When I first started planning my around the world trip, a friend told me I should get a diving certification. Might as well start there! I thought, and made Koh Tao my first destination. In hindsight that was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Things started off well. I met a really cute Canadian Australian on the boat ride from Bangkok to Koh Tao, who apparently had no reservations anywhere and basically just hopped on a boat to the island. At the dock we hitched a ride with a couple of Eastern Europeans on their way to diving school, and parted ways in the tiny town center.
Then I met another group of Canadian folks who were just wild, and they took me to my first ever lady boys show. It was eye opening and mind blowing. We ended the night dancing with fire dancers and lady boys on the beach. It wasn’t a full moon party, but close.
But alas, I had not fully embraced my wild side yet. I had met this nice Spanish lawyer (the guy in the gray t-shirt) who went to the same diving school as me, and he had planned to rent a scooter to go to the other side of the island where his friend (the guy with the long braids) was studying to become a diving instructor. He extended an invitation and I said yes, and hopped on the back of the scooter to embark on this journey with an almost stranger who turned out to have never been on a motorbike of any kind before.
The journey was long, and windy, and dark. Half way through I was honestly getting a bit unnerved, and asked myself what am I doing on this seemingly road to nowhere in the middle of the night with a stranger. When we finally arrived, I was only slightly more comfortable, as the place was also dark (the island had limited electricity), and I’m now in the company of 4 strange men. Thankfully everything turned out just fine, we had an amazing seafood barbeque, and talked mostly about diving and life. It would become the first of many deep discussions I would have with strangers in the years to come.
Unfortunately I did not keep in touch with the Spanish lawyer, who spent 9 months of the year working so he could travel for the remaining three. I wonder how many places he’s visited now, and which fish he’s captured in his dive log.
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