When I was making plans for Phuket, there was one thing all the blogs had in common; food and island hopping. I figured, if I’m going to go island hopping, I should go one step further and go scuba diving. Two years ago, I went scuba diving in Okinawa and fell in love with it. So I figured, why not get certified! Even though I live in the midwest, getting certified was the best decision I ever made! i’m certified for the rest of my life and am only limited really by my comfort level.
I split my time between two hotels. The first hotel was very fancy, everything you would ever need was in the resort (including the beaches). The downsides were 1. it was expensive and 2. it was isolated so if you wanted to go into the city of Phuket you needed a taxi driver. That meant that the hotel was making a lot of money though because they had everything you’d ever need (including a doctor) at the hotel.
The second hotel was also very nice but in the center of town so I had access to cheaper things (which helped me save money for the rest of the trip). I got to eat street food, go to night markets, and interact with more people which was a lot of fun. Thai people are probably the nicest people I have ever met. They’re genuinely happy and so kind it’s amazing! I never felt like I was in danger when I was over there.
For scuba diving, I got certified at my first hotel. The company was on the hotel property so the one day we had in the pool, we just used the hotel’s pool. The next two days were at sea which I was picked up at the hotel and taken to the docs where I met my diving instructor and the rest of the people on my boat. There were people who were beginners like me, intermediate and advanced divers, as well as snorklers. They served lunch on the boat which was buffet style of Thai food (pad thai, green curry.. all super delicious). We went around Turtles bay and Phi Phi island where we saw a lot! The colors in Phuket were beautiful and the fish were amazing! We did have to be careful of poisonous fish (scorpion fish mostly) but it was still cool! By the end of the third day I was a certified scuba diver with an extra certification in Nitrox. In a regular tank of oxygen it’s about 21% oxygen and the rest is nitrogen. In a nitrox tank there’s about 31% oxygen and the rest is nitrogen. You do have to be careful about poisoning but that’s what the course is for! While using a nitrox tank, I was able to spend more time underwater water my first initial dive day.
After I had finished my scuba diving class, I spent the rest of my time relaxing by the pool, getting a Thai massage and doing more island hopping. I booked a tour and explored Phang Nga Bay or, “James Bond Island” which is an Island used in a James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. We toured all around the islands which was nice but I think I was still high from my scuba diving experience that it didn’t seem as great. But, I did meet some nice people on my boat so it wasn’t all bad! I think that was my favorite part about traveling, I met so many people from all over the world! Everyone was so friendly that it made the experience 100 times better.
My last day in Phuket I spent relaxing and getting a Thai massage. It was probably the best massage I’ve ever had. I actually think I fell asleep at one point… oops! I wasn’t out too late because I had to be up at 5 to head to the airport to catch my flight to Bali. However that did not stop me from going to the night market down the street and getting eating really good food!
One thing I will always remember about Thailand are the people. They are so friendly and kind! They are willing to help you in any way they can! It’s definitely on my list of favorite countries I’ve been to. I definitely want to go back some day.
