Merry Christmas from Thailand!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas build up. Sorry we haven’t written a blog in a while we have been travelling from Cambodia to Thailand. From Siem Reap, we flew to Bangkok airport and took a taxi to Koh San Road for our first experience of Travellers Bangkok. Our taxi pulled up outside Burger King and we turned around to see a street full of advertising, take aways, hostels, people, markets, children, basically everything you need in one street. We walked up the road, backpacks on our backs and looked around for a hostel. After 30 minutes of searching we found an ok hostel down a side street named ‘Marcopolo’s’. The hostel was 300 baht a night and was basically 4 chip board walls, a cupboard for a toilet and shower and a bed with bright white sheets. We dropped our bags off and went our exploring. The streets surrounding Koh San were filled with market stalls, internet cafes, children with things to sell and smells of Thai food cooking on an open stove. The noise was overpowering, clubs pumping out music and the sounds of horns as the taxis all try and get by. This was so different to the serenity of the sunrise over Angkor Wat, this was commercialisation at its best. We decided that, even only being in Bangkok for about 3 horus, we needed to get away and see the real Thailand. We walked past a travel agent, popped in to meet an English guy named Dave and booked a course in Scuba diving on the island of Koh Tao. The next day we were on a bus to Krabi and a rough boat ride over to Koh Tao. Once there we were met by the diving school and shown our beach front accommodation. The island was incredible, palm trees everywhere, sun blazing down on the turquoise sea and a lush swimming pool to laze around in. Or so I thought. I actually got roped into Scuba diving with the crew we had met and we all started our PADI course the very next day. It was exciting at first, putting the wet suit on and laughing at each other trying to walk around with our flippers on and then the hard work began and we were swimming around under the water learning how to use all of the equipment. After a day of practising, taking our masks off and on under the water and breathing without our respirators, we were ready to try the real ocean.

We boarded a boat and dove 3 times with the crew, up skilling in diving and passing all of the requirements for the PADI. On the last dive though, disaster struck and I had a seizure at 12 metres deep. Very unexpected, but my regulator fell out, my goggles came off and I plummeted to around 18 metres before being rescued by one of the instructors, Jessie. He took me straight to the surface; Terry followed and said I was blue and unconscious. I was given mouth to mouth and pure oxygen and slowly came round, screaming hysterically. I don’t remember anything until I woke up in the hospital bed hours later, after another boat ride and car journey and x ray. That put an end to any PADI qualifications and we spent the next 4 days in the hospital.

We are off tomorrow to relax on a deserted island named Koh Ngai, i cannot wait and then only a few days until Amanda and Lewis get here to see us!

Hope everyone is ok, miss you all so much!!!