After a 6am flight we landed in Phuket early and rode down to our hotel in Kata Beach. It was to early to check in so we killed a few hours walking the beach and enjoying the weather.
We spent the next few days enjoying Kata beach, watching the new Star Wars movie, and trying out different food places. *As a side note, the movie theater in Phuket was very nice! We opted for the cheapest seats and were shocked when they were the most comfortable theater seats we've been in. We looked to see what the most expensive seats were and they were full couches!*
After extending our trip up north to Pai we were rushed on days in Phuket before our friends Austin and Aileen fly in. To stick to our original itinerary I needed to start my Scuba certification ASAP. After talking to 4 different shops we found "Dive Phuket". They would be able to get me certified in 3 days, give Debra a refresher course and allow us to dive together on my 3rd day of training.
The next morning I spent the whole day in the pool going over the basics of diving. The next day I was picked up at 7:30, taken to the pier, and got on a dive boat to Koh Racha Yai.
Diving was so much better then I had expected. The water was incredibly clear and the aquatic life was beautiful. The first day in the ocean was spent going over the basics and getting used to diving. We still got plenty of time under water and we're able to see tons. When I got back I went straight to Kata beach to meet up with Debra for her refresher dive.
It was her first time diving in the ocean and 2 years since she had gotten certified. The dive went great and we couldn't wait until the next day to dive Koh Phi Phi.
We were up early for the boat to Koh Phi Phi. Today was my last day of my open water dive certification and Debra was going to dive with our group for the whole day. For small portions of the first two dives we showed that we knew how to do the skills we had been taught. The rest of the time was spent touring around underwater and enjoying the sea life. Debra and I both agree that the time flies when you are busy looking at all the creatures and corals. At a place called shark point our instructor Will told us that there might be a chance for us to catch a glimpse of a black tip reef shark. And we were lucky enough to see one! It was both of our first time seeing a shark in the wild. The shark was definitely more afraid of us than we were of it and it swam away quickly.
Roy taking his final written test on the boat!
By far our favorite creature we were able to see!
After finishing my dive certification and diving Koh Phi Phi with Debra. We craved more diving and looking into a liveaboard for the Similan islands. We were both feeling the effects of spending so much time underwater so we switched our plans and decided to only dive Christmas Eve in order to have Christmas Day as a recovery day before Austin and Aileen arrived. This worked out perfectly because we were able to begin our Advanced Diving courses with my open water dive instructor by doing three dives xmas eve.
Like the other days…we were picked up around 7:30, taken to the pier, and headed off towards our first dive. This would be our first deep dive and would then allow us to dive down to 30 meters. The dive was along side a vertical rock face that dropped down to around 30 meters. Debra had just gotten over a cold recently so she had some trouble equalizing her tired ears at first. Eventually we got down to 30 meters and saw an incredible variation of underwater life. After that dive we moved on to the most exciting dive of the day. The King Cruise wreck dive. This dive was mind blowing. We started by fighting our way against a strong current in order to grab a guide line that lead down to the wreck. This is also a deep dive and we took our time equalizing our ears as we descended. The wreck was more stunning than either of us imagined.
This puffer fish was about 20 inches! And it had a big hitchhiker underneath him.
We had the chance to see so many lionfish
The aquatic life covered almost every inch of the wreck but left the perfect structure of the ferry. We spent a decent amount of time swimming through the different areas of the ship before resurfacing and heading towards our last dive, Shark Point. We had dove this site the day before but the second time seemed much better. After some paperwork and a few beers our diving experience in Thailand came to an end. We got back to the pier and called it a day.
We spent the majority of Christmas day eating, drinking from coconuts, lying on the beach, and playing in the water. It was a pretty great way to spend the day.
We then switch hotels and moved into Phuket town and walked up a nearby hill for Christmas dinner overlooking Phuket. The view from Tunk Ka restaurant was one of the best. They also hooked us up with some great vegetarian options that weren't on the menu.
***All dive photos were taken for us by our awesome instructor Will
