cabaret was just as fabulous as you would expect, and the majority of the young crowd of backpackers raucously cheered on the performers.
The next morning, hungover and disheveled (and soon I would find out, suffering from a double ear infection), I made my way to Ko Pha Ngan for the Full Moon Party.
P.S. I had another "small world experience" on the pub crawl. Michelle, one of the British girls I met on the way to Vang Vieng, Laos, was also on the pub crawl. She had mentioned to us in Laos that she was going to meet up with her boyfriend in Thailand later in her trip, but we certainly didn't expect to cross paths with her.
* A friend of mine spent several months on Ko Tao diving. One day, he was lounging in his shack when the police came knocking. They had arrived on the island unannounced via the daily boats from Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Samui to shake it up. Word is that the police threatened the Burmese immigrants with deportation if they didn't rat out all of the Western foreigners that were using and buying drugs. My friend's roommate had left a small amount of weed on their front porch, and thus my friend was taken in. As is the way with most things involving the law enforcement in SE Asia, my friend had to pay a hefty "fine" (read: bribe) to get out of what would have most likely been a rather long prison sentence. According to him, his one night in jail was far from enjoyable.
